[4] Although superficially similar to the golden jackal (particularly in East Africa), the African wolf has a more pointed muzzle and sharper, more robust teeth.

The binomial name he chose for it was derived from the Arcadian Anthus family described by Pliny the Elder in his Natural History, whose members would draw lots to become werewolves.

The two survivors were noted to never play with each other, and had completely contrasting temperaments: One pup inherited the golden jackal's shyness, while the other was affectionate toward its human captors.

The reason why we prefer to keep them provisionally distinct is that though the difference between the two forms (African and Indian) is slight as regards coloration, yet it appears to be a very constant one.

So far as we have been able to observe, such differences do exist between the Indian and North-African Jackals.The canids present in Egypt in particular were noted to be so much more gray wolf-like than populations elsewhere in Africa that W.F.

[41]In 1981, zoologist Walter Ferguson argued in favor of lupaster being a subspecies of the gray wolf based on cranial measurements, stating that the classing of the animal as a jackal was based solely on the animal's small size, and predated the discovery of C. l. arabs, which is intermediate in size between C. l. lupus and lupaster.

The phylogenetic tree below is based on nuclear sequences:[5] It was estimated that the African wolf diverged from the wolf–coyote clade 1.0–1.7 million years ago, during the Pleistocene, and therefore its superficial similarity to the golden jackal (particularly in East Africa, where African wolves are similar in size to golden jackals) would be a case of parallel evolution.

Traces of African wolf DNA were identified in golden jackals in Israel, which adjoins Egypt, thus indicating the presence of a hybrid zone.

[49] Although in the past several attempts have been made to synonymise many of the proposed names, the taxonomic position of West African wolves, in particular, is too confused to come to any precise conclusion, as the collected study materials are few.

[50] The species' display of high individual variation, coupled with the scarcity of samples and the lack of physical barriers on the continent preventing gene flow, brings into question the validity of some of the West African forms.

nubianus (Cabrera, 1921) thooides (Hilzheimer, 1906) variegatus (Cretzschmar, 1826) The African wolf's social organisation is extremely flexible, varying according to the availability and distribution of food.

Family relationships among African wolves are comparatively peaceful in relation to those of the black-backed jackal; although the sexual and territorial behavior of grown pups is suppressed by the breeding pair, they are not actively driven off once they attain adulthood.

[4] The vocalisations of the African wolf are similar to those of the domestic dog, with seven sounds having been recorded,[30] including howls, barks, growls, whines and cackles.

A pair of wolves will methodically search for concealed gazelle fawns within herds, tall grass, bushes and other likely hiding places.

[4] On capturing large prey, the African wolf makes no attempt to kill it; instead it rips open the belly and eats the entrails.

[4] C. lupaster has a wide range across the upper half of Africa, occurring in Senegal, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Guinea, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Western Sahara, Nigeria, Chad, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Kenya, Egypt, and Tanzania.

Fossil finds dating back to the Pleistocene indicate that the species' range was not always restricted to Africa, with remains having been found in the Levant and Saudi Arabia.

[13] In Tanzania, the African wolf is limited to a small area of the north between the western slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro and the centre of the Serengeti.

In areas where it is common, such as the short-grass plains of Serengeti National Park and the Ngorongoro Crater, population densities can range between 0.5 and 1.5 specimens per km2.

[27][3] It apparently does well in areas where human density is high and natural prey populations low, as is the case in the Enderta district in northern Ethiopia.

[54] In East Africa, it consumes invertebrates and fruit, though 60% of its diet consists of rodents, lizards, snakes, birds, hares and Thomson's gazelles.

[42] The African wolf generally manages to avoid competing with black-backed and side-striped jackals by occupying a different habitat (grassland, as opposed to the closed and open woodlands favored by the latter two species) and being more active during the daytime.

[58] Nevertheless, the African wolf has been known to kill the pups of black-backed jackals,[28] but has in turn been observed to be dominated by adults during disputes over carcasses.

Plutarch noted in his On the Worship of Isis and Osiris that Lycopolis was the only nome in Egypt where people consumed sheep, as the practice was associated with the wolf, which was revered as a god.

The importance of the wolf in Lycopolite culture continued through to the Roman period, where images of the animal were minted on the reverse sides of coins.

Herodotus mockingly wrote of a festival commemorating Rhampsinit's descent to the underworld where a priest would be led by two wolves to the temple of Ceres.

[63] Arab Egyptian folklore holds that the wolf can cause chickens to faint from fear by simply passing underneath their roosts, and associates its body parts with various forms of folk magic: placing a wolf's tongue in a house is believed to cause the inhabitants to argue, and its meat is thought to be useful in treating insanity and epilepsy.

[10] Edvard Westermarck wrote of several remedies derived from the wolf in Morocco, including the use of its fat as a lotion, the consumption of its meat to treat respiratory ailments, and the burning of its intestines in fumigation rituals meant to increase the fertility of married couples.

The wolf's gall bladder was said to have various uses, including curing sexual impotence and serving as a charm for women wishing to divorce their husbands.

[64] The African wolf plays a prominent role in the Serer religion's creation myth, where it is viewed as the first living creature created by Roog, the Supreme God and Creator.