Young wolf, very bad case of mange

Normally I poke along when I'm driving through the woods, looking everywhere at everything so I don't miss anything.

This time, however, I was in a hurry to get to a specific location when the light was right, and I was zipping along the newly paved portion of the Echo Trail with tunnel vision. I caught movement out of the corner of my eye while I was motoring at 50mph, saw it was a wolf and locked up the brakes. I was able to get this shot, which is only fairly sharp, of a young wolf (I'd guess one of this year's pups), with a darn big case of mange.

You can even see open sores on its side and rear leg, and of course the tail is a poor excuse for a wolf's tail. Wonder if it'll even make it through the coming winter. It was moving pretty darn slow.

Reminds me of how our border collie looked when a fox came into the farmstead out in North Dakota and she chased it off. The dog contracted a harsh case of mange in the process. Our border collie is alive and well 10 years later, though she was NOT happy when we doused her with the medication and it had to stay on her skin and burn for 24 hours.

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The poor thing I didn't think mange was this serious? If I didn't know better, I'd have said that something had attacked it, isn't it unusual for a wolf to be alone and not in a pack? Good shot, especially given the circumstances.

Dave

Thanks, Dave.

Mange can weaken an animal to the point that it can't hunt, and mange waxes and wanes among wild canid species in the United States and Canada. This wolf has been hanging around garbage cans and chicken coops nearby, trying to grab a meal where it can.

Occasionally, an outbreak of mange (which is actually a nasty little skin mite) cuts a population back so hard it takes years to recover.

I rethought the age of this wolf, too. As to it being alone, early fall is generally an easy time for wolves, and often some of the non-breeding members of a pack will split up and go separate ways. A pack's family members stay together, though, so this may not be an animal born this spring, but a yearling that has been exploring the world on its own. Could even be a full grown mature animal that's emaciated because of the mange, for that matter. Take away the rich fur of a wolf and it looks a lot smaller than it normally would.

I saw a coyote once down in the desert run across the road in front of my car and it had no hair at all, just a little on the head and end of the tail. It was so ugly. I think it had mange, felt sorry for the poor thing....steve

Looks bad.......luckily...th​e weather is getting colder, so the flies won't be as bad.but open like that.....I doubt it will make the spring Looks like an abscess on the leg.

Thanks for the info Steve - man, that does sound bad Is the Wolf a protected species in the US? Could it be possibly tracked, caught and treated and re-released back into the wild? Or is this hopeful thinking?

Dave

Wolves are not protected in the US.( we export them to you)....this is a case of nature doing its thing, they won't bother with it.

That's no wolf...it's the dreaded Chupacabra!!!

I feel sorry for the poor thing - I hate seeing animals looking like they're torn up.

dpastern wrote in post #4074764
Thanks for the info Steve - man, that does sound bad Is the Wolf a protected species in the US? Could it be possibly tracked, caught and treated and re-released back into the wild? Or is this hopeful thinking?

Dave

Dave, the wolf is coming off the full protection of the federal Endangered Species Act in some regions, and will be falling under state jurisdiction. This includes the Great Lakes population, which includes Minnesota. Regardless of whether the federal or state government manages the wolf, it would be considered time wasted to capture, treat and release a wolf with mange. Mange is part of the natural order of things, and has always been around. Sometimes nature seems cruel to us, but nature keeps its own counsel and has no interest in our feelings.