Cartoon's Prehistoric Park Animal Field Guide Volume 1

by WildExpert24

As a Prehistoric Park employee, you get the privilege to work with the likes of previously extinct animals. However, if you want to survive longer than five minutes, then you need to know its inhabitants. From the world of Cartoon's Prehistoric Park, this Guide will give you info on behavior, diet, lifespan, and more. Welcome to the Ultimate Prehistoric Guidebook.

73. Cave Wolf

Cave Wolf

Scientific Classification

Domain: Eukaryota

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class:Mammalia

Order:Carnivora

Family: Canidae

Genus: Canis

Species: Canis lupus

Subspecies: Canis lupus spelaeus

Described by Georg August Goldfuss, 1823

Common Names: Cave Wolf and Ice Age Wolf

Synonyms:

-Canis lupus brevis Kuzmina and Sablin, 1994

-Canis lupus maximus Boudadi-Maligne, 2012

Current Park Population: (14; 8 adults, 6 pups; 8 male, 6 female)

Park Diet: Ground Meat, Bones, Frozen Prey, Apples, Pears, Figs, Melons, Berries, Cherries, Blueberries, and Raspberries

Natural Diet: Ibex, Deer, Wild Boar, Wild Horse, Wild Donkey, Aurochs, Steppe Bison, Megaloceros, Moose, Rodents, Hares, Insectivores, Smaller Carnivores, Birds, Eggs, Lizards, Snakes, Frogs, Insects, Fish, Marine Life, Berries, Fruits, Plants, and Grass

Lifespan: 6-8 years old, some living up to 13 years old

Habitat: Dense Conifer and Temperate Woodlands, Mountain or Alpine Boreal Forests, Mountains, and Mammoth Steppe

Native Ecosystem: Europe, Middle Pleistocene - Late Pleistocene

Breeding Season: Late January through April

Gestation Period: 62–75 days

Number of Young: 4 up to 14 Puppies.

Danger Level: 4 out of 10.

Park Star Rating: 3 Stars

Summary: Roaming in packs of Ice Age Europe, The cave wolf (Canis lupus spelaeus) is an extinct glacial mammoth steppe-adapted white wolf that lived from the Middle Pleistocene to the Late Pleistocene. It inhabited Europe, where its remains have been found in many caves. Its habitat included the mammoth steppe grasslands and boreal needle forests. This large wolf was short-legged compared to its body size, yet its leg size is comparable with that of the Arctic Wolf, (Canis lupus arctos). Genetic evidence suggests that Late Pleistocene European wolves shared high genetic connectivity with contemporary wolves from Siberia, with continual gene flow from Siberian wolves into European wolves throughout the Late Pleistocene. Modern European wolves derive most of their ancestry from Siberian wolf populations that expanded into Europe during and after the Last Glacial Maximum but retain a minor fraction of their ancestry from earlier Late Pleistocene European wolves.

Taxonomy: The large wolf C. l. spelaeus Georg August Goldfuss, 1823 was first described based on a wolf pup skull found in the Zoolithen Cave at Gailenreuth, Bavaria, Germany. It is regarded as an ecomorph/chronosubspecies of C. lupus. In Germany, cave wolf populations are known from three caves separated by a few kilometers from each other located on the Franconia Karst along the Wiesent and Ahorn River valleys in the Upper Franconia region of Bavaria, Germany. Sophie's Cave sits on the northwest slope of the Ailsbach Valley near Rabenstein Castle in the Ahorntal municipality. Große Teufels Cave (Big Devil's Cave) and the Zoolithen Cave are nearby. They are also known from Hermann's Cave in the village of Rübeland near the town of Wernigerode, in the district of Harz, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany.

These large wolves have not been studied in any degree of depth, and their relationship to modern wolves has not been clarified using DNA.

