We went to Arkansas to pick up Raider in February 2019. We found him on a Wolf Hybrid Rescue page and a sponsor donated the funds for us to fly there, rent a large SUV and drive him the 1200 miles back to California. He had been abandoned by his original owner and a lady took him in, but he kept hopping the fence into her in-laws yard and killing their chickens, so her only option was to tether him between two trees, but she knew that wouldn’t be a good life for him so she put him on that rescue site where we found him. Raider is 70% arctic wolf and 30% German Shepherd. Even though he is considered high content wolf, his personality is very much like a dog most of the time. He is an amazing ambassador for a wolf hybrid. Wolf hybrids generally do not make good pets as they can be very unpredictable, you just never know when their wolf side is going to surface. They have one of the strongest jaws of any land mammal and can dig a hole 3 feet wide and 3 feet deep in 20 minutes. They are also escape artists, requiring a fence that is not only buried at least 3 feet deep and 3 feet in, but needs to be a minimum of 8 feet high, otherwise they will find a way out! In other words, these are not your average dog, they require people that have vast knowledge and experience with them for it to be a successful relationship.
ORDER: Carnivora
FAMILY: Canidae
GENUS: Canis
SPECIES: Lupus
The wolf is the largest species of the wild dog family. A hybrid wolf happens most of the time from human intervention. A wolf and domesticated dog are purposely bred to create a combined version of the two, mostly for the pet trade. The problem is a wolf does not “domesticate” in one breeding and this can often be very detrimental to the pups, especially once they mature. They have an acute sense of smell and hearing. They travel in packs, about 7 to 8 individuals, with one alpha male and one alpha female. They are most active at sunrise and sunset but prefer to move under the cover of darkness. They do not accept strangers into their pack easily. They are apex predators who’s job it is to keep ecosystems in order and working smoothy. If you would like further info on the wolf, you can check out, “How Wolves Change Rivers”, narrated by Dave Attenborough.
Threats
Habitat loss and fragmentation. Shot on sight for being considered livestock predators.
Conservation Status
LC - Least Concern