The Arabian Wolf appreciation thread

[Dark-Hyena]

Arabian Wolf (Canis lupus arabs)

The Arabian wolf is a small, desert adapted subspecies of grey wolf which was once found throughout the Arabian Peninsula, but now only lives in small pockets in Southern Israel, Oman, Yemen, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and probably in some places Sinai Peninsula in Egypt.

Distinguishing features
*Typically weigh 40 pounds.

*Their ears are proportionately larger in relation to body size when compared to other subspecies, an adaptation needed to disperse body heat.

*Arabian wolves do not live in large packs, hunting instead in pairs or in groups of about three to four animals.

*It is not known to howl.

*The middle two toes of their paws are fused, a trait originally thought unique to the African Wild Dog.

Cultural significance

*Is the most likely wolf anscestor of the domestic dog (according to The Domestic Dog; it's evolution, behaviour and interactions with people by James Serpell)

*Is the wolf most likely encountered and mentioned in The Torah and The Bible.

[opferte]

*Is the wolf most likely encountered and mentioned in The Torah and The Bible.

Now THAT is interesting to me. Any pictures of this fused toe?

I was scratching between Mishomi's toes today and noticed that they smell like fish and musty gym socks. I am beginning to notice that nothing on a wolf smells the least bit good.

[Dark-Hyena]

*Is the wolf most likely encountered and mentioned in The Torah and The Bible.

Now THAT is interesting to me.

You think? In that case I reccomend "Beasts of the Field: The Revealing Natural History of Animals in the Bible". There is a whole chapter dedicated to wolves.

Any pictures of this fused toe?.

No, sorry. I got the information from Dave MacDonald's The Velvet Claw, a book on the Carnivora in general. I admit, I was surprised as well.

I was scratching between Mishomi's toes today and noticed that they smell like fish and musty gym socks. I am beginning to notice that nothing on a wolf smells the least bit good.

Funny you should mention that. The other day, I was reading recent book called Blood Sport: Hunting in Britain Since 1066, and it mentioned that one of the reasons why wolf pelts were so rarely used (back when the species was not extinct) was precisely because of the smell.