Canis lupus bohemica: In 2022, a new species Canis lupus bohemica was taxonomically described after having been discovered in the Bat Cave system located near Srbsko, Central Bohemia, Czech Republic. The Bohemian wolf is an extinct short-legged wolf that first appeared 800,000 years ago (MIS 20, the Rhumian Interglacial of the early Cromerian stage, Middle Pleistocene) and once inhabited what was part of the mammoth steppe. It is proposed as the ancestor of Canis lupus mosbachensis. In comparison, C. etruscus appears to be the ancestor of the Afro-Eurasian jackal.

In Hungary in 1969, a tooth (the premolar of the Maxilla) was found which dated to the Middle Pleistocene and was assessed as being midway between that of Canis mosbachensis and the cave wolf Canis lupus spelaeus but leaning towards C.l. spelaeus. During the late Middle Pleistocene around 600,000 years ago, the Bohemian wolf diversified into two wolf lineages that specialized for different environmental and climatic conditions. One was a southern interglacial (warm climate) grey wolf of Europe which was to become the Mosbach wolf, and the other a northern glacial white wolf of Eurasia which was to become C. l. Spelaeus.

Canis lupus brevis: The Don wolf Canis lupus brevis Kuzmina and Sablin, 1994 is an extinct wolf whose fossil remains were found at the Kostenki I Late Pleistocene site by the Don River at Kostyonki, Voronezh Oblast, Russia and reported in 1994. Based on the size of its dental rows, the Don wolf was bigger than modern wolves from the tundra or the Middle Russian taiga. The length of its P4 was longer than the row of its molars M1-M2, which is different from the Late Pleistocene wolves from the Caucasus or the Ural Mountains. Its main characteristic was its shorter legs, due to its shorter humerus, radius, metacarpals, tibia, and metatarsals. This warm climate grey wolf existed at the same time as C. l. spelaeus. In 2009, a study compared the skull of one of these wolves to those found in Western Europe and proposed that C. l. brevis of Eastern Europe and C. l. spelaeus of Western Europe are taxonomic synonyms for the same subspecies. These were both comparable to the remains of a 16,000 YBP wolf skull found on the Taimyr peninsula in far northern Siberia.

Canis lupus maximus: The large wolf Canis lupus maximus Boudadi-Maligne, 2012 was a subspecies larger than all other known fossil and extant wolves from Western Europe. The fossilized remains of this Late Pleistocene subspecies were found across a wide area of south-western France at Jaurens cave, Nespouls, Corrèze dated 31,000 YBP; Maldidier cave, La Roque-Gageac, Dordogne dated 22,500 YBP; and Gral pit-fall, Sauliac-sur-Célé, Lot dated 16,000 YBP. The wolf's long bones are 10 percent longer than those of extant European wolves and 20 percent longer than its probable ancestor, C. l. lunellensis. The teeth are robust, the posterior denticules on the lower premolars p2, p3, p4, and upper P2 and P3 are highly developed, and the diameter of the lower carnassial (m1) was larger than any known European wolf.

Wolf body size in Europe has followed a steady increase from their first appearance up to the peak of the Last Glacial Maximum. The size of these wolves is thought to be an adaptation to a cold environment (Bergmann's rule) and plentiful game as their remains have been found in association with reindeer fossils.

In 2022, a paleontologist proposed that C. l. maximus was a taxonomic synonym for C. l. spelaeus.

Italian Wolves: A 2014 study found wolves in Late Pleistocene Italy were comparable in tooth morphology – and therefore in size – with C. l. maximus from France. These wolves were found near Avetrana, Taranto, Buco del Frate, Brescia, and Pocala cave in Friuli-Venezia Giulia.

Description: A wolf's coat color is determined by its guard hairs ranging from gray grading to a creamy color down towards the legs ending at a gray-brown border with white paws, tannish black-tipped tails, grayish brown snouts, and silver shoulder saddles, silver, tannish brown, light gray, grayish brown, black, and white.

