Wolves were once the most successful canids on Earth, distributed all over the globe, from the Antarctic to the Arctic, from the Eastern Hemisphere to the Western Hemisphere, and wolves exist almost everywhere there are herbivores. Wolves are rich in species, and today we will introduce what wolves have become extinct in the world, what are their characteristics, and why they became extinct.
At the same time, I hope to arouse people's awareness of protecting wild animals.
First, the largest wolf in the history of the earth, the dire wolf.
The most powerful wolf in Earth's history is the dire wolf, which survived in North America about 2.6 million to 10,000 years ago. Due to their age, they have no direct relationship with modern wolves, and the most similar to them is the North American gray wolf. And they have lived together for about 100,000 years, and there are no hybrids between them.
Dire wolves are larger than modern wolves, robust, shorter limbs, more similar to modern hyenas, large but small brain capacity, so dire wolves are more stupid, but their strong body is the basis of their survival, they rely on plundering the prey of other predators for a living, especially relying on gray wolves to hunt. Scavengers in the food chain. Extinction 10,000 years ago, the cause of extinction is related to the rise of ancient humans, but also includes climate change, food loss and other factors, along with the extinction of large predators such as saber-toothed tigers.
The largest wolf on earth in modern times, the Mount Kenai wolf, which became extinct in 1911.
Living in the Kenai Peninsula of Alaska, the Kinai Mountain Wolf is the largest wolf in modern history, with a height of one meter, a weight of 200 kilograms, and a body length of more than two meters, which is more than twenty pounds heavier than the largest wolf today, the North American Gray Wolf. This wolf has a strong individual combat effectiveness, and belongs to social animals, the largest group can reach more than 100, the living habits are the same as modern lion groups, there is a male wolf as the leader, hunted and fed by the she-wolf, they live in the core area, the rest of the male wolves form a wandering group, guarding the periphery of the mountain range.
They mainly feed on musk oxen, moose, etc., and can also be hungry when hungry. Upon their arrival, the British, seeing it as a symbol of evil, hunted it in an organized manner, and in 1915 the last Mount Kenai wolf was hunted.
Third, the smallest wolf on the earth, the Japanese wolf.
The world's smallest wolf, once distributed in the jungles of Kyushu, Shikoku, Honshu, lived in groups, was good at howling, especially at sunset, generally roared in groups, and was called "roaring god" by local residents, in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, because of hunting livestock and wild deer, Japan carried out organized wolf extermination operations, resulting in the extinction of wolves. Ironically, after the wolves disappeared, wild deer and other animals multiplied in large numbers, and many forests were destroyed.
The wolf that lives on the southernmost tip of the earth, the Antarctic wolf that became extinct in 1875.
Antarctic wolves are mammals of Falkland Island in South America, also known as the Falkland wolf, The Falkland Spaniel or the Falkland Fox.
Antarctic wolves themselves are extremely cute, known as the huskies of wolves, they are not hostile to humans, but they have the habit of hunting livestock, so they are incompatible with local herders, it is said that hunters with mutton in one hand and sticks in the other can seduce and kill Antarctic wolves.
In 1833, the British government seized the Frank Islands from Argentina, and subsequently, together with the local herders who had been hunting wolves for generations, the wolves were killed, and the British hunting weapons were more powerful, and soon the Antarctic wolves were wiped out.
In 1875, the Antarctic wolf went extinct, however, the inhabitants of the Frank Islands did not benefit, without the control of wolves, the prairie rabbit rats and other rodents multiplied in large numbers, the grassland was badly degraded, and soon became unsuitable for grazing and living, and they had to become workers in British cities.
The most beautiful dream wolf, the first extinct wolf in the Americas, was destroyed in 1875
Also known as the Newfoundland White Wolf, living in Newfoundland, Canada, is a wolf endemic to North America, because of its white and flawless body, beautiful posture, known as the dream wolf.
North American white wolf is two meters long, weighs seventy kilograms, is a giant wolf, unlike other wolves, North American white wolves belong to monogamous, living in small families, which is also the reason for their extinction, starting in the 1880s, Canada's population increased rapidly, the hunting team increased, a large number of bison, deer, antelopes, pheasants and other animals were hunted, while white wolves, bears and other large animals are also within the hunting range, because the white wolf fur is beautiful, high value, so it is focused on, at the same time, the reduction of prey, The North American white wolves, which allow their families to survive as a unit, have lost their competitiveness compared to other wolves. In 1911, it was declared extinct.
The beliefs of native Americans shattered by colonizers, the extinction of the Florida Black Wolf in 1915
The Florida black wolf is a medium-sized wolf, they are relatively docile, day and night, family units foraging, eating hares, rats, pheasants and other small animals, especially like to eat beavers, and have made great contributions to controlling the destruction of forests by beavers.
Local North American natives believe in black wolves, calling themselves wolf tribes, white immigrants arrived, forced the natives to believe in a benevolent and loving Christ, disobedience was slaughtered, in order to force the natives, they killed the Florida black wolves in the name of "the love of Christ". And see them as heretical symbols of evil.
The New Mexico wolf was exterminated in 1917
New Mexico wolves, gregarious operations, were once the top predators on the prairie, and their living space was squeezed due to the large number of migrating whites who continued to encroach on their territory for grazing, and the contradictions between wolves and livestock could not be reconciled. White Europeans used the methods they were most familiar with, tying the new Mexican wolf as a thief. It was organized and eradicated, declared extinct in 1920.
The most famous wolf on earth, the Tasmanian thylacine wolf, which became extinct in 1920
Thylacine has a long history, before humans arrived in Australia, it spread throughout Australia and New Guinea, after the arrival of humans, the dogs they carried were rewilded and became the new predator Australian wild dogs, thylacines were invincible, and were extinct in large numbers.
It survived on the island of Tasmania, so it was called the Tasmanian Thylacine. Unfortunately, after the Europeans arrived in Australia, they were hunted in large numbers, and the last thylacine died in the zoo, sadly, it was actually sunburned, only due to an oversight by the administrators.
9. The 1950 extinction of the Cascade brown wolf
Living in the karst mountains shared by the United States and Canada, with a body length of one and a half meters and a weight of seventy kilograms, it is a larger wolf, day and night, collective foraging, endurance is very good, can track prey for several days in a row.
Because of the constant demand for territory by humans, the conflict between livestock and wolves was repetitive, and hunters armed with modern weapons quickly exterminated them.
1960 Extinction of the Texas Red Wolf
Living in the jungles of Texas, the twentieth century the Rapid development of the American economy, the use of land more frequently, in a short period of time, the Texas Red Wolf lost its habitat, the living environment became harsh, the number of sharply reduced, at the same time, hunting also made them lose the last chance of survival.
The Texas Red Wolf is the closest species of wolf to extinction in the Americas.
The species that live in nature have their reasons for existence, and human extinction can only make the natural environment worse, which has been proved by many relevant cases, so the protection of wild animals is to protect natural things and protect the foundation of our human survival.