Seasons – December 2022

DID A WOLF JUST CROSS THE ROAD?

Guest Feature by Katherine Watson, Administrative Assistant

It is not uncommon for someone living on a ranch or on the outskirts of a city to excitedly declare that they, or someone they know, recently saw a wolf cross a road or property. Mere mention of these animals seems to conjure up a variety of feelings ranging from fear and animosity to curiosity and compassion. The animal’s notorious reputation stems from its position as a large, opportunistic apex predator. Traditionally known to feed on deer, elk, and bison, wolves began supplementing their diet with cattle, sheep, and goats (i.e. the livelihood of early settlers). Their eerie, mournful howl and habit of hunting in packs contributed greatly to early folklore and legends originating even before the settlement of Texas. Some believe that the animal is still lurking around these parts and is responsible for the occasional livestock kill.

Two species of wolves were historically prevalent in Texas. The gray wolf (Canis lupis) (pictured) ranges in average size from 60 to 145 pounds, while the smaller red wolf (Canis rufus) ranges from 45 to 80 pounds. The gray wolf generally inhabited the western 2/3 of the state and the northern region of the United States, leaving the red wolf to roam the central and eastern parts of the state and southeastern portions of the country.

Between the years 1889 and 1905, wolves were common and so fiercely hated by West Texas ranchers that special bounties of anywhere from $10 to $50 ($336 to $1,680 in today’s dollars) were paid by the larger ranches to professional wolf hunters for each wolf killed. On other ranches, wolf hunters were salaried and paid monthly for their efforts.  Because of intense hunting pressure, gray wolves were completely eliminated throughout Texas by the 1940s, with a severe population decline over the western region of the United States. Today, the red wolf has been nearly extirpated throughout the southeastern U.S. with only 19-21 individuals estimated to remain in the wild – excluding captive breeding programs.

The biological influence of this species remains in Texas through what has been, apparently, historical hybridization with coyotes – as confirmed by DNA analysis on coyotes living on Galveston Island. Due to the precipitous decline in wolf populations over the last 120 years, both species have been listed as endangered under the Federal Endangered Species Act and recovery and re-introduction plans are on-going in several states. As a result of reintroduction efforts, now managed at the state level rather than by the federal government, the gray wolf is no longer listed as endangered in the northern Rocky Mountains of the United States. Be that as it may, due to the lingering concern by ranchers over potential livestock loss, such efforts are not without substantial controversy.

Before the decline of wolves began, coyote populations were suppressed due to the inability of the coyote to compete with its larger cousin. However, as the wolf populations declined, Mother Nature’s revenge began to exert its effects with an increase in coyote populations moving in to fill the vacant predatory niche.  While the coyote ranges in size from 15 to 50 pounds, it can interbreed with domestic dogs, potentially producing a hybrid offspring whose size resembles a species of wolf that once ruled the Lone Star State.

So the next time a “wolf” sighting comes up in the conversation, the culprit is most likely just a large coyote, coyote-dog hybrid, or an image of a legendary creature that the observer’s subconscious has blurred into what he would have actually liked to have seen – a ghost from the past.