The wolf has very dense and fluffy winter fur, with a short undercoat and long, coarse guard hairs. Most of the undercoat and some guard hairs are shed in spring and grow back in autumn. The longest hairs occur on the back, particularly on the front quarters and neck. Especially long hairs grow on the shoulders and almost form a crest on the upper part of the neck. The hairs on the cheeks are elongated and form tufts. The ears are covered in short hairs and project from the fur. Short, elastic, and closely adjacent hairs are present on the limbs from the elbows down to the calcaneal tendons. The winter fur is highly resistant to the cold. Wolves in northern climates can rest comfortably in open areas at 40 C (40 F) by placing their muzzles between the rear legs and covering their faces with their tail. Wolf fur provides better insulation than dog fur and does not collect ice when warm breath is condensed against it.

In cold climates, the wolf can reduce the flow of blood near its skin to conserve body heat. The warmth of the foot pads is regulated independently from the rest of the body and is maintained at just above the tissue-freezing point where the pads come in contact with ice and snow. In warm climates, the fur is coarser and scarcer than in northern wolves. Female wolves tend to have smoother-furred limbs than males and generally develop the smoothest overall coats as they age. Older wolves generally have more white hairs on the tip of the tail, along the nose, and on the forehead. Winter fur is retained longest by lactating females, although with some hair loss around their teats. The hair length on the middle of the back is 60–70 mm (238–234 in), and the guard hairs on the shoulders generally do not exceed 90 mm (312 in) but can reach 110–130 mm (438–518 in).

The short-legged C. l. spelaeus was a glacial mammoth steppe-adapted white wolf. It first appeared 320,000 years ago (MIS 8, Middle Pleistocene), and disappeared along with the mammoth steppe and cave bear fauna at the end of the Late Pleistocene, somewhere between 24,000-12,000 years ago (MIS 2). It was compared with the modern-day Arctic wolf C. l. arctos and the Siberian Tundra wolf C. l. albus, its legs are shorter than the Tundra wolf but similar to the Arctic wolf and may be its ancestor.

During MIS 8-3, its habitat included the mammoth steppe grasslands and boreal needle forests. It spread across all of Europe through the middle-high elevated mountains and followed mountain glaciers down to the Mediterranean. This wolf specialized in feeding on cave bear carcasses found inside caves and did more damage to its teeth than any other wolf subspecies.

The wolves are the largest extant member of the family Canidae and are further distinguished from coyotes and jackals by a broader snout, shorter ears, a shorter torso, and a longer tail. It is slender and powerfully built, with a large, deeply descending rib cage, a sloping back, and a heavily muscled neck. The wolf's legs are moderately longer than those of other canids, which enables the animal to move swiftly and to overcome the deep snow that covers most of its geographical range in winter, though more short-legged ecomorphs are found in some wolf populations. The ears are relatively small and triangular. The wolf's head is large and heavy, with a wide forehead, strong jaws, and a long, blunt muzzle. The skull is 230–280 mm (9–11 in) in length and 130–150 mm (5–6 in) in width. The teeth are heavy and large, making them better suited to crushing bone than those of other canids, though they are not as specialized as those found in hyenas. Its molars have a flat chewing surface, but not to the same extent as the coyote, whose diet contains more vegetable matter. Females tend to have narrower muzzles and foreheads, thinner necks, slightly shorter legs, and less massive shoulders than males.

Skull: During the Late Pleistocene, C. l. spelaeus exhibited a changed skeletal development due to the harsh climatic and environmental conditions, and a preference for taking larger prey. This resulted in a larger and more robust wolf with a shortened rostrum, a pronounced development of the temporalis muscles, and proportionally enlarged and wider premolars and carnassials. These features were specialized adaptations for the processing of fast-freezing carcasses associated with the hunting and scavenging of larger prey. Some populations of C. l. spelaeus showed an increase in tooth breakage when compared with the extant C. lupus because they were habitual bone crackers. The large dimensions, robust build and craniodental adaptations formed at this time enabled these wolves to hunt larger prey, making the adult Steppe Bison Bison priscus a more attainable target than their C. lupus relatives.

