Somatometric Characteristics of the Grey Wolf (Canis lupus) in Bulgaria

Grey wolf (Canis lupus Linnaeus 1758) is the largest representative of the Canidae family in Bulgaria. It inhabits almost the whole territory, most frequently the mountainous and hilly areas. The grey wolf is a hunting species in the country. Despite this, there is little information in the literature on its size. The aim of this work was to provide the first systematized data of the somatometric characteristics (weight – P; total body length – L; length of the body to the base of the tail – Lb; tail length – Lo and height at the withers – Hb) of the grey wolf in Bulgaria and to establish what is the degree of their sexual dimorphism. We found that the adult males are 24.3% heavier than the females (t=4.46; p