![]() Stories vary by country, region, and time period, but of course this man-made monster is generally of no-good intentions. Tales vary from the usual full moon = wolfman version to one of “between December 24th and January 6th” the afflicted will be bestialized. There are myths of how it is bad luck to either be born on Christ’s one special day, or to be conceived on it as well these result in a child cursed to have wolf’s blood. Who knew? Most of these stories are very similar in the basic composition of them they hail from some of the earliest written records of the winter solstice, prowling around and looking for any unfortunate who dared not be indoors in the dark. So how does this tie into Christmas? Well, apparently werewolves have a long history to the Christian tradition, as well as pagan ones. Perhaps someday there may be an agreeable middle ground found. In the past there were 5 recognized groups: Arctic wolf, northwestern wolf, Great Plains wolf, Mexican wolf, and eastern timber wolf. While other studies of DNA suggest at least 3 distinct species (disregarding subspecies) the red wolf, the gray wolf, and the eastern wolf. As recently as this year, 2023, there has been a paper to argue one taxonomic grouping as North American gray wolves. And thus, begs the question of how to differentiate them when the differences are so minor? And to this day, no one seems to agree. The gist of the issue is that any of the populations in question are only marginally different in physical attributes (morphological, genetic, as well as phenotypic) in addition to behavioral (social, predatory, innate, learned, etc.). However, arguments to the contrary raise the fact of their radically different habitat being reason alone to make them distinct while others still argue that in an animal such as wolves in general, subspecies would be a general gradation from southern regions of North America to the north. This suggests that the habitation of the extreme north was undertaken quite recently thus, not earning the distinction of subspecies status. Studying their DNA, there is no unique haplotypes found. The argument continues in regards to if this group should be acknowledged as its own subspecies (as it does for other North American wolf populations as well). However, most often, any interaction with them is limited to brief sightings and nothing more. There are a few cases also of wolf packs attacking polar bear cubs successfully. In some extreme cases they have attacked humans however, in nearly every case it was proven to be an animal suffering from disease such as rabies. While human cohabitation is usually a non-issue, in the cases where paths do intermingle, the wolves have shown very little avoidance. They are also known to be more aggressive to humans. And their pack dynamic is often viewed as even more strict and exacting this is often thought to be because of the higher stakes for survival in such an unforgiving environment. There are some seasonal differences such as small migrations to follow their restricted food source of musk oxen or caribou that their southern cousins aren’t required to undertake. Behaviorally, these animals are in large part the same. ![]() These wolves are smaller, generally have even thicker winter coats, graduate from a muddy looking pelage as young animals into a pure white ensemble, have narrower braincases, and larger carnassial teeth than their mainland cousins. This group of animals differs from the mainland population of North American gray wolves in a few ways, albeit very subtle differences. ![]() But of course, the highly adaptable and opportunistic canine clan was one of the few to do so. The tundra of the Arctic is an extreme habitat and one that fairly few animals have been able to adapt to. The Arctic wolf is a population of wolves that inhabit the northernmost climes of the globe generally, north of the Arctic tree line. This release is unique for a few reasons, mainly being that this is one of the quintessential species for the extreme Arctic! Now let us get into the article. The model itself is the first of its kind for Mojö, having only released one other wolf species, and the most common (read “generic”) of them at that. This post will focus on the Mojö Fun Arctic wolf #381052 released in 2022. Happy holidays to all! I hope this latest post finds you in the holiday spirit, or at the very least an “Arctic animal appreciation” one.
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