How do a grey wolf and a timber wolf differ?

Become a Member Today and Support Education About Wolves! There are two widely recognized species of wolves in the world, the red and the gray. However, there is debate over how many species of wolf exist and if there are different subspecies of the gray wolf. read more

‘Grey Wolf’ refers to the species of wolf, Canis lupus, this is found all across Europe, North America, and Asia, sometimes ‘Timber Wolf’ maybe be synonymous with this meaning, but usually it means something slightly different. read more

So, the term 'timber wolf' came about before we knew about the difference between these two species. It does not refer to one distinct subspecies, but is rather an informal name referring to any wolf which lives in a forested area, or it can also refer to all grey wolves. read more

The gray wolf and the timber wolf are the same species. Subspecies of gray wolves in North America include the Arctic wolf (Canis lupus arctos), northwestern wolf (Canis lupus occidentalis), Great Plains wolf (Canis lupus nubilus), Mexican wolf(Canis lupus baileyi) and the eastern timber wolf (Canis lupus lycaon), which is debated by some as a distinct species, the eastern wolf (Canis lycaon). read more