Since my book signing tonight isn't until 6pm (Schlafly Public Library!), I spent the day at the St. Louis Zoo! I got to see some of my favorite animals, and was glad to see everyone looking well cared for, and not a bit of stereotyped behavior. I haven't been to this zoo in almost four decades, so it was a real treat to explore. I had to go into the herp house twice before the Kiki dart frogs came out, but they were worth the wait! And everyone seemed to agree that mid afternoon is a great time for a nap.
The first of several red wolf pairs was recently released into the wild by USFW, and the Facebook comments on the official announcement are of course filled with uneducated hunters and self-proclaimed “wildlife biologists” labeling them “vermin,” “coyotes,” or “not real wolves,” and openely promising to shoot or trap them to “protect” the deer and turkeys. The red wolf project is incredibly personal to me, and it’s absolutely nauseating to see cruel, selfish humans threaten the lives of animals I know and have cared for.
Red wolves (Canis rufus) are native to the southeastern United States. We have fossil evidence dating them back at least 10,000 years. Recent DNA evidence (2021) suggests their presence in North America may predate even gray wolves and coyotes, making it impossible for the species to be simply wolf-coyote hybrids as was once widely believed. The American Society of Mammology recognizes them as a distinct species, and they are protected under the Endangered Species Act.
Red wolves are a separate, unique species. Red wolves are part of the natural ecosystem of the southeastern United States, and they have been here long before European colonists ever arrived. Red wolves belong on their ancestral land. They are considered critically endangered by the IUCN Red List, and killing one carries grave legal consequences under federal law. Conservation is about maintaining a healthy planet of both predators and prey, not preserving overpopulations of game species so there’s plenty to go around for recreational hunters.
Coyotes! One of the most under-appreciated animals in North America and yet one of the most resilient creatures that exists. They are opportunistic eaters and therefore able to be flexible in their diets, their pack structure and litter sizes are ever-changing based on resources available in their area and the size of the current population, and they are incredibly intelligent. They have a variety of communication styles including barks, yelps, and howls, and they are extremely creative hunters, using tactics like diversions and scaring prey into traps to catch what they need with minimal risk or failure.
Pictured above are two of the coyotes at Wild Spirit, because in addition to wolves and wolf-dogs, we’re also home to many other wild canids in need of sanctuary. Lyla Rose, the female blond, and Jasa, the male redhead, have lived in captivity since they were pups. They were den-robbed by hunters who killed their parents, and of course, did not work well as “pets” in homes. So they’re here, lifelong partners as most coyotes are, and they are helping us teach people (particularly New Mexicans) about the importance of this species and the incredible gifts they carry.
The bat-eared fox (Otocyon megalotis), also known as big-eared fox, black-eared fox, cape fox, and Delalande’s fox, is a species of fox found on the African savanna, named for its large ears, which are used for thermoregulation. It is considered a basal canid species, resembling ancestral forms of the family. It is the only species in the genus Otocyon.
The bat-eared fox commonly occurs in short grasslands, as well as the more arid regions of the savanna. It prefers bare ground and areas where grass is kept short by grazing ungulates. It tends to hunt in these short grass and low shrub habitats. However, it does venture into areas with tall grasses and thick shrubs to hide when threatened.
The bat-eared fox is predominantly an insectivore that uses its large ears to locate its prey. About 80–90% of their diet is harvester termites (Hodotermes mossambicus). When this particular species of termite is not available, they feed on other species of termites and have also been observed consuming other arthropods such as ants, beetles, crickets, grasshoppers, millipedes, moths, scorpions, spiders, and rarely birds, small mammals, reptiles, and fungi. The insects they eat fulfill the majority of their water intake needs. The bat-eared fox refuses to feed on snouted harvester termites, likely because it is not adapted to tolerate termites’ chemical defense.
Individuals usually hunt in groups, mostly in pairs and groups of three. Individuals forage as singles after family groups break in June or July and during the months after cub birth. Prey is located primarily by auditory means, rather than by smell or sight. In the midsummer, individuals begin foraging at sunset, continuing throughout the night, and fading into the early morning; foraging is almost exclusively diurnal during the winter.
Bat-eared foxes are highly social animals. They often live in pairs or groups of up to 15 individuals, and home ranges of groups either overlap substantially or very little. Individuals forage, play, and rest together in a group, which helps in protection against predators.
The raccoon dog (Nyctereutes procyonoides), also known as the mangut (after its Evenk name) or tanuki (after its Japanese name), is a canid indigenous to East Asia. It is the only extant species in the genus Nyctereutes. It is considered a basal canid species, resembling ancestral forms of the family. The raccoon dog shares the habit of regularly climbing trees only with the North American gray fox, another basal species. Raccoon dogs are the only canids known to hibernate.
In reflection of their omnivorous diets, raccoon dogs have small and weak canines and carnassials, flat molars and relatively long intestines (1.5–2 times longer than other canids). They have long torsos and short legs. The winter fur is long and thick with dense underfur and coarse guard hairs measuring 120 mm in length. It is of a dirty, earth-brown or brownish-grey colour with black guard hairs. The abdomen is yellowish-brown, while the chest is dark brown or blackish. The summer fur is brighter and reddish-straw colored. A rare, white color phase occurs in this species in Japan and in China.
