African golden wolf facts for kids

Quick facts for kids African golden wolf Temporal range: Middle Pleistocene – Recent 0.6-0 Ma
Canis anthus bea in Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Genus:	Canis
Species:	anthus
Subspecies
C. a. algirensis C. a. anthus C. a. bea C. a. lupaster C. a. riparius C. a. soudanicus

The African golden wolf (Canis anthus) is a canine. It usually lives in North Africa and the Horn of Africa. There are many of them in Senegal, Nigeria, Chad, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Kenya and Egypt, and in Tanzania. It is considered a Least Concern species.

In the Atlas Mountains, it was seen in altitudes as high as 1,800 m (5,900 ft). It is mostly a predator. It usually eats invertebrates and mammals as large as gazelle fawns, though larger animals are also sometimes eaten. Its diet also includes dead animals, human refuse, and fruit. The African golden wolf does not like other African golden wolves going or entering their areas. The young ones often remain with the family to help in raising their parents' younger pups.

Description

The African golden wolf has long snouts and ears. It also has a short tail. The tail is 20 cm long. The color of the fur depends on the season and where they live. They usually have yellowish to silvery grey fur. They also have almost reddish legs. The throat, abdomen and face are usually white, and the eyes are amber-colored.

Feeding

In West Africa, the African golden wolf mostly eats small prey. They include: hares, rats, ground squirrels and cane rats, lizards, snakes, and birds that build their nests on the ground, like francolins and bustards. The African golden wolf eats a lot of insects, like dung beetles, larvae, termites and grasshoppers. It will also kill young gazelles, duikers and warthogs. In East Africa, it eats invertebrates and fruit. It also eats other animals like, rodents, lizards, snakes, birds, hares and Thomson's gazelles.

Images for kids

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  Various C. lupaster phenotypes, ranging from gracile jackal-like morphs to more robust wolf-like ones.

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  Skull of African wolf (left) and golden jackal (right). Note the former's more elevated forehead and narrower muzzle.

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  Illustration of golden jackal-African wolf hybrids bred in captivity (1821).

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  Comparative illustration of C. aureus (top) and C. lupaster (bottom).

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  Threat postures in C. l. lupaster (left) and C. l. anthus (right)

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  A Serengeti wolf (C. l. bea) navigating through a herd of blue wildebeest in the Ngorongoro National Park, Tanzania

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  Serengeti wolf (C. l. bea) eating an agama

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  Wolf-shaped bronze amulet from Egypt's Ptolemaic Period (711 – 30 BCE).