Somatometric Characteristics of the Grey Wolf (Canis lupus) in Bulgaria

By

Ahmed, Atidzhe
Koychev, Blagoy
Andreev, Rossen
Stepanov, Ivan
Savev, Peter

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2024-5-23

Original Publication

Silva Balcanica

Volume

25

Series / Issue

Issue: 1

Pages

101--107

Subjects

Body size , Carnivora , sexual dimorphism

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia, Bulgaria Forest Research Institute - Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (FRI-BAS) [2001]-

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/silvabalcanica.25.e121340

 

Abstract

Grey wolf (Canis lupus Linnaeus 1758) is the largest representative of the Canidae family in Bulgaria. It inhabits almost the whole territory, most frequently the mountainous and hilly areas. The grey wolf is a hunting species in the country. Despite this, there is little information in the literature on its size. The aim of this work was to provide the first systematized data of the somatometric characteristics (weight – P; total body length – L; length of the body to the base of the tail – Lb; tail length – Lo and height at the withers – Hb) of the grey wolf in Bulgaria and to establish what is the degree of their sexual dimorphism. We found that the adult males are 24.3% heavier than the females (t=4.46; p<0.001). They also have a longer body by 8.8% (t = 3.66; p<0.001) and a greater height by 6.5% (U=546; p=0.005). The smallest difference (6.2%) between the two sexes was observed in tail length (U=629.5; p=0.03). The results of our study support the clear sexual dimorphism established in other wolf populations. Further studies are needed to link the wolf ’s body size data with prey type data in the respective areas for more clarity. This will be beneficial both for better wolf population management and for the accumulation of a database.