Great Plains wolf
| Great Plains wolf | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Carnivora |
| Family: | Canidae |
| Genus: | Canis |
| Species: | |
| Subspecies: | C. l. nubilus |
| Trinomial name | |
| Canis lupus nubilus Say, 1823 | |
| Distribution of wild Great Plains wolves in 2018 | |
| Synonyms | |
|
variabilis (Wied-Neuwied, 1841) | |
The Great Plains wolf (Canis lupus nubilus), also known as the buffalo wolf, lobo wolf or loafer, is a subspecies of gray wolf that once extended throughout the Great Plains, from southern Manitoba and Saskatchewan in Canada southward to northern Texas in the United States. The subspecies was thought to be extinct in the wild in 1926, until studies declared that its descendants were found in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan. In addition, 20 wolves were bought by Dr. Edward Heber McCleery, whose descendants are now located in Bridger, Montana. They were described as a large, light-colored wolf but with black and white varying between individual wolves, with some all white or all black. The Native Americans of North Dakota told of how only three Great Plains wolves could bring down any sized bison.