How grey wolves survived ice-age extinction - Sify News

Toronto, April 12 (IANS) Grey wolves which are among the largest predators to have survived the extinction at the end of the last ice age around 11,700 years ago probably did so by adapting their diet over thousands of years, from a primary reliance on horses during the Pleistocene, to caribou and moose today, says a new study.

The study led by the Canadian Museum of Nature analysed evidence preserved in teeth and bones from the skulls of both ancient (50,000 to 26,000 years ago) and modern grey wolves.

Analysis showed that scratch marks prevailed in both the ancient and modern wolf teeth, meaning that the wolves continued to survive as primary predators, hunting their prey?

Given the reliance of modern grey wolves on caribou, the study's authors suggest that the preservation of caribou populations will be an important factor in maintaining a healthy wolf population