I never heard of the Falklands wolf , and would have doubted its existence except as possibly a feral dog that had been brought over by man . How in the world did it get there when it is basically the only terrestrial animal on the islands ?
posted by Dirck
over 2 years ago
70,000 years ago, with lower sea levels, some sort of chance transport by various fallen trees, not bushes or the like, could have brought some over. They couldn't have swum like elephants which may have occurred in the American Channel or Indonesian islands. Yet Australia, no matter how low the sea, never saw any mammals invading its marsupial terrain. It must be that the currents off Argentina were more favorable. After all, it's not that the Falklands are in the middle of the Atlantic. There was a story on Discovery about Australian-like 60,000-year old aboriginal bones and rock drawings being found in Brazil. Fact is stranger than fiction.
posted by mate0
over 2 years ago
The article said there were no other native mammals not even mice, WHAT did it eat? Wolves in this country eat mice! No wonder the settlers were worried about their sheep, those wolves were starved!
I am sure that they ate a lot of nesting seabirds , but that would only be a seasonal thing . I don't think that they have a large population of year-round birds there .They probably also ate calving seals , but once again , that is not a year-round food source .
posted by Dirck
over 2 years ago
Check out this information on the Smithsonian National Zoological Park. Along with many facts, the wolves's diet is explained.
view link
Presque ,the article is about the Maned Wolf , the presumed ancestor of the Falkland islands wolf , and it lives on the mainland of South America , where available food animals are not a problem .
posted by Dirck
over 2 years ago
Sorry, I misread the comment. I'll do some further research on the Falkland Wolf.
Actually I've been totally captivatived by the maned wolf - especially it's ambling gait. We once had a Shelty that had that same gait - I enjoyed watching her walk and run.
The diet of the wolf is not known, However the now-extinct Falkland Wolf diet may have consisted of ground-nesting birds such as geese and penguins, grubs and insects, seashore scavenging, seabirds, seal pups, and probably even vegetation.
References:
www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/.../How- wolf-ended-Falklands-walked.html
www.petermaas.nl/extinct/speciesinfo/ falklandwolf.htm
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Falkland_Islands_Wolf
www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/ 091102121449.htm
www.nytimes.com/2009/11/10/science/ 10obwolf.html
www.wisegeek.com/what-is-the-falkland- islands-wolf.htm
wapedia.mobi/en/Falkland_Islands_Wolf
www.animalpicturesarchive.com/view.php? tid=3&did
www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/ Falkland_Island_Fox
howmuch lower was the water due to the ice age ? might their have been gtlaciar coverage that allowedthem to walk over. The foodd thing is interesting no source of year round food only thing thjat comes to mind is what aquatic food source that has enough meat protean? It is a rugged looking animal. Easiely so many ways it could have gone extinct once sheep are introduced the wolf become targetted. Usually where there are wolves there is a large animal meat source. Might whales have washed up on a regular basis?
posted by yichel
over 2 years ago
This wolff has been facinatin me today had my brother in come over to take a look he has huntedand seen a few wolves in his time. The more I staredI saw a large atrong fox like animal his head is very uwolf like. but it does look powerful righ t from center of his body please keepthis one going with info. Acanid but not a Lupis?
posted by yichel
over 2 years ago
