Sorry to be such a slacker. I've not done a Photo Phriday for many weeks and I'm trying to get back in the saddle. I've been a bit under the weather. Among other things, I got a new leg cast put on today after 7 weeks of the first cast. Thought maybe there might be some folks out there interested in wolf teeth.

When I helicopter dart or foothold trap a wolf and put a radio-collar on it, it is important to know how old the wolf is. It's certainly not an exact science, but for me, the wear on the upper incisors is usually the best indicator of age. I've looked at hundreds of wolf skulls (mostly Alaskan) that were known-age (from sections of the tooth that were cementum aged) and modified other tooth wear charts to fit the Idaho wolves.


"Annie" 3-month-old female (still with deciduous milk teeth)


"Snag" 8 or 9 year-old male


"Coldfoot" Yearling female


"Garth" 10-year-old male


"Hugo" 11-12-year-old male


"Chiono" 2-year-old male


"Spicer" 5-yr-old male



I'll again say "sorry" that the images may not be the prettiest.

Jack

The notch on each side of the incisor tooth is interesting, I can not figure out a reason for that. The gingiva (gums) look better than most American people's gums. Exdentist here......jk

Jack. Glad to see the phoenix rising into flight.

You've got this. A month away now...have everyone sign your new cast. I'd draw something on it.

I remember Garth. A great name for him.

Teeth are interesting,they show the health status of the whole body.

I'm afraid I don't have the study in art, of the teeth that you do, but here's a small contribution to the pearly whites.

You are neveh a slacker. I'm pulling for you , every day.

Amazing Art Sharon

Great photos Gulo

It's great to see you posting again Jack. We've missed you.

Thanks for posting.
Your posts always give me an education.

Another interesting post about a subject that seldom is given much consideration Trappers are some of the most preceptive people I have ever known . It seems they can dwell on things ,trying to gain more knowledge until they feel their questions have been answered . And those answers are in the details .Do you recall the age of the oldest wolf you have ever examined ?I agree with above "Glad you are back You always add some of interest and value to this site

Nice smiles! Interesting information. Thank you for sharing .

west side - Thanks man! The oldest known-age wolves I've known were 1) a thirteen-year-old black female from the St. Anne's Pack in southcentral Alaska. Early spring, 11 other wolves in the pack killed her and tore up the carcass. 2) a 13-yr-old gray female from the Pot Mountain Pack in northern Idaho that separated from her pack in mid-spring and simply laid down and died. Both old females were dominant leaders of their respective packs right up to death, and both were nearly toothless at that age.

I did not take any pictures of the teeth, but I noticed the arctic fox out on the Aleutians had badly wore teeth. I am guessing it was from chewing on shell fish and chewing them off rocks. I had no way of aging the fox, but they all looked old and some real old unless they were pups of the year. They always had broke off and missing teeth and what was there was wore bad. During the winter when the shore birds and sea birds have migrated, the only thing the fox have to eat is what washes up on the beach or what is stuck to a rock at low tide.

I can age a Horse by their Teeth but no way would I have guessed these wolves until he pointed them out. No age lines like a Horse has.

I find it interesting that there is not more broken off teeth, would think they would get kicked in the mouth occasionally by a moose or just break when chewing on bones.

Good stuff Jack !! Really been missing your posts !

At least it's just a broken leg and not your foot. We now know you are not defeated !

Great piost Gulo.A lot of the older otter I catch have badly worn teeth.

Awesome post!

MJM that is interesting thank for adding that to this post.....jk

Here are a couple. The bottom was from an old grey faced black female. The top was lice infested male that was very healthy looking as far as weight and fat under the skin. I don't know if these had been damaged, or if they were just old age. I hadn't lost any from traps in previous years, but someone else could have I suppose.

Mark -

It's been fascinating, on a variety of different critters (wolves, wolverines, river otters, and mink in particular) which show an amazing amount of differences in dental wear from area to area. The wolves from down here in Idaho seem to have a higher wear rate than the Alaskan wolves. Is that because their prey (moose and caribou mostly in Alaska) is killed and consumed in snow for 6-8 months per year and doesn't get covered with dirt and sand, whereas the Idaho wolves only have snow cover for 3-5 months, and their prey (largely elk) is often consumed after it has rolled around in the dirt and sand? I can imagine those Aleutian predators/scavengers must contend with lots of grit in their diet.

Did I miss a story on how you broke your leg? The 13 year old female killed by her pack, was she in a trap or snare? Part of a pack with a collared member? How did you find her?