Canis lupus

The Eurasian wolf (Canis lupus lupus), also known as the common wolf,Mech, L. David (1981), The Wolf: The Ecology and Behaviour of an Endangered Species, University of Minnesota Press, p. 354, is a subspecies of grey wolf native to Europe and Asia. It was once widespread throughout Eurasia prior to the Middle Ages. Aside from an extensive paleontological record, Indo-European languages typically have several words for "wolf", thus attesting to the animal's abundance and cultural significance.Gamkrelidze, T. V. & Ivanov, V. V. (1995), Indo-European and the Indo-Europeans: A Reconstruction and Historical Analysis of a Proto-Language and Proto-Culture, Walter de Gruyter, pp. 413-417, It was held in high regard in Baltic, Celtic, Slavic, Turkic, ancient Greek, Roman, and Thracian cultures, whilst having an ambivalent reputation in early Germanic cultures. It is the largest of Old World grey wolves, averaging 39 kg in Europe; however, exceptionally large individuals have weighed 69 -, though this varies according to region.Heptner, V. G. & Naumov, N. P. (1998) Mammals of the Soviet Union Vol.II Part 1a, SIRENIA AND CARNIVORA (Sea cows; Wolves and Bears), Science Publishers, Inc. USA., pp. 184-187,Miller, G. S. (1912), Catalogue of the mammals of Western Europe (Europe exclusive of Russia) in the collection of the British museum, London, Printed by order of the Trustees of the British Museum, pp. 313-314 Its fur is relatively short and coarse, and is generally of a tawny colour, with white on the throat that barely extends to the cheeks. Melanists, albinos, and erythrists are rare, and mostly the result of wolf-dog hybridisation.Heptner, V. G. & Naumov, N. P. (1998) Mammals of the Soviet Union Vol.II Part 1a, SIRENIA AND CARNIVORA (Sea cows; Wolves and Bears), Science Publishers, Inc. USA., pp. 166, The howl of the Eurasian wolf is much more protracted and melodious than that of North American grey wolf subspecies, whose howls are louder and have a stronger emphasis on the first syllable. The two are, however, mutually intelligible, as North American wolves have been recorded to respond to European-style howls made by biologists.Zimen, E. (1981), The Wolf: His Place in the Natural World, Souvenir Press, p. 73, Many Eurasian wolf populations are forced to subsist largely on livestock and garbage in areas with dense human activity, though wild ungulates such as moose, red deer, roe deer and wild boar are still the most important food sources in Russia and the more mountainous regions of Eastern Europe. Other prey species include reindeer, argali, mouflon, wisent, saiga, ibex, chamois, wild goats, fallow deer, and musk deer.Peterson, R. O. & Ciucci, P. (2003), "The Wolf as a Carnivore", in Wolves: Behavior, Ecology, and Conservation, edited by L. David Mech and Luigi Boitani, pp. 104-130, Chicago: University Press

No narrative description available for this taxon yet.