Florida red wolf
| Florida red wolf | ||||||||||||
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Florida red wolf ( Canis rufus floridanus ) |
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| Canis rufus floridanus | ||||||||||||
| Miller , 1912 |
The Florida Black Wolf ( Canis rufus floridanus ), also known as Eastern Red Wolf or Florida Wolf called, is an extinct subspecies of Rotwolfs .
description
The Florida red wolf was first described in 1791 by William Bartram as a separate species Rufus niger . However, it is closely related to the red wolf and was therefore classified as a subspecies by Gerrit Smith Miller in 1912 . It reached a length of 150 centimeters. His fur was completely black. It was smaller than the gray wolf , but its ears were longer and the muzzle wider than the gray wolf's.
distribution and habitat
He inhabited the deciduous and swamp forests of Florida , Tennessee , Alabama and southern Georgia .
Food and way of life
The Florida red wolf fed on small mammals, birds, fish, lizards and fruits, but also on sheep and deer. Five to seven puppies were born in the spring.
die out
The Florida red wolf was once widespread from Florida via Tennessee to southern Georgia. The last animal was shot in Florida in 1908. In 1894 he was ousted from the great swamps near Mobile County and Baldwin Counties in Alabama . Around 1910, the last of the Florida red wolves survived in some hilly areas in Colbert County , Alabama. Driven by hunger, they tore the farmers' sheep. Thereupon the last wolves were mercilessly shot, caught in traps and poisoned. The last Florida red wolf was killed in 1917. However, it later turned out to be a hybrid of a red wolf and a Florida red wolf.
literature
- David Day: The Doomsday Book of Animals . Ebury Press, London 1981, ISBN 0-670-27987-0 .
- Walton Beacham: World Wildlife Fund Guide to Extinct Species of Modern Times . 1997, ISBN 0-933833-40-7 .
- Stephen R. Humphrey (Ed.): Rare and Endangered Biota of Florida. Volume 1. Mammals . University Press of Florida, Gainesville, 1992. ISBN 0-8130-1127-2