Skeleton: Its bone proportions are close to those of the Canadian Arctic-boreal mountain-adapted timber wolf and a little larger than those of the modern European wolf. Some postcranial bones have similarly large proportions to those from the Sophie's and Große Teufels Caves, where the bone sizes are closer to those of Scandinavian Arctic and Canadian Columbian wolf subspecies than to those of the smaller European wolves. Bone sizes are one-eighth larger than European wolves, and this wolf was a specialized Late Pleistocene wolf ecomorph.

Distribution and Habitat: Cave Wolves roam the continent of Europe during the Last Ice Age. Habitat use by wolves depends on the abundance of prey and snow conditions. They live in forests, inland wetlands, shrublands, grasslands (including Arctic tundra), and rocky peaks on mountains.

Ecology and Behavior: The ecology of the early to middle Late Pleistocene wolves on the mammoth steppe and the boreal forests is not known, nor is whether they used caves as dens. Modern-day Wolf Behavior and Ecology will be used to fill in the gaps.

Social Behavior: The Cave wolf is a social animal. Its populations consist of packs and lone wolves, most lone wolves being temporarily alone while they disperse from packs to form their own or join another one. The wolf's basic social unit is the nuclear family consisting of a mated pair accompanied by their offspring. Sometimes two or three such families, with examples of exceptionally large packs consisting of up to 42 wolves being known. Cortisol levels in wolves rise significantly when a pack member dies, indicating the presence of stress. During times of prey abundance caused by calving or migration, different wolf packs may join together temporarily.

Offspring typically stay in the pack for 10–54 months before dispersing. Triggers for dispersal include the onset of sexual maturity and competition within the pack for food. The distance traveled by dispersing wolves varies widely; some stay in the vicinity of the parental group, while other individuals may travel great distances of upwards of 206 km (128 mi), 390 km (240 mi), and 670 km (420 mi) from their natal (birth) packs. A new pack is usually founded by an unrelated dispersing male and female, traveling together in search of an area devoid of other hostile packs. Wolf packs rarely adopt other wolves into their fold and typically kill them. In the rare cases where other wolves are adopted, the adoptee is almost invariably an immature animal of one to three years old, and unlikely to compete for breeding rights with the mated pair. This usually occurs between February and May. Adoptee males may mate with an available pack female and then form their own pack. In some cases, a lone wolf is adopted into a pack to replace a deceased breeder.

Wolves are territorial and generally establish territories far larger than they require to survive assuring a steady supply of prey. Territory size depends largely on the amount of prey available and the age of the pack's pups. They tend to increase in size in areas with low prey populations, or when the pups reach the age of six months when they have the same nutritional needs as adults. Wolf packs travel constantly in search of prey, covering roughly 9% of their territory per day, on average 25 km/d (16 mi/d). The core of their territory is on average 35 km2 (14 sq mi) where they spend 50% of their time. Prey density tends to be much higher on the territory's periphery. Wolves tend to avoid hunting on the fringes of their range to avoid fatal confrontations with neighboring packs. Wolf packs are typically settled and usually leave their accustomed ranges only during severe food shortages. Territorial fights are among the principal causes of wolf mortality.

Diet: Like all land mammals that are pack hunters, the wolf feeds predominantly on ungulates that can be divided into large size 240–650 kg (530–1,430 lb) and medium size 23–130 kg (51–287 lb), and have a body mass similar to that of the combined mass of the pack members. The wolf specializes in preying on the vulnerable individuals of large prey, with a pack of 15 able to bring down an adult moose. The variation in diet between wolves living on different continents is based on the variety of hoofed mammals and of available smaller and domesticated prey. They hunt large mammals like Ibex, Deer, Wild Boar, Wild Horse, Wild Donkey, Aurochs, Steppe Bison, Megaloceros, and Moose.

Nonetheless, wolves are not fussy eaters. Smaller-sized animals that may supplement their diet include rodents, hares, insectivores, and smaller carnivores. They frequently eat waterfowl and their eggs. When such foods are insufficient, they prey on lizards, snakes, frogs, and large insects when available. Wolves in some areas may consume fish and even marine life. Wolves also consume some plant material like fruits and berries. They also eat grass, which may provide some vitamins but is most likely used mainly to induce vomiting to rid themselves of intestinal parasites or long guard hairs.

