The Alaskan Wolf (Canis lupus pambasileus) is a mammal and subspecies of the Grey Wolf in the Canidae family of dogs, wolves, and jackals. It is a canid or canine mammal. It is also known as the Yukon Wolf.
The Alaskan Wolf is dog-like with thick tawny grey or rusty-tan fur with a mixture of black hair. It has a triangular-shaped face with a wide forehead and medium-sized ears and brown eyes.
It grows to about 160 centimetres (63 inches) long and 85 centimetres (33 inches) at shoulder height.
It is found in North America, in Alaska, British Columbia, and the Yukon.
It is an apex predator because it has few enemies. It has large, strong teeth to feed on livestock, rabbits, hares, deer, ibexes, foxes, badgers, weasels, marmots, squirrels, mice, rats, and fish. It can break and crush the bones of its prey.
The Alaskan Wolf is a social animal and lives in small families, called packs. Each pack has 7-9 individuals.
The male and female generally stay together as a pair for life. The female is pregnant for 62-75 days, before giving birth to 4-6 young, called pups. She keeps the pups in a den so that she can protect them.
The young pups are born blind and deaf, and stay in the pack for 10-54 months before leaving to form their own pack.
Location of photographs: Tashkent Zoo, Uzbekistan
Photographer: Martina Nicolls
Martina Nicolls: SIMILAR BUT DIFFERENT IN THE ANIMAL KINGDOM