In early winter, they increase their subcutaneous fat by 18–23% and their internal fat by 3–5%. Animals failing to reach these fat levels usually do not survive the winter. During their hibernation, their metabolism decreases by 25%. In December, their physical activity decreases once snow depth reaches 15–20 cm, and will limit the range from their burrows to no more than 150–200 m. Their daily activities increase during February when the females become receptive and when food is more available.
Raccoon dogs are omnivores that feed on insects, rodents, amphibians, birds, fish, reptiles, molluscs, carrion and insectivores as well as fruits, nuts and berries. Raccoon dogs are able to eat toads which have toxic skin secretions by producing copious amounts of saliva to dilute the toxins. Raccoon dogs will modify their diets seasonally; in late autumn and winter, they feed mostly on rodents, carrion and feces, while fruit, insects and amphibians predominate in spring. In summer, they eat fewer rodents, and mainly target nesting birds and fruits, grains and vegetables.
The island fox (Urocyon littoralis) is a small fox that is native to six of the eight Channel Islands of California. There are six subspecies of the island fox,[1] each of which is native to a specific Channel Island, and which evolved there independently of the others. Because the island fox is geographically isolated, it has no immunity to parasites and diseases brought in from the mainland and is especially vulnerable to those that the domestic dog may carry. In addition, predation by the golden eagle and human activities devastated fox numbers on several of the Channel Islands in the 1990s. Four island fox subspecies were federally protected as an endangered species in 2004. As of 2013, the IUCN lists the entire species as near threatened, an improvement from its previous status of "critically endangered."
The island fox shares the Urocyon genus with the mainland gray fox, the species from which it is descended. Its small size is a result of insular dwarfism. The small size of the island fox is an adaptation to the limited resources available in the island environment. The foxes are believed to have "rafted" to the northern islands between 10,400 and 16,000 years ago.
The island fox is significantly smaller than the gray fox and is probably the smallest fox in North America, averaging slightly smaller than the swift and kit foxes. Foxes from each island are capable of interbreeding, but have genetic and phenotypic distinctions that make them unique; for example, the subspecies have differing numbers of tail vertebrae.
The Arabian red fox (Vulpes vulpes arabica) is a subspecies of the red fox native to Arabia. The Arabian red fox is similar to the common red fox. However, it is more adapted to desert life than its parent species. As they lack the long dense fur of the European fox they appear to have thin bodies and long legs, but proportionally they are the same, with the exception of their ears. These are larger and have thousands of tiny blood vessels that help the fox to maintain its body temperature. Reddish to sandy-brown, their color has adapted to the environment in which they are living. The Arabian red fox also has fur between its toes, to prevent burning of the feet.
This fox is a solitary animal with well defined home ranges. Its diet consists of rodents, birds, and fish as well as some desert vegetation or even carrion. They are most active at night.
The cubs, numbering up to six per litter, are raised in a burrow that the vixen excavates herself and often uses year after year. They are born in early spring, fully furred but blind and their eyes open after about 10 days. At the age of four weeks they start taking solid food and this is also the time when they begin exploring the surroundings of their burrow. Soon after this they follow the vixen on short hunting trips.
As long ago as 1880 the evolutionary biologist Thomas Huxley commented that Egyptian golden jackals looked suspiciously like grey wolves. The same doubts have been raised by several 20th century biologists studying the animals' skulls. Researchers using DNA evidence have now proven that it is not a jackal at all, but a type of grey wolf.
These remarkable findings provide strong and compelling evidence that the African golden jackal represents the first discovery of a canid species in Africa that is new to science in over 150 years.
The evolutionary relationships, or phylogenetics, of jackals have long been a mess, according to Adam Hartstone-Rose, an Associate Professor of Cell Biology and Anatomy at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine. Traditionally, most taxonomists have recognised three jackal species: the black-backed, side-striped and golden jackals -- all of which live in Africa, with the golden jackal also ranging throughout much of Eurasia.
“The three ‘species’ were considered close relatives based mostly on their similar body size and morphology”, explained Professor Hartstone-Rose in email. “However, as the first molecular analyses of canids became available, it was obvious that ‘jackals’ are only similar based on amazing morphological convergences.”
Multiple DNA markers show African and Eurasian golden jackals are different. According to the authors a paper in Current Biology , two golden jackal populations -- one in Eurasia and the other in Africa -- split more than one million years ago, which is sufficient to formally recognize each as separate species. Further, after exhaustive DNA analyses, the authors were surprised to learn that African golden jackals are more closely related to grey wolves, even though there are no grey wolves in Africa and even though grey wolves and African golden jackals look dramatically different. Adding to the confusion, African golden jackals are strikingly similar in appearance to their more distant relative, the Eurasian golden jackal. The golden jackals are only distantly related to the other two African jackal species, even though they are all placed into the same genus.
This painstaking work shines a powerful light on the convoluted relationship between ecology and evolution, and reveals how ecology can lead to confusion amongst even the most astute experts when it comes to identifying species. Further, these findings demonstrate why it is critical to analyse living species from all perspectives -- anatomic, behavioral, ecological and genetic -- in order to truly understand the evolution of those species. This research also has important conservation implications. For example, as established here, one widespread species may actually be several cryptic species.
Golden jackal: A new wolf species hiding in plain sight
Egyptian golden jackal is actually a grey wolf, scientists discover in DNA test
