Russian wolf
Iberian wolf
Iberian wolf
Restricted to the Iberian peninsular, this population, like many other European wolves hit a minimum back in the 1970s, we=here their population fell to just possibly as low as just 100, certainly no more than 500. Thankfully, this population has been allowed to recover, and is now thought to number between 2500 and 3000, though there is a great deal more space for further recovery.
Golden Jackal found in France for the first time
Golden jackals are not native to France, probably as a result of of the presence of wolves. Unfortunately, wolf populations have dropped so low, that their presence is not stopping the spread of animals like this.
In this instance, the female was too young to have arrived on its own, suggesting that not only are golden jackals present, but they are breeding.
We will have to watch this space, and see what is happening. Will the recovering wolf population stop the spread, or are golden jackals going to become a permanent part of west Europe’s fauna?
To read more about golden jackals visit our golden jackal page here
Maned wolf shown on planet earth 3
For those watching this amazing series, you will have see the beautiful animal – looking rather like a fox on stilts, the maned wolf is a species that lives on the plains of the cerrado in South America. It is unfortunately greatly under threat. Time will tell what will happen in the future.
These animals are heavily under threat, and as such, it is essential that locals see them as a benefit. This means that tourism to this region will help their long-term future.Â
It is a particularly difficult issue for those who are concerned, because while we want to cut our carbon emissions, we must also find a way for enough people to visit, to warrant their long term protection.
We have a page for the maned wolf, and we have embeded a video from a bbc wildlife documentary on this species from a few years ago (though you can also watch a good clip of it from planet earth 3 episode 3)
Click here to visit the page.
Algonquin wolves -origin different than we thought?
The Algonquin wolf, also known as the Eastern wolf is a species which has been discovered in the eastern USA and Canada (click on the bold name above, to visit the species page).Â
Perhaps, understandably, it is hard to find a new species in the USA unless it is already pretty rare. This species is only thought to have around 500 individuals, throughout its range (eastern USA and north into Canada).
South-eastern Canada has been known for a race of wolves and coyotes, that do not appear quite right for some time. This study suggested that this group of wolves split from the rest of wolves around 67,000 years ago. This appears to recent to give rise to the significant genetic differences, but it appears that this population also bred with coyotes around 37,000 years ago, and has continued to have genetic exchange between both species (on occasion) since.
As such, it is suggested that the Eastern wolf largely owes its appearance to hybridization between all three.
Has this lead to a more successful species? Well, one may well suggest not, given the small number of these wolves that survive at this time.
However, this is a well settled part of North America, suggesting that in fact it could be down to human hunting rather than natural forces.
Primate family tree main and great and lesser apes
Primate family tree
The primates are in some ways one of the most successful families. It is true that many are now endangered, however, unfortunately, that is as a result of the run-away success of the most successful member of the primate family us! Having left the rainforests behind, we have been reducing their coverage dramatically over the last few centuries.Â
The sad thing, is that while we have pushed many of our closest cousins towards extinction, the loss of forests may well cost us dearly in the future as well. As a species, we need to pull together to meet this challenge. in order to jump to the various families, click on the family of interest above – though all can also be reached by scrolling down.
Great Apes
Great ape Family split is thought to have split from its nearest relative – the gibbon family, around 17 million years ago.
4 million years later the Orangutan family split from the gorilla line and the human/chimp line.
3 million years after this (so around 10 million years ago) the gorilla family split from the Homo (humans) and Pan
Finally the human line (homo) split from the Pan line 5-6 million years ago.
It should be noted, that chimpanzees and Bonobos split from a common ancestor just 1.8 million years ago. This occurred as the two populations ceased to be able to have contact with each other – the Congo rive formed between 1.5 and 2 million years ago.
For more information on each species, click on their photo and this will take you to their page
It should be noted that while I have grouped eastern western and skywalker gibbon together, there is some contention that the skywalker gibbon should be in its own genus, having diverged around half a million years aog
Gibbons
Genus Nomascus
This family is the Genus: Nomascus or crested gibbon.
The last Genus of gibbons is Hylobates: dwarf gibbons.
Dog family tree
The Dog (caninae) family tree
The Dogs also form an incredibly successful family. They have spread to even more so more of the earths surface has a dog living in each area. They has been classified into 2 tribes.
The first tribe is the tribe Canini (true dogs), which is further split into two subtribes. Each sub tribe is in turn split into a number of Genus, which have a number of species each
The first subtribe is Canina which is wolf like Canids, this is in term split into 4 genus which I will take in turn
Canis
First genus is Canis, which is subdivided into 6 species 2 of which have into subspecies.
