I don't know much about wolves, I'm trying to figure out if this is a big one. SE Alaska is not known for having big wolves. I snared this one a few days ago. After dragging it a short distance I'd swear it's as big or bigger than some of the blacktails I've shot. Had no way to weight it, so I measured the carcass from the tip of the nose to base of the tail after skinning; measured 50 inches. That corresponds with the largest taxidermy form I could find at vandykes taxidermy supply.
Any ideas what it may have weighed?
Fur color and quality as expected is not great.

[img:gal:65175c153a3c73e38]https://trapperman.com/forum/attachments/userg[align:left][/align]als/2018/12/full-6517-431587-dscf2249_1544847190256_001.jpg[/img]

Hmm, i see I don't know how to post pictures from my phone, I tried to use the same procedure as I use on my PC. Any suggestions?

The link in your post didn't allow me to see anything there, or I would have gladly posted it for you...

I have a coyote hanging on my wall that's 53" nose to tail.

^^^^^^^
The 50 inches I measured is the skinned out carcass measurement, not the skin length.

Gulo might have the best estimate on that Mark. Did you open the cavity ??

I cant help you with the measurements but its a nice looking wolf.

Regretfully I didn't look at the stomach contents, I meant to, but it's feeding the crabs right now. The only things I can imagine it eats in the area I caught are beaver and goats. I snared it along the trail they run along the River Bank looking for beaver. We lost a beaver in a conibear to a wolf just a week or so ago about 500 yards down stream from where I caught this.

Thats a nice one for SE AK and appears to be on the larger size...Without a scale its purely speculation on weight..A Juneau local guy caught a large one last year that he said was 150#. I dont doubt it was a large one but I doubt it was 150#. From what i have seen,mature adults in SEAK weigh in around 85-100#. Dean Wilson talked about wolf weight and size in the book, Alaska trappers Handbook.

This was caught on the mainland If that makes any difference. Generally 100 pounds is a pretty large for most of the island wolves around here.

I think Gulo said the largest he has weighed was 135....and I believe that ADF&G has weighed one that was an honest 145. Largest I have weighed was 106.

I'll bet that guy was your beaver bandit. By the looks of him in the picture he may have had a full gut. Be sure you wear glove s if you open one. Seems to me that ADFG even tells their people to wear masks or don't open them. .

That one sure looks like it has a full belly, and it would be an average size wolf here. Heaviest I've ever weighed was 130, but caught a couple that may have went heavier, but they all had full bellies too.

What's the reason for this, white?

I have never been able to guess ones weight, but one thing I can say, when you pick one up to load them in the sled they always seem heavier than what they actually weigh on the scales.
Biggest one I have seen here was one my brother caught a few years ago and it weighed 128lbs on the scales.

I'd have to agree with rosscoak, 150 lbs seems a little farfetched.

Nice wolf Waggler, congratulations. Looks like you have been having to trap in a rain coat too,

From the pic I would guess 70-80 lb.

Mark, and others...

From hundreds of necropsies on wolves, a 50 inch (nose to tip of tail) is generally in the neighborhood of about 84 pounds live weight (for interior Alaska wolves). That varies tremendously depending on many factors, such as 1) food in the stomach and intestines, 2) age class (pups are nearly the same length as older adults, but mass increases with age to at least 4 years old) 3) time of year (summer wolves about 8% lighter weight than winter wolves), 4) sex (males usually slightly heavier than females, 5) method of skinning (of course, clean-skinned carcass weighs more than rough-skinned), Etc.

I absolutely agree with Spek in that I'm still amazed at what a good scale tells me after I've packed the stinky thing around in the woods.

I'm agreeing with you, too, Roscoak, in that I've heard way too many stories about a supposed 150-pound wolf (that was actually 90). I've still never seen one weighed that went over 140. I'm sure one exists, but I've yet to see it, and I suspect I've weighed several hundred "big" wolves over the years.

By the way, Mark. Congratulations. Nice looking SE wolf.

Jack

Jack,

My measurement was to the base/root of the tail; not the "tip of the tail".
Im not attempting to make it bigger than it is, although I'd like it to be, I sure don't want to be guilty of saying I have a "50 pound coyote/coon/bobcat".

I have very little experience with Wolves, since they don't have much fur value in this area I generally don't set for them, but it's sort of considered my civic duty in this area to at least make an attempt as long as I'm out there trapping.

My only basis for thinking it might be on the large size is that the measurement I took is the largest form size that's available from one of the major Taxidermy Supply companies.

Thanks for the input.

I mis-spoke (mis-wrote?) Mark. Sorry for the confusion. Apparently not enough coffee today, or maybe I didn't kick off toddie-time early enough. The column I was looking at in my data was total body length, not including tail. If the wolf was 50 inches from nose to tip of tail, it would have made it about a 13-pounder. So, for the data that I have gathered over the years, it still computes out to be about an 84-pounder (nose to base of tail, if the tape measure was formed around all the bends of the carcass ). This is just a (semi-)educated guess, because of the myriad factors I listed above. Wish I could be more precise. You've been guiding hunters and packing fish totes around for years, and can probably come closer to the actual live weight than I can. A big adult male wolf from Interior Alaska or even Idaho is about 1370mm (54"). I don't know much about the size of mannequins sold by the taxidermy shops.

Jack

Well, I caight a 50# wolverine(looked 50, carried like 50), that actually hit the didgital scale at 34.6. Empty tummy, and taxi had to add clay to the head shell for the rug.

The comments of 150lb wolves caught my attention.

Last year I had one of mine weighed on a beam scale.
It registered 150, and had been frozen for a week.

I'll try find a pic for comparason.

Most canines and several ungulates carry Echinococcus granulosus. This is a cyst that usually encapsulates hundreds of tapeworms in the larval stage.........if I remember correctly. The gloves are obviously to prevent contact and transfer to the person excavating the guts & lungs of a critter. I suspect the mask is just to prevent splashing or squirting fluids into your face.

I know a wolf hunter who nearly lost his hand from an infected finger.