Canis Major

Canis lupus familiaris (dogs) were likely the first animals to be domesticated by humans. Humans and dogs share a long intertwined history. DNA evidence suggests domestic dogs most likely diverged from wolves as long as 135,000 years ago (Udell and Wynne). The American Kennel Club (AKC), a registry of purebred dog pedigrees in the United States, recognizes 167 breeds. Being that dogs are one of the most common household pets owned by humans, it is important to understand their physiology for…

In 1960, the wolves who had covered most of the United States found themselves hunted; a hunt that would last until the 1960’s when they would be put on the endangered species list after their populations plummeted. The species of Gray wolf that was most common in the U.S. was almost hunted to extinction because complaints from ranchers and farmers that the wolf was a mindless, selfish, gutless killing machine. However, it is obvious through careful studying and monitoring that the wolves are a…

Taxonomy in biology is the study of naming, describing, and classifying new organisms into different branches, Domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, and species. Throughout history, humans have always classified organisms that they have encountered. One of the first taxonomists was Aristotle, “who organized five hundred types of animals according to habitat and body form” (http://www.biologyreference.com). However, the first modern taxonomist was Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus,…

Grey Wolf Optimizer (GWO) is inspired by grey wolves. The leadership hierarchy and hunting mechanism of grey wolves is mimicked by GWO algorithm. GWO employs four types of grey wolves such as alpha, beta, delta, and omega. GWO consists of three main steps of hunting, searching for prey. Encircling prey, and attacking prey [38]. GWO is benchmarked on many challenging test problems and applied to some real engineering problems. The results reveal that GWO is able to provide very competitive…

In 1974, the gray wolf was placed on the endangered species list, but in Yellowstone National Park wolves had already been hunted for almost a hundred years, the last pack being killed off in 1926. In 1995, eight wolves were relocated from western Canada to Yellowstone, and in the next year, a total of thirty-one wolves were brought in (NPS, 2016). This was the start of what some may call one of the greatest wildlife restoration projects ever undertaken. Twenty years after the fact, Yellowstone…

The Maned Wolf The legs of a deer, the face of a fox, and the body of a wolf, what is it? The maned wolf is an interesting animal that not many people may know about. It can be described by what it looks like, its eating habits, and its social structure. Despite its name this animal looks more like a fox rather than a wolf and has even been described as a “fox on stilts”. But, this unique looking species isn’t closely related to either. In fact, the maned wolf is the only member of its genus,…

10. Lancashire Heeler. Though it looks like a wolf with its pointy ears and eyes, the Lancashire Heeler is just a small dog breed. They were developed to be used as herder and drover of cattles. No matter what the weather is, the Lancashire Heeler stays dry because it has an undercoat that helps keep it dry. In general, the Lancashire Heeler is a great companion because they are intelligent, friendly and alert. However, they can be lazy and really loud at times due to their energy level. They…

B4 May 15, 2016 The Evolution of the Gray wolf Every species has an evolution, the gray wolf is no different. They belong to the “Kingdom: Animalia, Phylum: Chordata, Class: Mammalia, Order: Carnivora, Family: Canidae, Subfamily: Caninae, Genus: Canis and Species Lupus.” The gray wolf didn't start as a gray wolf it was originally a different animal that adapted overtime to become a gray wolf. The Reason for an animal adaption is mutation, natural selection, gene flow and genetic drift. The…

One of the most renowned rewilding projects which has demonstrated the effects rewilding has on a whole ecosystem, was the reintroduction of grey wolves (Canis lupus) into Yellowstone National Park in the North West of the United States. The wolves were reintroduced to the park in 1995-1996 and have subsequently recolonised the whole park and some of the surrounding area known as the greater Yellowstone ecosystem (GYE) (Smith et al., 2003). The reintroduction of the wolves has had a great effect…

Group Dynamics and Hunting Behavior of Wolves and Wolves of the Seas Mammals come in all shapes and sizes. Mammals are different from each other, but all have certain things in common. For example, they all breathe air, give live birth, and have hair at some point in their life. But what makes certain mammals different from one another. There are two specifically that we want to dive deeper into. The first being Wolves and the second being Orcas also known as the wolves of the sea. We will look…