Wolf Skull: Grond
One of my new acquisitions, this is the skull of a very large male gray wolf (Canis lupus). He does not have a name, but I'm enthusiastically open to suggestions! (Edit: Got it! He's Grond. Thanks, crows_warning and tripleransom!)
I know, I know, they probably all look the same to you. They are all very different to me. Check it out.
Here you can see that his upper canine is broken off at the point, and he has an area of damage around the infraorbital foramen.
He is very large. I'll put it in perspective:
Thane is on the right, the old male on the left. Yes, the size difference is that profound.
The author of the book I use for reference measured a couple hundred skulls while compiling statistics, and for greatest length of male wolves he gives a range from 221.0 to 293.7 mm, with an average of 259.0 mm. If you're a heathen like me who doesn't really have a good idea of what those numbers mean, that's 8.70 to 11.56 inches, with an average of 10.19 inches.
Thane is 273.27 mm long, 10.75 inches, well above average and into big wolf territory.
This big male is 297.18, or 11.70 inches. Bigger than the biggest skull the guy who wrote the book I'm using measured. Really big.
That's him next to Arya, the little female. The range for female adults is 213.6 to 280.5 mm, with an average of 242.38 mm. 8.40 to 11.4 inches, with an average of 9.54 inches. Arya is 221.92 mm, or 8.73 inches, putting her at the very low end of adult; she was young, and also small for her age.
Here they are all together. From left to right, the big old male, Arya, and Thane.
I have stood a CD up behind him for size comparison. The CD is upright and not leaning. That's how tall he is.
Here he is sitting beside the same CD.
You can see that he's missing an incisor, and if you study hard and go to a larger size you will see that he is missing the last tiny peg-shaped molars as well. Now, the incisor was lost due to age, and life just generally being hard on wild animals. I don't know if the nonexistent molars are due to age, or simply that some animals don't have those teeth. I suspect he just never had them, as there is no sign of breakage.
I've never shown you a wolf skull from the rear, so here's one. The occipital crests on this guy are really impressive.
You can also see the strong temporal ridges at the very top.
You can see the amount of wear these teeth have sustained. This is a normal amount of wear for an old wolf. Wolves do not live an easy life.
Also note how far the bone has receded from the gum line of the teeth. This is natural, and a helpful clue to age. Young animals often have a lot of space around the tooth where it enters the skull, making it look almost like the teeth are a size too small.
This guy is really wonderful. I have become quite fond of him in the weeks since he arrived, and he's a stiff competitor with Thane for my favorite. I love them all, but this old guy really impressed me.
I call him an alpha because he's so goddamn big, but that's perhaps not fair. Alphas are not always the largest wolves in the pack - that's often the beta. The alpha earns and holds his position partly by strength, partly by bravado, and partly by wit. Not that beta males are stupid, but there's a social element to pack politics that transcends physical strength, and navigating that takes a certain amount of personal force. An older, experienced, smarter animal may very well have rank over a larger, stronger animal.
You know, beta males get a bad rap all around. We talk about someone being a "beta male" in a derogatory way, when it's actually a great compliment. It means you're a tough motherfucker, and that you perform an exceptionally difficult job very well. Being beta is not being everybody's bitch, being submissive to everyone else. That's the omega. And in a healthy wolf pack, every member contributes something, every member is necessary. Even the omega wolves.
Wolf society is not kind, it is not fair, but it is damned efficient, and there's no room in nature for an animal that can't pull its own weight.
For the new, a note about bones and ethics.
I know, I know, they probably all look the same to you. They are all very different to me. Check it out.
Here you can see that his upper canine is broken off at the point, and he has an area of damage around the infraorbital foramen.
He is very large. I'll put it in perspective:
Thane is on the right, the old male on the left. Yes, the size difference is that profound.
The author of the book I use for reference measured a couple hundred skulls while compiling statistics, and for greatest length of male wolves he gives a range from 221.0 to 293.7 mm, with an average of 259.0 mm. If you're a heathen like me who doesn't really have a good idea of what those numbers mean, that's 8.70 to 11.56 inches, with an average of 10.19 inches.
Thane is 273.27 mm long, 10.75 inches, well above average and into big wolf territory.
This big male is 297.18, or 11.70 inches. Bigger than the biggest skull the guy who wrote the book I'm using measured. Really big.
That's him next to Arya, the little female. The range for female adults is 213.6 to 280.5 mm, with an average of 242.38 mm. 8.40 to 11.4 inches, with an average of 9.54 inches. Arya is 221.92 mm, or 8.73 inches, putting her at the very low end of adult; she was young, and also small for her age.
Here they are all together. From left to right, the big old male, Arya, and Thane.
I have stood a CD up behind him for size comparison. The CD is upright and not leaning. That's how tall he is.
Here he is sitting beside the same CD.
You can see that he's missing an incisor, and if you study hard and go to a larger size you will see that he is missing the last tiny peg-shaped molars as well. Now, the incisor was lost due to age, and life just generally being hard on wild animals. I don't know if the nonexistent molars are due to age, or simply that some animals don't have those teeth. I suspect he just never had them, as there is no sign of breakage.
I've never shown you a wolf skull from the rear, so here's one. The occipital crests on this guy are really impressive.
You can also see the strong temporal ridges at the very top.
You can see the amount of wear these teeth have sustained. This is a normal amount of wear for an old wolf. Wolves do not live an easy life.
Also note how far the bone has receded from the gum line of the teeth. This is natural, and a helpful clue to age. Young animals often have a lot of space around the tooth where it enters the skull, making it look almost like the teeth are a size too small.
This guy is really wonderful. I have become quite fond of him in the weeks since he arrived, and he's a stiff competitor with Thane for my favorite. I love them all, but this old guy really impressed me.
I call him an alpha because he's so goddamn big, but that's perhaps not fair. Alphas are not always the largest wolves in the pack - that's often the beta. The alpha earns and holds his position partly by strength, partly by bravado, and partly by wit. Not that beta males are stupid, but there's a social element to pack politics that transcends physical strength, and navigating that takes a certain amount of personal force. An older, experienced, smarter animal may very well have rank over a larger, stronger animal.
You know, beta males get a bad rap all around. We talk about someone being a "beta male" in a derogatory way, when it's actually a great compliment. It means you're a tough motherfucker, and that you perform an exceptionally difficult job very well. Being beta is not being everybody's bitch, being submissive to everyone else. That's the omega. And in a healthy wolf pack, every member contributes something, every member is necessary. Even the omega wolves.
Wolf society is not kind, it is not fair, but it is damned efficient, and there's no room in nature for an animal that can't pull its own weight.
For the new, a note about bones and ethics.