Italian Wolf

Italian Wolf

Apennine wolf

SUBSPECIES OF

Kingdom
Phylum
Subphylum
Class
Order
Suborder
Family
Genus
SPECIES
Canis lupus italicus
Life Span
10-20 years
Top speed
65
40
km/hmph
km/h mph 
Weight
25-35
55-77
kglbs
kg lbs 
Height
50-70
19.7-27.6
cminch
cm inch 
Length
110-140
43.3-55.1
cminch
cm inch 

The Italian wolf (Canis lupus italicus or Canis lupus lupus) is a subspecies of the Grey wolf. Although not universally recognized as a distinct subspecies, it nonetheless possesses a unique mtDNA haplotype and a distinct skull morphology. The Italian wolf features prominently in Latin and Italian cultures, such as in the legend of the founding of Rome. It is the national animal of Italy.

No

Nocturnal

Ca

Carnivore

Sc

Scavenger

Vi

Viviparous

Te

Terrestrial

Cu

Cursorial

Pa

Pack hunters

Pu

Pursuit predator

Am

Ambush predator

Al

Altricial

No

Nomadic

Te

Territorial

Mo

Monogamy

So

Social

Do

Dominance hierarchy

No

Not a migrant

I

starts with

Appearance

The pelt of the Italian wolf is generally of a grey-fulvous color, which reddens in summer. The belly and cheeks are more lightly colored, and dark bands are present on the back and tail tip, and occasionally along the fore limbs. Black wolves have been reported in the north-central Apennines, though their origin is unknown, as some melanistic individuals show no sign of wolf-dog hybridization.

Distribution

Geography

This subspecies is native to the Italian Peninsula. There it inhabits the Apennine Mountains and the Western Alps, though it is undergoing expansion towards the north and east. Since the 1990s, the Italian wolf's range has expanded into southeastern France and Switzerland. Italian wolves live in a wide variety of habitats including forests, inland wetlands, shrublands, grasslands, pastures, and mountainous areas.

Italian Wolf habitat map

Climate zones

Italian Wolf habitat map
Italian Wolf
Public Domain Dedication (CC0)

Habits and Lifestyle

Italian wolves typically live in packs of 2 to 7 individuals. They also hunt and travel in packs. Each pack includes the alpha male and female with their young as well as older offspring. The alphas are the leaders of the pack, establishing the group's territory, selecting the den sites, tracking down, and hunting prey. Wolves live in close ties with the members of their pack, communicating with each other through a wide variety of calls, including barks, whines, howls, and growls. Wolves do not actually howl at the moon; they tend to howl when the night is lighter, which usually happens during the full moon. Other information about the behavior of Italian wolves is scarce. In general, Grey wolves are nocturnal predators. They move around their territory when hunting, using the same trails for extended periods. They prefer moving at night, being able to travel up to 200 km (124 miles) per day. Throughout the year, wolves undergo stationary and nomadic phases: the stationary phase takes place in the spring and summer months, when they grow up young, while the nomadic phase lasts from autumn to winter.

Group name
Seasonal behavior

Diet and Nutrition

Grey wolves are mainly carnivores and feed on large hooved mammals as well as smaller animals, livestock, carrion, and garbage. They also eat waterfowl and their eggs. When such foods are insufficient, wolves may prey on lizards, snakes, frogs, and large insects when available. Wolves in some areas may consume fish and even marine life. They also eat some plant material. In Europe, they eat apples, pears, figs, melons, berries and cherries.

Mating Habits

MATING BEHAVIOR
PREGNANCY DURATION
60-63 days
BABY CARRYING
1-14 pups
INDEPENDENT AGE
8-10 weeks
FEMALE NAME
bitch
MALE NAME
dog
BABY NAME
pup, whelp

Little is known about the reproductive habits of Italian wolves. Generally, Grey wolves are monogamous, mating for life until one of the mates dies, after which a new alpha male or female is determined, and the pair is re-established. Within a pack, only the alpha male and female breed. The female is responsible for digging a den, where she further gives birth and raises her pups. The gestation period lasts about 60-63 days, after which 1-14 helpless pups are born with an average of 6-7. For the first 45 days, all members of the pack participate in feeding the pups through regurgitation. The mother stays with the young for the first 3 weeks, after which the pups continue living in the den until they reach the age of 8-10 weeks. Females become reproductively mature at 2 years old, and males when they are 3 years old.

Population

Population threats

Wolf populations strongly declined across Europe during the 18th and 19th centuries largely due to human persecution, and by the end of the Second World War they had been eradicated from all of Central Europe and almost all of Northern Europe. In Italy, wolves were largely extirpated in the Alps during the 1920s and disappeared from Sicily in the 1940s. Their range along the south-central Apennines was still relatively continuous by the 1950s, though this population was reduced in the decades after World War II because of widespread poisoning campaigns. At least 400 wolves were killed between 1960 and 1970, with the population reaching an all-time low in the early 1970s. The last documented wolf in the northern Apennines was killed in Santo Stefano d'Aveto, Genoa, in 1946, though this was an isolated individual, as the local wolf population had long been extinct. In spite of the recent increase in numbers and range, the Italian wolf population is still highly vulnerable to local extermination from human pressures (poison, shooting, car accidents) and the stochastic nature of these events suggest to maintain a cautionary assessment.

Population number

According to IUCN Red List, the population size of the Italian wolf in the Western-Central Alps is estimated to be around 550-700 individuals, and in the Italian peninsula, it is 1,070-2,400 individuals. According to Wikipedia resource, as of 2022, the wolf population within Italy is estimated to be 3,307 individuals.

Coloring Pages

References

1. Italian wolf Wikipedia article - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_wolf

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