Shedding in wolves?

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Kry
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Shedding in wolves?

Post by Kry » Fri Jan 23, 2009 7:51 pm

I read in the book Never Cry Wolf that on an average of four years, wolves will shed their entire coats. Is this true to Yellowstone wolves as well?
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SolitaryHowl
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Re: Shedding in wolves?

Post by SolitaryHowl » Fri Jan 23, 2009 10:51 pm

Kry wrote:I read in the book Never Cry Wolf that on an average of four years, wolves will shed their entire coats. Is this true to Yellowstone wolves as well?
I think wolves shed throughout the whole year, but the most heavy shedding consists in the fall/spring when they are shedding out their summer and winter coats...

I'm not sure, though. Wait for a mod or a WQ Team member to respond.
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CLBaileyi
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Re: Shedding in wolves?

Post by CLBaileyi » Sat Jan 24, 2009 4:57 pm

I have never heard that particular comment before about the 4 year time period, and I would be interested to know how that fact was made into a statement.

Anyway, wolves shed more in the spring, or when they move from colder climates to warmer ones (as what may happen with captive animals moving from one facility to another). They do not appear to all go through the shedding cycle at the same time (some shed out earlier than others) and some shed out in certain sequences (head, ruff around the head, body, hips, shoulders, tail). In Minnesota, some of the wolves at the zoo began to shed in late March and continued into late June. Others were still shedding in July.

The thing to remember, is that, it is generally the thick undercoat that is lost when people way "they shed". The guard hairs generally are not lost in large enough sections to be noticed by people, but they are lost as well throughout the year.
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