Hokkaido Wolf facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Hokkaido Wolf |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Conservation status | |
|
Extinct (1889)
|
|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | |
| Phylum: | |
| Class: | |
| Order: | |
| Family: | |
| Genus: | |
| Species: | |
| Subspecies: |
C. l. hattai
|
| Trinomial name | |
| Canis lupus hattai Kishida, 1931
|
|
The Hokkaido wolf (Canis lupus hattai), also known as the Ezo wolf, was a type of gray wolf that used to live in coastal parts of northeast Asia. It's now extinct, meaning it no longer exists.
This wolf was more closely related to wolves from North America than to those in other parts of Asia. It disappeared from Hokkaidō island during the Meiji Restoration period. At that time, new farming methods from America were brought in. These methods included using poisoned baits to kill animals that hunted livestock.
Some experts believe that the Hokkaido wolf might still exist on Sakhalin island. It was one of two wolf types that lived in the Japanese archipelago. The other was the Japanese wolf.
Contents
Where the Hokkaido Wolf Lived
The word "Ezo" is Japanese and means "foreigner." It referred to the old lands of the Ainu people north of Honshu. The Japanese called these lands Ezo-chi. The Ainu people lived on Hokkaido, Sakhalin, the Kuril islands, and even as far north as the Kamchatka Peninsula.
The Ezo wolf's home range included the Hokkaidō and Sakhalin islands. It also lived on Iturup and Kunashir islands, which are part of the Kuril archipelago east of Hokkaido. Its territory also stretched to the Kamchatka Peninsula.
The Hokkaido wolf became extinct on Hokkaido island in 1889. There were reports of it surviving on Sakhalin island and perhaps the Kuril Islands in 1945. However, a Soviet zoologist named Vladimir Heptner said it hadn't been seen on Sakhalin since the early 1900s. He believed that any wolves seen there were Siberian forest wolves just passing through. Information about wolves on the Kuril islands is often confusing. A study in the mid-1960s found no wolves on any of the Kuril islands, but it did find many wild dogs.
What the Hokkaido Wolf Looked Like
Studies of the Ezo wolf's body showed it was similar in size to gray wolves found on the Asian and North American continents. It stood about 70–80 centimeters (27–31 inches) tall at the shoulder.
A Soviet zoologist, Vladimir Heptner, described wolves from Kamchatka as being as large as the Eurasian wolf. These wolves had light gray fur with darker guard hairs running along their backs.
History of the Hokkaido Wolf
The Hokkaido Wolf in Ainu Culture
The Ainu people deeply respected the wolf. They called it Horkew Kamuy, meaning "howling god." This name recognized the wolf's hunting skills, which were similar to their own.
The Ainu would sometimes sacrifice wolves in special ceremonies called iomante. Some Ainu groups believed their people came from a white wolf and a goddess. Ainu hunters would leave parts of their kills for wolves. They thought they could share a wolf's kill if they politely cleared their throats nearby.
Because of the wolf's special place, hunters were not allowed to kill wolves with poison arrows or guns. Wasting a wolf's fur or meat was believed to make wolves angry and cause them to hunt the responsible hunter. The Ainu did not see wolves as different from their own dogs. They even tried to get their dogs to have puppies with wolves to create stronger, wolf-like offspring.
Why the Hokkaido Wolf Became Extinct on Hokkaido
In 1868, the Meiji Restoration began in Japan. Emperor Meiji ended Japan's long period of being closed off from the world. He wanted to modernize Japan's farming. Instead of relying only on rice, he wanted to bring in American-style ranching.
An American rancher named Edwin Dun was hired in 1873. He worked as a science advisor for the Hokkaido Development Agency. Dun started promoting ranching with special government farms. Wolves were hunting horses in southeastern Hokkaido. They were also causing problems for Ainu deer hunters. Because of this, the Meiji government declared wolves "harmful animals." Edwin Dun was put in charge of getting rid of them.
Dun started his work with a large-scale poisoning campaign. He used baits laced with strychnine, a type of poison. The government also offered rewards for killing wolves. These efforts led to the extinction of the Hokkaido wolf on the island.
Other pages
Images for kids
-
Specimen in Hokkaido Museum
See also
In Spanish: Lobo de Ezo para niños