In times of scarcity, wolves will readily eat carrion. Cannibalism is not uncommon in wolves during harsh winters when packs often attack weak or injured wolves and may eat the bodies of dead pack members.

Hunting and Feeding: Single wolves or mated pairs typically have higher success rates in hunting than do large packs; single wolves have occasionally been observed to kill large prey such as moose, bison, megaloceros, and aurochs unaided. The size of a wolf hunting pack is related to the number of pups that survived the previous winter, adult survival, and the rate of dispersing wolves leaving the pack. The optimal pack size for hunting irish elk is four wolves, and for bison, a large pack size is more successful. Wolves move around their territory when hunting, using the same trails for extended periods. Wolves are nocturnal predators. During the winter, a pack will commence hunting in the twilight or early evening and will hunt all night, traveling tens of kilometers. Sometimes hunting large prey occurs during the day. During the summer, wolves generally tend to hunt individually, ambushing their prey and rarely giving pursuit.

When hunting large gregarious prey, wolves will try to isolate an individual from its group. If successful, a wolf pack can bring down a game that will feed it for days, but one error in judgment can lead to serious injury or death. Most large prey have developed defensive adaptations and behaviors. Wolves have been killed while attempting to bring down bison, elk, moose, muskoxen, and even by one of their smallest hoofed prey, the white-tailed deer. With smaller prey like beaver, geese, and hares, there is no risk to the wolf. Although people often believe wolves can easily overcome any of their prey, their success rate in hunting hoofed prey is usually low.

The wolf must give chase and gain on its fleeing prey, slow it down by biting through thick hair and hide, and then disable it enough to begin feeding. Wolves may wound large prey and then lie around resting for hours before killing it when it is weaker due to blood loss, thereby lessening the risk of injury to themselves. With medium-sized prey, such as roe deer or sheep, wolves kill by biting the throat, severing nerve tracks and the carotid artery, thus causing the animal to die within a few seconds to a minute. With small, mouse-like prey, wolves leap in a high arc and immobilize it with their forepaws.

Once prey is brought down, wolves begin to feed excitedly, ripping and tugging at the carcass in all directions, and bolting down large chunks of it. The breeding pair typically monopolizes food to continue producing pups. When food is scarce, this is done at the expense of other family members, especially non-pups. Wolves typically commence feeding by gorging on the larger internal organs, like the heart, liver, lungs, and stomach lining. The kidneys and spleen are eaten once they are exposed, followed by the muscles. A wolf can eat 15–19% of its body weight in one sitting.

Communication: Cave Wolves communicate using vocalizations, body postures, scent, touch, and taste. The phases of the moon do not affect wolf vocalization, and despite popular belief, wolves do not howl at the Moon. Wolves howl to assemble the pack usually before and after hunts, to pass on an alarm particularly at a den site, to locate each other during a storm, while crossing unfamiliar territory, and to communicate across great distances. Wolf howls can under certain conditions be heard over areas of up to 130 km2 (50 sq mi). Other vocalizations include growls, barks, and whines. Wolves do not bark as loudly or continuously as dogs do in confrontations, rather barking a few times and then retreating from a perceived danger. Aggressive or self-assertive wolves are characterized by their slow and deliberate movements, high body posture, and raised hackles, while submissive ones carry their bodies low, flatten their fur, and lower their ears and tails.

Scent marking involves urine, feces, and preputial and anal gland scents. This is more effective at advertising territory than howling and is often used in combination with scratch marks. Wolves increase their rate of scent marking when they encounter the marks of wolves from other packs. Lone wolves will rarely mark, but newly bonded pairs will scent mark the most. These marks are generally left every 240 m (260 yd) throughout the territory on regular travelways and junctions. Such markers can last for two to three weeks and are typically placed near rocks, boulders, trees, or the skeletons of large animals. Raised leg urination is considered to be one of the most important forms of scent communication in the wolf, making up 60–80% of all scent marks observed.

