[Illustration: FIG. 71. Probable past distribution of the wolf in Washington. A. _Canis lupus fuscus._ B. _Canis lupus columbianus._ C. _Canis lupus irremotus._] _Description._--The wolf is a large carnivore of the general proportions of a large collie dog. Wolves closely resemble coyotes but are larger, with stouter body, larger feet, thicker muzzle and more massive, powerful skull and teeth. The fur of wolves is long and rather stiff. In general color of the body they resemble coyotes, but the underparts are less white and the legs and feet are more contrastingly reddish. Wolves of the species _Canis lupus_ range over the northern parts of both the Old and New World. In America they are found from the Arctic south into Mexico. Wolves occurred in western, northeastern and southeastern Washington. They seem not to have occurred on the Columbian Plateau. Wolves are generally associated with the larger, hooved mammals upon which they feed. In Washington these probably once included the elk, deer, mountain sheep and mountain goat. Hooved animals, except mountain sheep and deer, may not have occurred on the Columbian Plateau in historic times, and even the deer and sheep probably were scarce. There was probably little food for wolves on the Plateau. The early settlers found wolves to be common and a serious pest. By 1900 they had nearly disappeared. In the settled parts of western Washington they were doubtless exterminated at an early date but it is difficult to account for their disappearance on the Olympic Peninsula. To the best of my knowledge, two wolves killed on the north fork of the Quinault River in 1920, or a few years earlier, were the last ones from that peninsula. Previously they were common and I doubt that man killed them all; perhaps some introduced disease, such as rabies, brought about their extinction. In the Cascade area they probably still exist in small numbers and in remote places. There are said to be some near Mount Adams. They have been reported from Mount Rainier as recently as 1920. Trappers state that there are a few in the northern Cascades, between Lake Chelan and Mount Baker. There are no recent records for southeastern Washington. The last wolves killed on the Columbian Plateau were two taken at Wahluke, Grant County, on September 17, 1917. Only rumors--no authentic reports--of wolves are available from northeastern Washington in recent years. The reappearance of the caribou there may attract wolves from British Columbia. Any report of wolves, even from experienced trappers, is open to some question. An unusually large coyote often is mistaken for a wolf. A large, wild and wolflike dog is even more likely to be mistaken for a wolf. The wolf no longer is an important element in the mammalian fauna of Washington and will probably never be so again. The species, like the grizzly bear, is nearly extinct in the state. =Canis familiaris= Linnaeus Dog