Great Plains Wolf
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Great Plains Wolf | ||||||||||||||||
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Canis lupus nubilus Schreber, 1775 |
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Great Plains wolf range
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The Great Plains Wolf (Canis lupus nubilus), also known as the Buffalo Wolf, is a subspecies of the Gray Wolf, native to North America. This subspecies once ranged across the western United States and southern Canada, but was almost completely wiped out by the 1930s. In 1974, it was listed as an endangered species, and since then its numbers have climbed. By 2004, there was a population estimated at 3,700 wolves living in Minnesota, Michigan, and Wisconsin. Single wolves have been reported in the Dakotas and as far south as Nebraska, but these are considered to be dispersers from packs from outside the states and a breeding population most likely does not live in these states. A typical Great Plains Wolf is 140 - 200 cm (4 1/2 - 6 1/2 feet) long from snout to tail tip, and weighs between 27 and 50 kg (60 and 110 pounds). It usually features a coat blended with gray, black, buff, or red.