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There are five mounted specimens known of today three in Japan, one in the Netherlands, and the Many sightings claimed since then, none of them have been verified. Most researchers classify it as an endemic subspecies of Canis lupus, the gray wolf. The last specimen was officially killed in 1905 in Nara Prefecture on Honshu Island, Japan. Zoologists currently disagree on the taxonomic status of the Japanese wolf. With humans that led to their extinction. It was rabies, deforestation of the wolf's habitat, and and conflict Honshu wolves were abundant in Japan until 1732 when rabies was introduced to the island.
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Farmers praised the wolf for keeping down the number of animals that might The Honshu wolf was known to have preyed on deer, wild boar, and smaller pests. Some believe it may not have even been a true wolf. In many ways, it resembledĭogs, coyotes and jackals much more so than its Siberian wolf ancestors.Īlthough it is presently classified as a gray wolf subspecies, many argue that its physical differences are enough to consider the Honshu wolf to be Their legs were shorter in relation to their body length. Short wiry hair and a thin dog-like tail that was rounded at the end. A small number of wolves may have entered Japan from the. The Honshu wolf was the world's smallest wolf, standing just over a foot at the shoulder and measuring 35 inches from nose to end of the tail. The results indicated that the Japanese wolf is indeed a subspecies of the continental grey wolf. It lived on the Japanese islands of Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu primarily in remote mountain areas. It was also known as the Hondo wolf, the yamainu, and the mountain dog. The Honshu wolf was identified in 1839 as the gray wolf subspecies Canis lupus hodophilax by Dutch