Reproduction: Wolves are monogamous, mated pairs usually remaining together for life. Should one of the pair die, another mate is found quickly. With wolves in the wild, inbreeding does not occur where outbreeding is possible. Wolves become mature at the age of two years and sexually mature from the age of three years. The age of first breeding in wolves depends largely on environmental factors: when food is plentiful, or when wolf populations are heavily managed, wolves can rear pups at younger ages to better exploit abundant resources. Females are capable of producing pups every year, with one litter annually being the average. Oestrus and rut begin in the second half of winter and last for two weeks.

Dens are usually constructed for pups during the summer period. When building dens, females make use of natural shelters like fissures in rocks, cliffs overhanging riverbanks, and holes thickly covered by vegetation. Sometimes, the den is the appropriate burrow dug by smaller animals such as foxes, badgers, or marmots. An appropriated den is often widened and partly remade. On rare occasions, female wolves dig burrows themselves, which are usually small and short with one to three openings. The den is usually constructed not more than 500 m (550 yd) away from a water source. It typically faces southwards where it can be better warmed by sunlight exposure, and the snow can thaw more quickly. Resting places, play areas for the pups, and food remains are commonly found around wolf dens. The odor of urine and rotting food emanating from the denning area often attracts scavenging birds like magpies and ravens. During pregnancy, female wolves remain in a den located away from the peripheral zone of their territories, where violent encounters with other packs are less likely to occur.

The gestation period lasts 62–75 days with pups usually being born in the spring months or early summer in very cold places such as on the tundra. Young females give birth to four to five young, and older females from six to eight young and up to 14. Their mortality rate is 60–80%. Newborn wolf pups look similar to German Shepherd Dog pups. They are born blind and deaf and are covered in short soft grayish-brown fur. They weigh 300–500 g (1012–1734 oz) at birth and begin to see after nine to 12 days. The milk canines erupt after one month. Pups first leave the den after three weeks. At one-and-a-half months of age, they are agile enough to flee from danger. Mother wolves do not leave the den for the first few weeks, relying on the fathers to provide food for them and their young. Pups begin to eat solid food at the age of three to four weeks. They have a fast growth rate during their first four months of life: during this period, a pup's weight can increase nearly 30 times. Wolf pups begin play-fighting at the age of three weeks, though, unlike young coyotes and foxes, their bites are gentle and controlled. Actual fights to establish hierarchy usually occur at five to eight weeks of age. This is in contrast to young coyotes and foxes, which may begin fighting even before the onset of play behavior. By autumn, the pups are mature enough to accompany the adults on hunts for large prey.

Interactions with other species: Wolves typically dominate other canid species in areas where they both occur. They will kill Red Foxes and Arctic Foxes, usually in disputes over carcasses, sometimes eating them.

Steppe Brown Bears and Cave Bears typically dominate wolf packs in disputes over carcasses, while wolf packs mostly prevail against bears when defending their den sites. Both species kill each other's young. Wolves eat the brown and cave bears they kill, while brown bears seem to eat only young wolves. Cave Wolves have been recorded on numerous occasions actively seeking out Cave bears in their dens and killing them without eating them. Unlike brown bears, American black bears frequently lose against wolves in disputes over kills.

Their dens have been identified, with the Zoolithen Cave supporting a large population and has yielded more than 380 bones as well as several skulls (including a holotype). Sophie's Cave has demonstrated the first "Early Late Pleistocene wolf den", with intensive fecal places and the first European record of half-digested cave bear bones found within the fecal areas in the cave. It demonstrates that wolves seem not to have used this cave as a cub-raising den, but that they were cave dwellers that fed on cave bear carcasses, similar to but less so than cave hyenas, but more so than cave lions. The abundant feces seem to play a role in the "orientation" for trail tracking, similar to modern wolves, and less as den marking. The high abundance in a limited area of the Bear's Passage of the cave might be the result of periodical short-term den use of smaller cave areas. Wolves were scavenging on the bears that hibernated and died there, and therefore a simultaneous use as both a wolf and a cave bear den cannot be expected. Remains of the skeleton of at least one high adult wolf also might have been the result of a battle within the cave with the bears, the same as in the lion taphonomic record.

