Steppe wolf

Steppe wolf
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Carnivora
Family:	Canidae
Genus:	Canis
Species:	C. lupus
Subspecies:	C. l. campestris
Trinomial name
Canis lupus campestris Dwigubski, 1804
C. l. campestris range
Synonyms
argunensis (Dybowski, 1922) [1] bactrianus (Laptev, 1929) [2] cubanenesis (Ognev, 1923) [2] desertorum (Bogdanov, 1882) [2]

The steppe wolf (Canis lupus campestris), also known as the Caspian Sea wolf, is a subspecies of grey wolf native to the Caspian steppes, the steppe regions of the Caucasus, the lower Volga region, southern Kazakhstan north to the middle of the Emba, and the steppe regions of the lower European part of the former Soviet Union. It may also occur in northern Afghanistan and Iran, and possibly the steppe regions of far eastern Romania, Hungary and other areas of Eastern Europe. ^[1] Studies have shown this wolf to be a host for rabies. Due to its close proximity to humans and domestic animals, the need for a reliable vaccine is high. ^[3]

Rueness et al. (2014) showed that wolves in the Caucasus Mountains, of the putative Caucasian subspecies C. l. cubanensis, are not genetically distinct enough to be considered a subspecies, but may represent a local ecomorph (population) of C. l. lupus. ^[4] In Kazakhstan, villagers sometimes feed the wolves and utilize them as “guard dogs”. ^[5]

Appearance

It is of average dimensions, weighing 35–40 kg (77–88 lb), thus being somewhat smaller than the Eurasian wolf, and its fur is sparser, coarser, and shorter. The flanks are light grey, and the back is rusty grey or brownish with a strong admixture of black hairs. The guard hairs on the withers usually do not exceed 70–75 mm. The fur of steppe wolves in Middle Asia and Kazakhstan tends to have more reddish tones. The tail is poorly furred. The skull is 224–272 mm long and 128–152 mm wide. ^[1]

Steppe wolves occasionally surplus kill Caspian seals. ^[6]

Diet

Around 89% of the steppe wolf's diet is dominated by wild ungulates, with Siberian roe deer (Capreoluspygargus), red deer (Cervuselaphus), and wild boar (Susscrofa), making up the majority of ungulates consumed. A smaller fraction of the steppe wolf's diet is made up of buffer prey species such as lagomorphs and small mammals. ^[7]

References

1. Heptner, V.G.; Naumov, N.P., eds. (1998). Mammals of the Soviet Union, Vol. II, Part 1a. Sirenia and Carnivora (Sea Cows; Wolves and Bears). Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Libraries and the National Science Foundation. pp.  188–189. ISBN   1886106819 . Retrieved December 7, 2018.
2. Wozencraft, W. C. (2005). "Order Carnivora". In Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M. (eds.). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN   978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC   62265494.
3. Zhugunissov, K.; Taranov, D.; Bulatov, Y. (2017). "Protective immune response of oral rabies vaccine in stray dogs, corsacs and steppe wolves after a single immunization". Archives of Virology. 162 (11): 3363–3370. doi:10.1007/s00705-017-3499-6. PMID   28766059. S2CID   8000454.
4. Kopaliani, N.; Shakarashvili, M.; Gurielidze, Z.; Qurkhuli, T.; Tarkhnishvili, D. (2014). "Gene Flow between Wolf and Shepherd Dog Populations in Georgia (Caucasus)". Journal of Heredity. 105 (3): 345–53. doi:10.1093/jhered/esu014. PMID   24622972.
5. "Kazakhstan: Villagers use 'guard wolves' for protection". BBC. December 17, 2014. Retrieved 26 July 2017.
6. Rumyantsev, V. D. and L. S. Khuraskin. 1978. New data on the mortality of the Caspian seal due to wolves. Page 187 in Congress of the All-Union Theriological Society, 2nd (P. A. Panteleev, et al. eds.). Nauka, Moscow, USSR. ZR 116(19):5669
7. Tiralla, Nina; Holzapfel, Maika; Ansorge, Hermann (2021-02-01). "Feeding ecology of the wolf (Canis lupus) in a near-natural ecosystem in Mongolia". Mammalian Biology. 101 (1): 83–89. doi:10.1007/s42991-020-00093-z. ISSN   1618-1476.