 | Quick Facts |  |
|  | Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Canidae
Genus: Canis
Species: lupus
Subspecies: baileyi
Height: 26 - 32 inches
Length: 54 - 65 inches
Weight: 50 - 90 lbs
Gestation: 63 days
Offspring: 4 - 6
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Mexican Gray WolfCanis lupus baileyiAlso Called: Mexican Wolf or Lobo Walking (423 KB)
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The Mexican wolf is the smallest of the five subspecies of Gray wolf in North America. Its coat is a combination of brown, gray, rust, and tan. Its tail, legs, and ears are often highlighted with black.
The Mexican wolf mainly eats deer in the wild. However, it may also eat livestock, elk, pronghorn, rabbits, javelina, and other small mammals.
Mexican wolves are native to western Texas, southern New Mexico, southeastern Arizona and Mexico. However, there are no known Mexican wolves in the wild today.
The Mexican wolf lives in a pack of 5 or 6 individuals. The pack consists of two adults and their offspring from the current year. An adult pair usually stays together for life. The packs rarely encounter each other because of boundaries formed through howling and scent marking.
Mexican wolves breed in February and March. After a gestation period of about 63 days, the mother gives birth to a litter of 4 to 6 pups.
Mexican wolves have excellent hearing and sense of smell. They use both of these to hunt for food and to communicate with other wolves. This communication happens through howls, barks, whimpers and growls. They also use body language (facial expressions, body posture, and movement) to communicate with other wolves.
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