wolf pelt

[moose maniac]

The last two wolves i caught have had all the guard hairs missing on the top of their back right above their shoulder blades the rest of the fur was beautiful any ideas why?

[wwbirds]

"rubbed" is the term I believe in coyotes where back shoulder guard hair is lost first

[Bushmaster]

How did you catch them.....if snared, maybe the snare rubbed it off.

[remington 260]

I had the same issue with the wolf I got over a year ago, at first we thought it was from scent marking rubs and when the trap came to help skin It out he discovered sores in the groin area. Mange was the verdict! Sucks, because it wasmy fiirst wolf and wanted a rug. Kept the head to get the skull cleaned.

[backwoods]

Did you get it up by Utikama? If so they have a parasite simular to mange that does that, it renders the fur un-marketable for the trappers up there. A real shame but still saves a few ungulates...

[moose maniac]

Originally Posted by remington 260

I had the same issue with the wolf I got over a year ago, at first we thought it was from scent marking rubs and when the trap came to help skin It out he discovered sores in the groin area. Mange was the verdict! Sucks, because it wasmy fiirst wolf and wanted a rug. Kept the head to get the skull cleaned.

There was no sores,I took it to f and w and they said it was not mange but were not sure what else it could be,the one is huge,it would have made a wicked rug or full body mount it is black on the tips and kind of cream colored underneath,oh well at least they are not eating moose anymore

[Douglas N]

Are you in an area with barbed wire fences? I've seen them missing hair on the top of their back from going under fences.

[moose maniac]

Originally Posted by backwoods

Did you get it up by Utikama? If so they have a parasite simular to mange that does that, it renders the fur un-marketable for the trappers up there. A real shame but still saves a few ungulates...

North of utikuma about an hour and a half,I have taken quite a few wolves here and these are the first ones i have seen like this

[moose maniac]

Originally Posted by Douglas N

Are you in an area with barbed wire fences? I've seen them missing hair on the top of their back from going under fences.

No about an hour north of red earth

[Wolf Medicine]

Two of the ones we killed this year had the same thing. Story is that wolves don't get mange. But that this hair loss is somehow connected to diet and some other conditional factors. Didnt get the whole story myself. But that was the story I heard.

WM.

[Kolt30]

Originally Posted by moose maniac

There was no sores,I took it to f and w and they said it was not mange but were not sure what else it could be,the one is huge,it would have made a wicked rug or full body mount it is black on the tips and kind of cream colored underneath,oh well at least they are not eating moose anymore

I shot one the same colors as that a couple years ago. reall cool looking, shame its no good!

[moose maniac]

Originally Posted by Wolf Medicine

Two of the ones we killed this year had the same thing. Story is that wolves don't get mange. But that this hair loss is somehow connected to diet and some other conditional factors. Didnt get the whole story myself. But that was the story I heard.

WM.

I shot a sickly looking wolf last year by grimshaw had no hair on it's tail and it was missing patches of hair it looked like mange but i am not sure

[Douglas N]

Originally Posted by Wolf Medicine

Two of the ones we killed this year had the same thing. Story is that wolves don't get mange. But that this hair loss is somehow connected to diet and some other conditional factors. Didnt get the whole story myself. But that was the story I heard.

WM.

Wolves most definitely do get mange (AKA scabies), as can most animals. My dad shot one up by Conklin a couple of years ago on Grist Lake that was almost hairless. I shot a HUGE male on our trapline west of Caroline that was missing about 1/3 of his hair. SRD wouldn't touch it for registration when they saw the pics. They did not look any different than a mangy coyote.

[TRAPPER92]

I shot a few coyotes this past little while and the females had the guard hair missing on thier backs above the shoulder while males were very nice yet. This was not mange because mangy coyotes stink and mange ususally starts around the rear and legs.
I wondering if it has something to do with breeding as it is the time of year

[cougar chaser]

i think the guard hairs are being wore off by the males ,,

[bearbuster]

Originally Posted by cougar chaser

i think the guard hairs are being wore off by the males ,,

I have seen this with coyotes also. i have been told it is related to the "breeding ritual"

[moose maniac]

Originally Posted by cougar chaser

i think the guard hairs are being wore off by the males ,,

They were both males that were missing there hair

[wolfcrazy]

I had a couple that were also "rubbed" this year but it was one male and female. They were from different areas deep in the forest.

[remington 260]

The wolf I got was male and taken in late November south of GP

[northerntrapper]

Originally Posted by remington 260

The wolf I got was male and taken in late November south of GP

That would be pretty early to be rubbed already. I caught a huge female wolf a couple of years ago and the hair was short all over (about half as long as it should have been) and not thick. Wasn't mange, although wolves most definitly get mange. She was with another wolf, which I almost caught as well, but something went wrong and I missed him. Foolishly, I skinned her out and sold it for 7.00, with the paws and claws, to NAFA. Next time it stays in the bush.

Wolves, like coyotes, jump on each other, just before and during the mating season, which pushes guard hair off. Some years it is worse than others. I haven't decided whether it is dependent on whether the weather is colder some years, which makes it more brittle. Maybe some of the other dog trappers can elaborate.

[moose maniac]

I just found out the rubbing was due to mites.