Northwestern wolf
| Northwestern wolf Canis lupus occidentalis Temporal range: Late - recent |
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| C. l. occidentalis at the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center at West Yellowstone, Montana. | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Family: | Canidae |
| Genus: | Canis |
| Species: | C. lupus |
| Subspecies: | C. l. occidentalis |
| Trinomial name | |
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Canis lupus occidentalis Richardson, 1829 |
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| C. l. occidentalis range (green) | |
| Synonyms | |
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The northwestern wolf, Canis lupus occidentalis, also known as the Mackenzie Valley wolf, Alaskan timber wolf,Canadian timber wolf, or northern timber wolf, is a subspecies of gray wolf in western North America. It ranges from Alaska, the upper Mackenzie River Valley; southward into the Canadian provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, and Saskatchewan as well as the Northwestern United States.
Along with C. l. nubilus, C. l. occidentalis is the most widespread member of the five gray wolf subspecies in North America, with at least six different synonyms.
The subspecies was first written of by Scottish naturalist Sir John Richardson in 1829. He chose to give it the name occidentalis in reference to its geographic location rather than label it by its color, as it was too variable to warrant such.Phylogenetic analyses of North American gray wolves show that there are three clades corresponding to C. l. occidentalis, C. l. nubilus and C. l. baileyi, each one representing a separate invasion into North America from distinct Eurasian ancestors. C. l. occidentalis, the most northwestern subspecies, is descended from the last gray wolves to colonize North America. It likely crossed into North America through the Bering land bridge after the last ice age, displacing C. l. nubilus populations as it advanced, a process which has continued till present times.
Northwestern wolves have been responsible for a few notable attacks on humans, with at least two fatal attacks in the 21st century in which both victims were partially eaten: in 2005, a young man was killed in Points North Landing, Saskatchewan, Canada while in 2010, a young woman was killed while jogging near Chignik on the Alaska Peninsula.
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Wikipedia