Wolves, Wolf Hybrids, and other Wild Dogs

It seems that wolves, even moreso than bears, are either loved or hated; few people sit on the fence. Ranching and poaching threaten wild wolf populations, especially in the American Southwest, where efforts to re-establish the Mexican wolf are on shaky ground. Habitat loss has all but eliminated wolves in Western Europe, and increased contact with people and interbreeding with domestic dogs are gradually whittling down wolf populations in India and Southeast Asia.

It is estimated that as many as 100,000 wolves and wolf-dog hybrids are born into captivity in the United States each year. Multiply that by an average lifespan of around ten years, and that's a lot of wolves and wolf-dogs. In spite of the troubles they've faced in the southern parts of their range, wolves are anything but rare in captivity. Even though it was the ancestor of the domestic dog, the wolf is fundamentally unsuited to life in captivity, perhaps more than any other terrestrial mammal. Confinement and lack of exercise usually lead to severe aggression; lack of normal socialization can result in psychosis. Captive wolves often suffer from health problems resulting from inappropriate nutrition, and veterinary issues may go undetected when animals cannot be handled by their caretakers. Countless wolves are euthanized every year when sanctuaries are unable to care for more animals.

Wolf hybrids face perhaps a worse fate, as they are generally subject to the same legislation as pure wolves, but their mixed lineage makes them less desirable to collectors, and their greater numbers make for a thoroughly flooded market. Hundreds of sanctuaries are needed to care for them all, but it seems that every year, wolf sanctuaries are closing due to lack of funding, or as a result of fraudulent business practices and animal welfare violations.

Where wolves have seen a decline in their wild populations, coyotes have enjoyed success. It seems that no matter what efforts are made to eliminate them, they continue to thrive; the only successful means of reducing coyote numbers appears to be the reintroduction
of wolves, which kill coyotes as competitors for food. Coyotes have even moved into urban America, where they feed on garbage and domestic cats. The coyote is less common than the wolf in captivity, but not rare. Coyotes are also able to interbreed with dogs, resulting in a hybrid known as a coydog. Coydogs have become established in parts of the US, where their mixture of coyote cunning and dog boldness reputedly makes them a menace to ranchers.

The red fox is found throughout Europe, most of Asia and North America, and in parts of North Africa and the Middle East; it has also been introduced in Australia. Like coyotes, fox populations are fairly stable through most of their range. They are common in captivity thanks to the popularity of their pelts in the fur trade; like wolves, red foxes come in different color phases, with the silver phase animals commanding the highest price. Silver phase foxes are not to be confused with the grey fox, which is also unique in that it is one of the few dogs in the world with partially retractile claws, enabling it to climb trees. Because of their role in what some would call legitimate 'agriculture', the USDA classifies the red fox as a domestic species, despite the fact that there is no genetic, physical, or behavioral difference between captive foxes and wild ones. About 50,000 red foxes are killed on fur farms each year in the United States, in an industry that is largely unregulated, and tolerated by the many for the financial gain of the very, very few.

Many other wild dog species are found throughout the world, and most of them find their way into the exotic animal trade, either locally within their native ranges, or internationally, as is the case with the tiny fennec fox. These little foxes are growing in popularity in the US, where they are marketed as house pets. Their small size makes fennecs easy to hide from state and federal wildlife authorities, but it does not make them appropriate pets. Fennec foxes are best suited to life in the Sahara; there are many small dogs available for adoption at humane societies throughout the US, leaving no viable need for the trade in fennec foxes or any other wild dog species.