The Gray Wolf, is the largest living member of the family Canidae, and the subspecies include the Artic Wolf (also known as the Winter Wolf), Timber Wolf, and the Tundra Wolf The largest individuals tend to be found in the northern forests of North America, with weights of 175 lb. having been recorded. A weight of 100-125 lb. is much more typical, however. Gray wolves from the hotter, drier parts of the world rarely exceed 50 lb.. In general, there is a wide size range among the various races, or "subspecies" of gray wolf. Their color also ranges vastly between the sub-species.

The Arctic Wolf, Canis lupus arctos is an endangered, gray wolf subspecies found only on the arctic islands from Melville Island to Ellesmere Island. Typically, they are all white with a very thick coat, about 5-6 feet long, 4 feet tall, weighing from 60-100 pounds.

Eastern Timber Wolves, Canis lupus lycaon, are found in southern Canada and the northeastern United States . This was the first subspecies to be recognized in the United States, and is on the endangered species listing. Born in a wide range of colors and sizes; usually there is a darker color on the top of the head, resembling an upside down crown.

Alaska Tundra Wolf, Canis lupus tundrarum, is a large wolf with long light colored fur. It ranges along the tundra region of Alaska's arctic coast. While the Tundra Wolf , Canis lupus albus, can be found throughout the Eurasian tundra and forest tundra from Finland eastward to the Kamchaika Peninsula. It is large, long furred, light colored wolf much like its Northern American counterpart: Canis lupus tundrarum.

The Red Wolf, Canis rufus, was virtually extinct in the wild. In a last ditch effort to stop the Red Wolf's total extinction, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) gathered up the remaining Red wolves. Fewer than 20 remained. These Red Wolves were successfully bred in captivity and their numbers increased steadily over the years. By 1987, enough animals had been bred to begin a program to reintroduce them back into their rightful place in the wild. This set an important precedent, being the first reintroduction in the United States of a species that was officially extinct in the wild. By all counts the red wolf reintroduction program has been a success.

However, the red wolf is far from being out of danger. With such small numbers in the wild, the population is in constant danger of extinction from natural disasters such as disease. Additional lands are needed for wolf populations to grow. Today the Red Wolf population is at 300 captive animals in zoos and captive breeding facilities. Red wolves have been reintroduced at the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge in North Carolina and the Great Smokey Mountains National Park.

The Red Wolf can have a red,gray, or black coat, with white markings. They are smaller than their cousin, the Gray Wolf, and weigh about 40-80 pounds. The females are usually smaller than the males. Red Wolves prefer white-tailed deer and racoons, but will eat any available small common prey animals. Red Wolves mate for life; adults mate between the months of February to March; 2-4 pups are born during April or May. The adult males and females help raise the pups. Around 6 months old is when the pups are mature enough to venture by themselves.

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Extinct Wolf Species

The Dire Wolf, Canis dirus, roamed the earth 9,000 years ago. Remains of nearly 2000 dire wolves have been found in the La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles.

The average size of the Dire Wolf was about 5 feet long, and weighing about 110 pounds. They looked a lot like the modern gray wolf, other then a few features their heads were much larger then the gray wolf, and they had much larger teeth. They also had much shorter but sturdier legs than the gray wolf. Many paleontologists believe that they used their massive teeth to crush bone, because of the amount of wear found on their crowns. The fact that they had shorter legs leads to the belief that they did not run as well as the modern gray wolf.

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Below is a listing of all the wolves we were not in time to save, they are lost forever. Let them be a reminder of how much the wolves that are still hanging on need our help. Human activity was the main reason for most of their extinctions.

Kenai Peninsula Wolf, Canis lupus alces, also known as the Alaskan Wolf. It was a very large wolf. The determination of the species and the size of the wolf was done using recovered bones.

New Foundland Wolf, Canis lupus beothucus, was a medium sized wolf that was almost pure white.

Mogollon Mountain Wolf, Canis lupus mogollonensis, used to live in central Arizona and New Mexico. Their color was usually dark with some whites.

Texas Gray Wolf, Canis lupus monstrabilis, used to live in Texas and northeastern Mexico. Its members were usually small and dark colored; there were some whites.

Great Plains Wolf, Canis lupus nubilus, also known as the Buffalo Wolf, once roamed the area from southern Manitoba and Saskatchewan, Canada, to northern Texas. This was a medium sized wolf with great variability in color.

Hokkaido Wolf, Canis lupus hattai, roamed the area of Hokkaido, Japan. It appears to be extinct.

Hondo Wolf, Canis lupus hodophilax, used to roam in Hondo, Japan.

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The Cry
(Author Unknown)

He stands alone at the top of the hill
And sings his mournful cry,
His mate and cubs are missing
He's not certain why.

He had been out hunting
Was gone for only a day,
And hurried back with empty jaws
So scarce now was their prey.

He wasn't gone long
Eager to get home,
But the den was cold and empty
And he sensed something was wrong.

The smell of man was everywhere
With footprints in the dirt,
And blood shed from his family
He knew they had been hurt.

He sat and waited day by day
With hopes they would return,
There wasn't much he could do
Except quietly sit and yearn.

Why would man come all this way
To hunt and shoot them down,
To interrupt their quiet lives
When no harm had been done?

Their territory plainly marked
And not once did they stray,
For they would rather starve to death
Than to get in man's way.

The smell of chickens, cows and sheep
Were so tempting at times,
But instincts warned not to hunt them
Or they would lose their lives.

And so they lived a quiet life
Existing on small game,
Careful it was only wildlife
And nothing man had tamed.

So he could find no reason
For the blood shed on that day,
So peacefully they lived here
So far out of man's way.

Maybe they'd be coming back
His cubbies and his mate,
Wolves are mated once for life
So he would sit and wait.

That was many moons ago
And they have not come back,
But he will not stop hoping
For the reunion of his pack.

He now knows men are murderers
But still does not know why,
And every night he climbs his hill
And sings his mournful cry.

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