Dogs, wolves, and coyotes

Dog, Wolf, and Coyote Facts

• Classification:

• Kingdom: Animalia
• Subkingdom: Metazoa
• Phylum: Chordata
• Subphylum: Vertebrata
• Class: Mammalia
• Subclass: Eutheria
• Order: Carnivora
• Suborder: Canoidea
• Family: Canidae
• Genus and species: Eight genera and fifteen species, including Canis lupus (gray wolf),C. lupus familiaris (domestic dog),C. lupus rufus (red wolf),C. latrans (coyote)
• Geographical location: Dogs live on every continent except Antarctica; wolves are not found in Africa, South America, and Australia; coyotes live only in North and Central America
• Habitat: Mostly prairies, forests, and mountains
• Gestational period: Approximately two months
• Life span: Ranges from an average of eight to twelve years, longer in captivity or domestication
• Special anatomy: Sharp cuspids, keen senses

Dogs, wolves, and coyotes represent eight out of thirteen genera and fifteen out of thirty-five species in the Canidae family, which also includes foxes. These carnivorous mammals are descendants of the prehistoric Tomarctus that lived fifteen million years ago. According to fossil evidence, dogs were probably the first animals to be domesticated, at least ten thousand years ago. Domestic dogs developed from wolves that humans tamed and selectively bred for hunting, retrieving, and guard duties. Specific wolf traits appear in various dog breeds.

Anatomy

Domesticated dogs vary from small to large animals according to which breed or mix of breeds they represent, such as the tall wolfhounds, standing an average of ninety-nine centimeters (thirty-nine inches) at the shoulder, the heavy St. Bernard weighing about 90 kilograms (200 pounds), and diminutive chihuahuas standing approximately thirteen centimeters (five inches) and weighing 2.7 kilograms (6 pounds). Each dog’s skeleton has approximately 320 bones and varies according to tail length. Male dogs also have an additional bone, the os penis. Other exterior physical characteristics such as shape, color, and coat texture and length vary according to genetics.

Puppies have twenty-eight temporary teeth, which they begin to shed around twelve weeks old, and adult dogs have an average of forty-two permanent teeth which emerge when they are six months old. Dogs have twelve small incisors, which they use to groom themselves and to carry objects. Four large, sharp cuspids, often called canines, are used to tear meat, the foundation of dogs’ diets. A total of twenty-six premolars and molars chew food. Wild dogs hunt a variety of prey, mostly small mammals such as rabbits, squirrels, and rodents. Dogs have nonretractable claws and walk on their toes. They have five toes on their front paws and four toes on their hind feet, where occasionally there is a dewlap or extra toe. Because they cannot perspire, dogs pant with their tongues to cool their systems.

Senses

Dogs with long, slim faces, such as collies, have eyes on the sides of their heads and can see wide areas, while dogs with short, broad faces, such as bulldogs, have eyes nearer the center of their faces and can view objects in the distance. Although dogs are unable to see objects as clearly as humans can, they are more sensitive to detecting motion. Dogs cannot see colors except for shades of gray. In dogs’ retinas, the tapetum lucidum reflects light to enable dogs to see in the dark. These membranes cause dogs’ eyes to appear glowing at night.

Dogs’ ears are located on the sides of their skulls for optimum hearing. Some dogs, such as German shepherds, have erect ears that resemble those of wolves and coyotes, while other dogs, such as basset hounds, have floppy ears that hang close to their faces. Dogs can hear high-pitched and distant sounds.

Dogs’ olfactory systems are acutely sensitive. Like their wild cousins, dogs mark territories with urine and feces. Dogs use their noses to find food and track smells, often several days old. Scents are a significant way that all canines, both wild and domestic, communicate. Sounds also are important to convey messages. Canines emit noise variations to bark, growl, howl, yip, whine, and woof and engage in playful social behavior. Dogs express themselves with their bodies, eyes, and tail movements.

Life Cycle

Dogs reach sexual maturity before they attain full physical growth. Such maturation varies according to size, with smaller dogs reaching adult size within five to sixth months of birth and larger dogs sometimes not becoming fully grown until they are more than one year old.

Female dogs gestate for about nine weeks before whelping. Litter sizes depend on the mother’s size and can average from one to more than ten puppies. Puppies’ eyelids and ear canals are closed for almost two weeks. At about three weeks old, they begin walking, barking, wagging their tails, and eating solid food. Puppies are usually weaned at age six weeks. Dogs’ life spans depend on their breed and environment, and range from eight to more than fifteen years.

Wolves

The domesticated dog (Canis lupus familiaris) is a subspecies of its wild relative, the gray wolf (Canis lupus). There are a total of thirty-eight described subspecies of gray wolf, including the red wolf (C. lupus rufus). At one time, wolves lived throughout Europe, Asia, and North America. The gray wolf, also called the timber wolf, can be found mostly in Canada, Alaska, and the Rocky Mountain region of the US, but is considered endangered in Mexico and in much of the rest of the United States. Considered extinct in western Europe, with a few exceptions, gray wolves live in Russia, southeastern Europe, and Asia. Wolves’ ranges have decreased due to urbanization. Most wolves live in sparsely populated forest, tundra, wilderness, and mountain regions and tend to avoid people, approaching settled areas only when they are starving or when natural crises, such as floods, fires, and blizzards, cause their migration to populated places to seek emergency food sources.

