Eastern wolf

The eastern wolf (Canis lycaon or Canis lupus lycaon), also known as the timber wolf, Algonquin wolf and eastern timber wolf, is a canine of debated taxonomy native to the Great Lakes region and southeastern Canada. It is considered either a unique subspecies of gray wolf, or red wolf, or a separate species from both. Many studies have found the eastern wolf to be the product of ancient and recent genetic admixture between the gray wolf and the coyote.

There are two forms, the larger being referred to as the Great Lakes-boreal wolf, which is generally found in Minnesota, Wisconsin, the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, southeastern Manitoba and northern Ontario, and the smaller being the Algonquin wolf, which inhabits eastern Canada, specifically central and eastern Ontario and southwestern Quebec. The eastern wolf's appearance is midway between that of the gray wolf and the coyote. The fur is typically of a grizzled grayish-brown color mixed with cinnamon.

In the US, gray wolves including the timber wolf are protected under the Endangered Species Act of 1973. In Canada, the eastern wolf is listed under the Species At Risk Act 2002. The main threat to this wolf is human hunting and trapping outside of the protected areas. Further human development and the negative public perception of wolves are expected to inhibit any further expansion of their range.

Taxonomy

The first name for a type of wolf from North America is Canis lycaon. It was named in 1775 by a German scientist. He based it on an animal found near Quebec. It was later called a type of gray wolf.

In 2005, a book called Mammal Species of the World listed the eastern wolf as a gray wolf type. In 2021, the American Society of Mammalogists decided the eastern wolf is its own species, Canis lycaon.

Taxonomic debate

When European settlers came to North America, coyotes lived only in the western part. They lived in dry areas and on open lands. From the mid-1800s, coyotes began to spread.

Scientists have two main ideas about North American wolves:

• One idea says there are two species: gray wolves (C. lupus) and western coyotes (Canis latrans). These created hybrids like the Great Lakes wolf, the eastern coyote, the red wolf, and the eastern wolf.
• Another idea says there are three species: gray wolves, western coyotes, and eastern wolves (C. lycaon). In this view, Great Lakes wolves are hybrids of gray wolves and eastern wolves, eastern coyotes are hybrids of eastern wolves and western coyotes, and red wolves are the same species as eastern wolves.

Genetic evidence

Studies of genetic material from wolves and coyotes show that eastern wolves have genes from both gray wolves and coyotes. Some studies suggest eastern wolves and red wolves evolved in North America after separating from coyotes a long time ago. Other studies show that eastern wolves are a mix of gray wolves and coyotes.

Genomic evidence

A big study in 2016 looked at the full genetic makeup of North American wolves and coyotes. It found that all of them share a common ancestor that lived less than 117,000 years ago. The study showed that red wolves and eastern wolves have different amounts of gray wolf and coyote genes. The study also found that all North American wolves have some coyote genes, and all coyotes have some wolf genes.

Ancestor

Recent studies suggest that eastern wolves evolved from ancient coyotes and Beringian wolves long before modern coyotes and wolves arrived in North America.

Description and ecology

Charles Darwin heard stories about two kinds of wolves in the Catskill Mountains — one slim and fast like a greyhound, chasing deer, and another heavier with shorter legs. Eastern wolves usually have fur that is a mix of grayish-brown and cinnamon. Their sides and chest are often reddish or creamy, and their back, shoulders, and tail can be black and gray mixed together. Unlike gray wolves, eastern wolves very rarely have all-black fur. The first all-black eastern wolf found was a mix between an eastern wolf and a gray wolf. They are about the size in between a coyote and a gray wolf, with females weighing about 53 pounds on average and males about 67 pounds. They usually live about 3 to 4 years, but some have been known to live up to 15 years. Their size helps them catch medium-sized animals, much like the Mexican wolf does in the southwestern US.

Eastern wolves mainly hunt small to medium-sized animals like white-tailed deer and beavers, unlike gray wolves that can hunt much larger animals like caribou, elk, moose, and bison. Even though they are meat-eaters, during July and August, packs in Voyageurs National Park sometimes eat blueberries when they are in season. Eastern wolf packs stay away from each other, and only lone wolves sometimes go into another pack’s area. Their territory is usually between 46 and 71 square miles, and young eastern wolves leave their packs as early as 15 weeks old, which is much sooner than gray wolves.

Distribution

The eastern wolf used to live in parts of Canada and the United States. Today, they are mostly found in northern Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. They also live in parts of Manitoba and Ontario, such as Algonquin Provincial Park. Some have been seen in southern Quebec, New Brunswick, New York, Vermont, and Maine. Studies show these wolves are related to those in Michigan. Some think wolves are moving north from Canada to live in New York and New England.

However, human activities make it difficult for eastern wolves to increase their numbers outside of protected areas in southeastern Canada.

History, hybridization and conservation

Before Europeans came, eastern wolves lived in eastern North America, from southern Quebec to the Great Plains and places like Kentucky, Tennessee, and North Carolina.

Early European settlers thought eastern wolves were a danger to their animals. They tried to reduce the number of wolves by offering rewards for wolf heads and using traps. Even so, wolves stayed common in areas like New England and the Algonquin Highlands. By the mid-1900s, there were about 55 wolf packs in Algonquin Provincial Park, but many were killed each year. Protection laws were passed in 1959 to help them. Even with protection, the wolf population went down because of human activities and mixing with coyotes. By 2012, the genetic makeup of these wolves had mostly returned to earlier levels. In 2013, scientists made hybrids of coyotes and gray wolves in labs to learn more about the eastern wolf’s origins.

Relationships with humans

The wolf is important in Algonquin mythology. In Algonquian languages, it is called ma-hei-gan or nah-poo-tee. The wolf is the spirit brother of the hero Nanabozho. It helped him in adventures, like stopping bad spirits.

In 1963, people found that eastern wolves would answer when humans made wolf sounds. This led to a popular event at Algonquin Provincial Park called Public Wolf Howls. Visitors would go out at night to listen for wolves to respond to sounds made by park staff. This program was popular and helped teach people about wolves. The last Public Wolf Howls event was in 2013. The program stopped in 2022 for reasons such as protecting wildlife and the environment.

There have been a few times when wolves acted strangely around people in Algonquin Provincial Park. In 1998, a wolf followed a family with a young child. The wolf was stopped before it could cause more trouble.