The second genus is Cuon and only has one member in it. This is found in central south and south east Asia.
The next genus is Lupulella, and has two members, both found in Africa
The last Genus in Canis is Lycaon. This only has one member, which is the African wild dog
The second subtribe is Cerdocyonina (south American Dogs). There are 5 genus with living members (South American dogs), with the 6th (Dusicyon) containing 2 extinct species – so we will not mention this agai .
Of the 5 genus with living members, Lycalopex is one of these genus with 6 species. Lycalopex is made up of South American fox species – it should be noted that these so called South American foxes are not foxes. While they look like foxes, they are more closely related to Jackals and wolves.
The other 4 Genus in this subtribe, with living members each only have one member, so I will deal with these Genus in one go. These Genus are  Atelocynus, Cerdocyon, Chrysocyon and Speothos. In the same order, the species that inhabit each of these genus are Short eared-dog, Crab eating fox, Manned wolf and the Bush dog.
Then there is a tribe called Vulpina, sub divided into 3 Genus. these are essentially the fox like canines
- The Nyctereutes which consist of the Racoon dogs: the common raccoon dog and the Japanese racoon dog.
- The Otocyon which consists of the bat eared fox
- The Vulpes: Which I will deal with in the next section, separately (below
The true fox family is a large extended family of foxes from around the world. They all behave in a similar way, though the habitat in which they live can be very differemt
Finally there is a Genus on its own called Urocyon which consists of grey foxes, of which there ae only 2 surviving members.
Coyote
Coyote
Coyotes are mid sized canids, and lie between the wolf and the fox in size. It is also smaller than red wolves or Algonquin wolf. It is closely related to the wolf.
It is a species which is listed as least concern, with a wide distribution across North America.
It is odd to think that this species is a closer relation of the wolf than any other dog (except the domestic dog, which is genetically essentially a wild wolf)
Ethiopian wolf
Ethiopian wolf
The Ethiopian wolf is a highly endangered canid that is restricted to the highlands of Ethiopia. Other names include the Ethiopian fox, or the Simien wolf.
In terms of size, it is about the same size as the Coyote, Genetically, they are more similar to wolves than all jackals (except the Golden jackal). Here, below you can see how closely related each of the wolves are. While they look rather like jackals, their behaviour is far more like wolves – though due to the prey in the area, they do not hunt in packs (though there are regions of earth where grey wolves do not hunt as a pack either.
Golden Jackal
Golden Jackal
The Golden jackal is a species found across the south eastern part of Europe as well as throughout much of southern Asia. It is the animal which the African wolf was confused with, and the reason that it was described as a species so recently.
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Despite its name, the Golden jackal is not closely related to the African Black-backed jackal or Side-striped jackal, which are part of the genus Lupulella, being instead closer to wolves and coyotes. The ancestor of the Golden jackal is believed to be the extinct Arno river dog that lived in southern Europe 1.9 million years ago. It is described as having been a small, jackal-like canine. Genetic studies indicate that the Golden jackal expanded from India around 20,000 years ago, towards the end of the last Last Glacial Maximum. The oldest Golden jackal fossil, found at the Ksar Akil rock shelter near Beirut, Lebanon, is 7,600 years old. The oldest golden jackal fossils in Europe were found in Greece and are 7,000 years old.
Golden jackals live eight to nine years in the wild and up to 16 in captivity.
Living nearby human settlements, Golden jackals are strictly nocturnal. However, those living in other areas can be partly diurnal. They generally live in pairs or as a family unit. Living in pairs, the jackals share most of their activity with their partners. By hunting together they are three times more successful, than hunting alone. Jackal families hunt on a territory of about 2-3 sq. km. all year round. Looking for shelter, they frequently use caverns, dug by other animals. Golden jackals can also dig caverns themselves as well as use crevices in rocks. They are very friendly to their partners. Scratching one another all over their bodies is a common activity between mates. Nevertheless, once strange jackals encounter each other, their behaviour shows subordination, domination, and even readiness to attack.
Golden Jackal found in France for the first time
Golden jackals are not native to France, probably as a result of of the presence of wolves. Unfortunately, wolf populations have dropped so low, that their presence is not stopping the spread of animals like this. In this instance, the female was too young to have arrived on its own, suggesting that not only are …...
Back in the early 1800s the North African wolf was defined as a separate species, why did this wild canid get redefined as a golden jackal?
Back in 2015 genetic analysis prove conclusively that a strange looking type of golden jackal in North Africa was actually and African wolf. Genetic analysis shows that is descended around 75% from grey wolves, with the other 25% of it’s lineage coming from Ethiopian wolves. However when first described by science back in the early …...
