NORTHERN ROCKY MOUNTAIN WOLF Canis lupus irremotus (Goldman , 1937) 



Order: CARNIVORA Family: CANIDAE 



Distinguishing characteristics : A medium to large subspecies of wolf generally light in 

 color, with hair tips gray or black. 



Present distribution : Although irremotus has been considered extinct in the U.S. , wolves 

 in the former range of irremotus have recently been reported from Yellowstone National 

 Park, Glacier National Park, and the following National Forests: Boise, Challis, Flathead, 

 Gallatin, Helena, Kootenai, Salmon, Shoshone, Teton, Custer, Beaverhead andTarghee. 

 Reports are based on sightings and tracks. Nowak (pers . comm . 1973) has identified a 

 specimen taken in Lewis and Clark County, Montana in 1964 as being Canis lupus irremotus , 



Former distribution : All of Montana except northeastern third; Black Hills of South 

 Dakota; northern two-thirds of Wyoming; all of Idaho; eastern third of Oregon and 

 Washington; southern third of Alberta; and southeast corner of British Columbia. 



Status : Present small numbers in wildly scattered groups represent a remnant popu- 

 lation at best. 



Estimated numbers : The best estimate, based on scattered reports, is that fewer than 

 20 individuals, mostly loners or pairs, are known to exist although up to five in one 

 group were seen in Yellowstone National Park. 



Breeding rate in the wild : Probably an average litter size of five to six, as with 

 other subspecies. Sexual maturity at 2 or 3 years of age. 



Reasons for decline : Land development, including loss of habitat, poisoning, trapping 

 and hunting, and the wolf's inability to adapt to most of man's development activities. 



Protective measures already taken : Preliminary mail survey to check reports of the 

 remnant population; complete legal protection in Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks. 



Measures proposed : Invoke protective regulations for all lands within the former range 

 of this animal . 



Number in captivity : Unknown . 



Breeding potential in captivity : Probably good . 



Remarks: Distinguishing one subspecies from others requires examination of skulls, so 

 it cannot be stated with certainty that the wolves reported in the former area of C . l_. 

 irremotus actually belong to that subspecies. However, since most of the present reports 

 are from the center of the former range of irremotus , the best judgment is that they 

 represent members of irremotus descended from those few individuals in that back 

 country that escaped persecution in the thirties, forties and fifties. However, the 

 possibility always remains that the reported wolves are really migrants of other sub- 

 species, or are accidental or deliberate transplants of other subspecies by human beings. 



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