Jeff Wendorff's photography portfolio of
Wolves from the family Canidae.
Timber Wolf, Arctic Wolf, Mackenzie Valley Wolf, Buffalo Wolf... How many different kinds of
wolves are there? Five? Ten? Twenty? More than 30? This is a question that can confuse even the best biologists, who must also decide the difference between a species and a subspecies (type of a species).
In the carnivore group of animals, there is a family called "canids". This family includes all of the "dog-like" animals (wolves, coyotes, fox, jackals, dingos, and others-even man's best friend, the domestic dog). For example, with
wolves, scientists believe that there are two species of
wolves in the world: the Gray Wolf and the Red Wolf. For many years, most thought there were 32 subspecies of Gray Wolf in North America. However, with recent genetic studies, today most biologists believe there are just five subspecies of Gray Wolf.
The collective noun for a group of
wolves is a
pack and if they are on the move they are called a
route. I think these are both rather mundane and we should add a
howl to the list!
Wolves are among the many wildlife species that we photograph on my wildlife photography workshops. You can learn more about my workshops online at
www.wildlifeworkshops.com.
© 2021 Jeff Wendorff. All Rights Reserved.