Gray wolves can attain a body length (from nose to base of the tail) of 1.2 meters (4 feet) and height of 90 centimeters (3 feet) at the shoulder. They average forty-five kilograms (one hundred pounds) in weight, with some wolves weighing twice that amount, and have sharp teeth, thick coats, tall legs, and bushy tails. Gray wolves have primarily gray coats with some black, yellow, and brown fur, although some gray wolves are solid black or white, particularly in the Arctic. An endangered subspecies, red wolves live in the forests and brush of the south central United States and can be colored a hue ranging from reddish gray to black.

In North America, gray wolves have had a contentious history. Hunting of gray wolves escalated as farmers and ranchers penetrated wolf territory, their livestock offering easy targets for the wolves. Humans’ retribution threatened decimation of the gray wolf population. Efforts to replenish the number of wolves included the reintroduction of gray wolves to Yellowstone National Park in 1995. By 2020, some felt that the species had successfully recovered enough to be removed from being protected by the Endangered Species Act (ESA), and that year, the US Fish and Wildlife Service finalized a rule that delisted gray wolves from the ESA. However, many experts disagreed with the ruling and fought for protections to be restored, arguing that subspecies like Mexican wolves still required protection. In 2022, the ESA was amended to include the protection of all gray wolves in the United States and Canada, except for the Northern Rocky Mountain population, following a ruling by the US District Court in favor of restoring protections.

Pack Behavior

Hunting alone and in packs, wolves usually roam over large territories with a family group consisting of parent wolves and their offspring. Zoologists believe that wolves mate with the same partner for life, producing from three to nine cubs annually in late winter. Digging an underground den or appropriating a cave or hollow tree, wolves give birth and raise their cubs in this space, where the parents bring food until the cubs attain sufficient maturity to hunt. During winter and other stressful conditions, wolf families occasionally establish a larger pack of as many as thirty animals. The leader of a wolf pack, known as the alpha male, disciplines pack members.

Wolves prey on both large and small animals, including deer, moose, rabbits, birds, and mice and also eat vegetables, fruit, and carrion. They tend to hunt at night and can leap over obstacles 4.9 meters (16 feet) high, and travel up to fifty-six kilometers per hour (thirty-five miles per hour) to capture prey, sustaining thirty-two kilometers per hour (twenty miles per hour) for several hours when endurance is necessary to wear down elusive prey. Wolves migrate to follow prey to other areas. Scientists hypothesize that wolves howl in order to communicate with other wolf packs.

Coyotes

The scientific name for coyotes, Canis latrans, means “barking dog,” which describes coyotes’ staccato yips. Colored brown with gray and black flecks, coyotes grow to have a body length of approximately ninety centimeters (three feet) and can attain speeds of sixty-five kilometers per hour (forty miles per hour). Coyotes can adapt to many environmental situations and eat a variety of foods, including vegetables and insects. Although they tend to hunt alone, mostly at night, coyotes sometimes cooperate to kill a large animal such as an elk. Coyotes often can be found in suburbs. The western coyote lives in western North America, from Panama to Alaska. The eastern coyote, considered a subspecies of the western coyote who probably mated with wolves, is larger than the western coyote and has darker fur.

Coyotes use abandoned dens to raise their pups, ranging from six to ten per litter. Born blind, the pups rely on their mother for milk at first, then eat food regurgitated by their parents before they are able to chew and hunt on their own. Most pups leave their parents by age one and start their own families, while other pups remain in the den to assist their parents to raise their siblings and learn parenting skills. The average coyote is fully mature by age two. Scientists believe that coyotes mate for life.

The Canis species can breed with each other and produce fertile offspring known as hybrids. Some people raise coydogs, a combination of coyotes and domestic dogs, while others, especially Inuit people, prefer wolf-dog genetic crosses, which result in strong animals capable of withstanding extreme climatic conditions and pulling heavy loads.

Principal Terms

bulla: hollow bony area

digitigrade: walks on the toes

lucid: filled with light

olfactory: related to sense of smell

os: bone

tapetum: membrane layers

tympanic: middle ear

Bibliography

Barnes, Duncan, et al., eds. The AKC’s World of the Pure-bred Dog. Howell Book House, 1983.

Bauer, Erwin A. Wild Dogs: The Wolves, Coyotes, and Foxes of North America. Chronicle Books, 1994.

Brandenburg, Jim. To the Top of the World: Adventures with Arctic Wolves. Walker, 1993.

Hu, Shelia. "America's Gray Wolves Get Another Chance at Real Recovery." Natural Resources Defense Council, 21 Apr. 2022, www.nrdc.org/stories/americas-gray-wolves-get-another-chance-real-recovery. Accessed 24 July 2024.

Lemish, Michael G. War Dogs: A History of Loyalty and Heroism. Reprint. Batsford Brassey, 1999.

Boitani, L. et al. "Grey Wolf.” The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, 2023, www.iucnredlist.org/species/3746/247624660. Accessed 23 July 2024.

Meinzer, Wyman. Coyote. Texas Tech University Press, 1995.

Putney, William W. Always Faithful: A Memoir of the Marine Dogs of World War II. The Free Press, 2001.

Thurston, Mary Elizabeth. The Lost History of the Canine Race: Our 15,000-Year Love Affair with Dogs. Andrews and McMeel, 1996.