Wolves may interact and compete with felids, such as the Eurasian lynx, which may feed on smaller prey where wolves are present and may be suppressed by large wolf populations. Wolves encounter Cave Leopards. Wolves and Leopards typically avoid encountering each other by hunting at different elevations for different prey (niche partitioning). This is more difficult during winter. Wolves in packs usually dominate Leopards and can steal their kills or even kill them, while one-to-one encounters tend to be dominated by the cat, who likewise will kill wolves. Wolf and Siberian tiger interactions are well-documented in the Russian Far East, where tigers significantly depress wolf numbers, sometimes to the point of localized extinction.

Cave wolves may encounter Cave hyenas, usually in disputes over carcasses. Cave hyenas feed extensively on wolf-killed carcasses in areas where the two species interact. One-to-one, hyenas dominate wolves and may prey on them, but wolf packs can drive off single or outnumbered hyenas.

Cave Wolves would encounter Cave Lions, usually in disputes over carcasses. The Lions would dominate wolves and may prey on them, but wolf packs can drive off single or outnumbered Lions.

Cave Wolves live alongside Wisent, Eurasian Elk or Moose, Megaloceros, Wild Boar, Aurochs, Tarpan,d Reindeer, Woolly Rhinoceros, Saiga Antelopes, Woolly Mammoths, Elasmotherium, Steppe Bison, and European Wild Donkeys mostly visit the Forests and Mountains during Winter Months and Migration.

Cave Wolves normally hunt Wild Boar, Tarpan, and Reindeer, young Wisent, Eurasian Elk or Moose, Aurochs, Megaloceros, Saiga Antelopes, and European Wild Donkeys. Wolves know better than to stand in the path of Bull Woolly Mammoths in Musth.

Cave Wolves compete and hunt with Cro-Magnons, Neanderthals, and Ape Men. There have been cases of Bold Cave Wolves feeding off of scraps of Cro-Magnon Settlements to the point that they have been tamed and allowed to roam the villages. Eventually they would form a partnership with the Early Human Hunters as protectors and Hunting Partners.

Extinction: All of the top predators in Europe commenced going extinct with the loss of the Pleistocene megafauna when conditions became colder during the peak of the Last Glacial Maximum around 23,000 years ago. The last cave wolves used the side branches of the main caves to protect their pups from the cold climate. During this time the cave wolf was replaced by a smaller wolf-type, which then disappeared along with the reindeer, to finally be replaced by the Holocene warm-period European wolf Canis lupus lupus.

Relationship with the Dog: Mitochondrial DNA (mDNA) passes along the maternal line and can date back thousands of years. Therefore, phylogenetic analysis of mDNA sequences within a species provides a history of maternal lineages that can be represented as a phylogenetic tree.

In 2013, a study analyzed the complete and partial mitochondrial genome sequences of 18 fossil canids dated from 1,000 to 36,000 YBP from the Old and New Worlds and compared these with the complete mitochondrial genome sequences from modern wolves and dogs. Phylogenetic analysis showed that modern dog mDNA haplotypes resolve into four monophyletic clades with strong statistical support, and these have been designated by researchers as clades A-D.

Based on the specimens used in this study, clade A included 64% of the dogs sampled and these were sister to a 14,500 YBP wolf sequence from the Kessleroch cave near Thayngen in the canton of Schaffhausen, Switzerland, with a most recent common ancestor estimated to 32,100 YBP. This group of dogs matched three fossil pre-Columbian New World dogs dated between 1,000 and 8,500 YBP, which supported the hypothesis that pre-Columbian dogs in the New World share ancestry with modern dogs and that they likely arrived with the first humans in the New World.

