Is this a wolf?

[Smith]

MOre I look at it, expecially the howling picture looks like a Red Wolf. I would bet it has some mix in it.

[Dolomite`s Breezy]

That is 100 % a hybrid.

Wolf/Dog

If he doesnt belong to anyone.. he had to at one point.

They become feral much faster if left alone than a regular dog. And much more dangerous.. someone needs to take care of it..

He/she might have bee a pet at one point.. got lose and owner didnt care or it was an ilegal mix right from the estart.. Some towns do not allow hybrids within city or even the county.

Not sure either way..

I know I wouldnt get close enough to find out who or what he exactly is..

Edited September 4, 2012 by Sour Kraut

[Smith]

That is 100 % a hybrid.

Wolf/Dog

So you're saying it's 100% 50/50? Yogism

[Dolomite`s Breezy]

So you're saying it's 100% 50/50? Yogism

I see what you did there

Ok.. what I meant is.. this looks to be a hybrid wolf/dog mix.. what percentage I cant tell you but it looks pretty high on the wolf part..

I could almost see a F1

Edited September 4, 2012 by Sour Kraut

[zapfbroad]

There are 8 red wolves in tn down in chattanooga, the reintroduction in east tn 20yrs ago failed. Wolves by nature are prone to large roaming ranges & are highly skittish of man. Coyotes will cross breed with domestic dog species it could be that. My guess based on coloration. Many people try to own wolfdog hybrids & fail to understand how difficult they can be & how expensive it can be to maintain & will 'release' them. However, the majority of wolfdog hybrids resemble grey or timberwolves for sale value which this doesn't. Id speculate coyote/gsd mix flavor.

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[KahrMan]

That is 100 % a hybrid.

Wolf/Dog

If he doesnt belong to anyone.. he had to at one point.

They become feral much faster if left alone than a regular dog. And much more dangerous.. someone needs to take care of it..

He/she might have bee a pet at one point.. got lose and owner didnt care or it was an ilegal mix right from the estart.. Some towns do not allow hybrids within city or even the county.

Not sure either way..

I know I wouldnt get close enough to find out who or what he exactly is..

This is the way I am leaning. It looks a lot like the second pic that nate posted above.

[xRUSTYx]

This is the way I am leaning. It looks a lot like the second pic that nate posted above.

+1

I have looked at these pictures now ATLEAST 20 times.

It looks like either 50/50 mix, but I'm leaning more towards 80-100% True Wolf. Possibly domesticated to a certain extent since it seems like its completely fine in wide open spaces.

Blowing up the pictures -- Looking at the size, facial features, ears, & coat has me personally leaning towards 100% wolf

[monkeylizard]

Glad to know I'm not crazy. I saw this beast about 4 or 5 months ago and think about it every time I drive down Sneed. I didn't want to ask on here without photos, and I only saw him/her the one time. "Wolf" was the first thing that came to mind when I saw him. He's a big mofo.

Edited September 4, 2012 by monkeylizard

[BigK]

I think it looks a lot more like a wolf than a dog.

Whatever it is, it's beautiful!

[Guest Lester Weevils]

A friend had a wolfdog who was a real sweetie. Maybe 25 percent wolf but may be recalling wrong. Was kept in an unfenced urban house with a tiny yard, and the wolfdog didn't wander, stayed close to home. Was friendlier than the guy's golden retriever, but that wolfdog had those spooky predator eyes. Strange feeling walk up on the porch to visit friend and getting the gaze from that big fella hanging out on the porch.

Couple of years ago got curious what pre-columbian Indian dogs looked like, web-searched awhile, supposedly the breed is gone. Found some old artist drawings which looked kinda like wolves, but the drawings may have been fanciful drawn by artists living civilized places they never saw any Indian dogs. There have been some breeders trying to "duplicate" the breed but dunno how accurate or if they even know what the heck they are doing, other than breeding wolf-looking dogs. Some references said the Indians would occasionally intentionally interbreed their dogs with coyotes because they didn't want the dogs to get "too tame" or whatever.

An online acquaintance does wolfdog resue, lives out in the boonies in AZ. The mixes he usually shelters and adopts out, he claims are almost all wolf with just a trace of dog, but never asked him how he knows the percentage. Dunno if it is knowledge of the ancestry of the dogs, or whether it is just "how much like a wolf and how little like a dog" the things look, or possibly also behavior cues. He has one picture of him sitting in the living room easy chair with several wolves piled up all around. Lap dogs.

