SAN ANGELO, Texas - The main purpose of this column is to educate readers about the marvelous world of nature that can be observed around them.
But occasionally it is appropriate to learn about animals that cannot currently be seen in their natural settings due to human interference. One such animal from West Texas is the gray wolf.
The gray wolf (Canis lupus) is a large carnivore that is one of six species of the family Canidae that have at one time called this great state home.
Other members of this family include the coyote and foxes.
Gray wolves have been eliminated from the wilds in this state, with the last confirmed sightings occurring in the early 1970s near the West Texas town of Alpine.
During the time before man settled into this land, the gray wolf inhabited the western two-thirds of the state, roughly west of an imaginary line from Wichita Falls to Laredo. It preferred to live in the open country of the brushlands and grasslands, choosing the broken areas to provide cover and suitable denning sites.
Gray wolves were large predators, with adult males attaining lengths of nearly 5½ feet from the end of the snout to the tip of the tail. Females were smaller, reaching lengths of a foot less than the males. The males also were heavier, tipping the scales at almost 180 pounds; females topped out at 130.
Gray wolves were very doglike in appearance, with broad shoulders and a wide skull structure. The front legs were longer than the back legs, which gave the animal a hunched appearance.
The coloration was similar to that of the coyote — grayish brown with an obscure undertone of black along the upper parts, while the underside was off-white. The face, including the thick muzzle and broad ears, were more brownish, occasionally with a cinnamon tone. The black-tipped tail was proportionately short, only about a quarter of the canine's total length and colored like the body.
This species of canine would mate for life, and the pups generally were born during the spring.
Both parents played a vital role in raising the young. The pups were taught how to chase prey when they were only a few weeks old, and most achieved adult size by their 11th month.
Females attained sexual maturity at about 2 years, while it took males about one additional year.
Unlike the much-maligned coyote, which is a true dietary generalist, the gray wolf was much more prone to attacking and eating larger prey.
Before man moved into the territory, the wolves fed primarily on the herbivorous deer and pronghorn antelope, occasionally taking rabbits, rats and ground squirrels. When the ranching industry began its boom in this region, the wolves often would turn their attention to the livestock that was introduced, viewing such new prey as manna from heaven.
Herein began the struggle between man and predator in West Texas.
Gray wolves were not solitary hunters, instead traveling and hunting in large packs of up to 20 animals. This pack was dominated by only a couple of individuals.
The stamina and endurance of the wolf is well documented. Packs could travel for hours without rest, and their main hunting technique was not to ambush their prey, but rather to pursue it until it dropped from fatigue. Once worn down, the prey was no match for the sheer numbers of the pack.
With the removal of this large carnivore from the wild, predatory pressure on big-game animals such as deer dropped. With no major predator other than man, the deer population in the state has become a serious problem, with many counties reporting severe overcrowding.
Gray wolves have been reintroduced successfully into the bootheel region of southwestern New Mexico, and there has been persistent talk for the past decade of re-establishing a population in Big Bend National Park.
This act, however, seems unlikely ever to take place due to intense political pressure from several prominent industries. For now, it appears the gray wolf simply will remain an item of legends and folklore.
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