Clade C included 12% of the dogs sampled and these were sisters to two ancient dogs from the Bonn-Oberkassel cave (14,700 YBP) and the Kartstein cave (12,500 YBP) near Mechernich in Germany, with a common recent ancestor estimated to be 16,000–24,000 YBP. Clade D contained sequences from 2 Scandinavian breeds (Jamthund, Norwegian Elkhound) and were sisters to another 14,500 YBP wolf sequence also from the Kesserloch cave, with a common recent ancestor estimated to be 18,300 YBP. Its branch is phylogenetically rooted in the same sequence as the "Altai dog" (not a direct ancestor). The data from this study indicated a European origin for dogs that was estimated at 18,800–32,100 years ago based on the genetic relationship of 78% of the sampled dogs with ancient canid specimens found in Europe. The data supports the hypothesis that dog domestication preceded the emergence of agriculture and was initiated close to the Last Glacial Maximum when hunter-gatherers preyed on megafauna.

This genetic analysis indicates that C. l. spelaeus possessed mitochondrial lineages which cannot be found among the modern C. lupus, and therefore they are now extinct. It also indicates that the domestic dog C. l. familiaris descended from these extinct lineages.

Danger Tip: Normally Cave Wolves are shy and avoid people except their keepers and people they know. They may bite or dominate people. They can quickly learn how to escape and require constant reinforcement from their handlers.

Reintroduction Project: Prehistoric Park would normally plan to one day reintroduce Pleistocene Eurasian Animals, but, unfortunately, the CaveWolf wasn't part of the Russian mammoth steppe ecosystem. This, therefore, has made it unreleasable in Pleistocene Park. Nexus has thought of making a smaller park in Western Europe, where it could be in a semi-wild environment. Although there is the risk of them interbreeding with modern-day Eurasian wolves.

Significant Events: During the Team's Second Rescue Mission, They encountered a pack of Cave Wolves hunting Reindeer, then a Cave Leopardess tried to steal their kill, but during the rescue, both predators turned to the team luckily they were distracted by a Neanderthal the Team helped save from a Woolly Rhinoceros Charge allowing setting the portal for the wolves to charge in. Another event involved Cave Wolves, Cave Lions, and Cave Hyenas going after the Mammoth Sisters, Martha, and Ellie in the Cave, but were fought back by the team. The pack resides in the Ice Age Mount Predator Paddocks.

Ice Age Mount Cave Wolf Paddock: The third section of Ice Age Mount, which was naturally at the very back of the overall zone and closest to the zone's exit, consisted of six appropriately sized paddocks themed after ice age valleys and steppes that came with large rocky caves that served as indoor dens. It is home to Cave Bears, Cave Leopards, Cave Hyenas, Cave Lions, Cave Wolves, and Steppe Brown Bears.

The Cave Leopard Paddock is a mix of grassland and forest with a cave where the Wolves can sleep. Visitors can see them through the Glass Viewing Panels.

Notable Individuals: The Pups were named after the Dire Wolves from Game of Thrones.

Grey Wind: One of six cave wolf pups in the pack.

Lady: One of six cave wolf pups in the pack.

Ghost: One of six cave wolf pups in the pack. and the sole albino among the litter.

Summer: One of six cave wolf pups in the pack.

Nymeria: One of six cave wolf pups in the pack.

Shaggy Dog: One of six cave wolf pups in the pack.

Maugrim: Dominant Male Leader of the cave wolf pack and father of the six pups.

Conclusion: The Cave Wolves are one of the Lesser Known Predators of the Ice Age. They are symbols of the Wilderness and are often portrayed as Villain, but are misunderstood as animals trying to survive in the Wild. Be sure to listen to their chorus of Howls next time you visit Prehistoric Park.

The Field Guide might take a long time, like structuring and writing descriptions of the creatures, but also my time in college and spending time with my family. So you can suggest additional information quotes, descriptions, and natural or speculative behaviors for the prehistoric animals that I can edit and you send your suggestions either in reviews or Private Messages.

Examples: Inferring what the toons are doodling on the sketches or snarking quotes.

Negative, hateful, and spam comments are not allowed and will be reported, this is WildExpert24 signing off.