One of the 6 wolves on WAnimals
Mammals · Carnivora · Canidae
African Golden Wolf
Canis anthus
Least Concern
The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk.
The African golden wolf is a medium-sized canid distributed from Senegal and Egypt to Kenya and Tanzania. For more than a century it was regarded as an African population of the Eurasian golden jackal, until genetic analyses in 2015 revealed that it is in fact far more closely related to grey wolves and coyotes, and that their lineages separated more than a million years ago. It lives in monogamous pairs that defend a territory, sometimes accompanied by young from earlier litters that help raise the pups.
Weight
7 kg – 15 kg
Size
70 cm – 85 cm
Life expectancy
10 years