So this nashville animal, reckon he's hunting ground rats and rabbits in the open area? I'm real ignorant of that stuff, but TV nature documentaries have showed wolves living off such if nothing else is available?

[jtmaze]

After blowing up facial features I go with mostly wolf. As long as he is not bothering anyone I would leave him alone. From the pics it looks as if he has plenty of space. Why not let him live as long as no threat to people/livestock are a problem. I am sure the rabbits aren't happy with him tho.

JTM

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[xRUSTYx]

If it is indeed a wolf, living in Tennessee year round with no real predators or competition for that matter (outside of yotes/cats/etc...) ... it may be a reason why he looks so *healthy*.

All the deer, young fawns, gofers, turkey, & rabbits all year round = A healthy wolf. I think wolves in TN would do incredibly well, especially with the amount of cover we have here, and *light* winters

[jtmaze]

When man gets involve in natural selection it gets very tricky, my example is going to be rabbits. When I was young in southwest TN, rabbits where plentiful. As hunting declined and grocery stores became the primary source for food the rabbit population exploded, and coyotes were introduced into the mix. Now we have an abundance of coyotes and few rabbits. Coyotes have no naturals predators in this area( they may in east TN.) See the problem, harvest when over populated( 3 does a day) but do not introduce new species.

JTM

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[xRUSTYx]

I'm not stating I want wolves "Introduced" per say, simply that I could see them doing well, much like how well coyotes do these days

Up here in Sumner county - We have PLENTY of rabbits. Granted, I live between 2 farms, but they are everywhere. When I see a healthy dose of rabbits killed along the roadways, I know our population up here is doing quite well.

In my 3 years up here, I've only ever seen 1 yote, and he was going after a chicken at the farm next to where we live. Outside of the 2 or 3 chickens he's had picked off over the past couple of years, he doesn't seem to have many issues with yotes around.

[TN Outlaw]

yeah after comparing photos and Features ill have to say it looks like a Red wolf

[dats82]

I can't believe Ohshoot hasn't chimed in. He seems to be the resident expert on existence of questionable species within the state.

[TLRMADE]

I know who owns that farm.....

[Erik88]

I finally figured it out.

It is without a doubt, the infamous black panther.....

[Guest ochretoe]

Legs are much too thick for pure wolf and the coat is all wrong for a summer coat on a wolf. I would go with feral hybrid. Mostly wolf, probably with malamute. I have several friends that raise hybrids and that is a big one for sure. I also cared for a full blood wolf for two years. He was a fur farm rescue from Canada. Great animal with no fear of anything. While he was that big, 160lbs +, he was thinner in the legs and face.

[whiskey]

We have two employees that raise wolf hybrids. They try to keep them at a high percentage of wolf. That said, they are worthless individuals for the most part and when they raise a litter and can't sell all the pups, I am sure they release them. They can't afford to feed too many of them, even picking up road kill deer.

I believe this is a hybrid mix.

[R_Bert]

I finally figured it out.

It is without a doubt, the infamous black panther.....

No way. Polls aren't open until November.

[Guest Lester Weevils]

http://www.arizonahybridassociation.com/Understanding-The-Differences.html

In addition to "released" ex-pet, possibly even a current-pet of one of the lady's neighbors? Maybe the fella likes to visit her fields for critter-hunting? Having been a pet at one time (or even currently) might help explain his lack of shyness?

The above link is from a web page of a wolfdog org my acquaintance in AZ works with. There are interesting pictures and articles about care, feeding, habits, socialization. The above link describes the "phenotyping" method used to decide "how much wolf and how much dog" is in the animal.

[atlas3025]

No way. Polls aren't open until November.

This is the daily internet winner.

[Oh Shoot]

I can't believe Ohshoot hasn't chimed in. He seems to be the resident expert on existence of questionable species within the state.

Yeah, it's a cross between a black panther and a blue racer.

Seriously, though, whatever it is ... it may have a collar on, eh? KahrMan, have ya tried getting out walking toward it, calling it? Might trot right over to ya.

My best friend had an un-neutered male Malamute/mix, think maybe German Shepard but can't remember for sure -- I spent a bunch of time with him back when, weighed about 125 or more in non-rut seasons. Looked more similar than dissimilar to the pix near as I can tell. Great animal, could tell some funny stories about ole Willy Dawg.

- OS

Edited September 6, 2012 by OhShoot

[TN Outlaw]

Guys i saw another Black panther lol jk ha