Mammals of Mount Rainier National ParkPotts, Merlin K.
History
Mammals of Mount Rainier National Park
Potts, Merlin K.
Mammals -- Washington (State) -- Mount Rainier National Park
The wolf is a large, dog-like animal, with dull yellowish-brown fur,
heavily clouded over the back and tail with black-tipped hairs.
Occasionally it is almost entirely black or grayish. The young are black
at birth, changing later to the adult coloration.
_Specimens in park collection:_ None.
These animals were formerly found over most of the United States,
Canada, and Alaska, but they have been exterminated over much of the
original range. A few wolves are still found in the timbered regions
west of the Cascades from Oregon northward through Washington, British
Columbia and into Alaska.
At one time they were reported from several localities in the park, but
gradually they were killed off throughout central Washington until they
were apparently exterminated in the park prior to 1930. Since that time
single animals have been reported in 1933, 1937, 1941, 1943 and 1947.
These records appear to be those of stragglers that wander into and out
of the park. The wolf can thus be considered as rare in the area today.
The heavily forested ridges and slopes near old fire burns appear to be
the type of habitat preferred, and most of the local records are from
such areas. The wolf seems to prefer the heavy timber for its home, but
uses the more open areas for hunting, as it is in these old burns that
deer, elk, rabbits and other important food sources are found. Being
extremely shy and silent, the animal is seldom seen even when known to
be present.
[Illustration: The “silver” color phase of the red fox transforms an
alert and attractive animal into a creature of rare beauty.]
Little is known regarding the family life of the wolf, although the
adults are devoted parents. Apparently the pups number from five to ten,
and are born in March or April. They usually stay pretty close to the
den, which is a large hole in a bank, or a protected nook in a log jam,
rock slide, or similar situation. Here they spend their puppyhood, an
always hungry family even though their parents may bring in large
quantities of food. In the late summer and early fall they are taken out
in a group or pack and taught the essentials of successful hunting.
Powerful and intelligent, the wolf stands out as one of Nature’s finest
predator creations. It is unfortunate that man’s economic interests and
the food habits of the wolf clash, and the continuous campaign of
extermination being waged can have but one inevitable result unless
public appreciation of this now rare wilderness animal increases. Like
other magnificent predators before him, the wolf appears doomed over
most, if not eventually all, of the United States.
CASCADE RED FOX
_Vulpes fulva cascadensis_ Merriam
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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