Vancouver Coastal Island Wolf
by Amy E Fraser
Title
Vancouver Coastal Island Wolf
Artist
Amy E Fraser
Medium
Painting - Oil Pastel On Paper
Description
The Vancouver Coastal Island Wolf by Amy E. Fraser. This is an expressive black wolf portrait in shades of black and gray with wise golden eyes complimented with a bright sunshine yellow background.
The Vancouver Coastal Sea wolf or Vancouver Coastal Island wolf (Canis lupus crassodon) is a subspecies of grey wolf, endemic to Great Bear Rainforest and northern Vancouver Island within the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America. It lives in packs of about five to twenty. There are estimated to be less than 180 wolves on Vancouver Island. These coastal wolves are popularly known as Sea wolves. Vancouver has two types of coastal wolves: the island or Sea wolves, are different than mainland coastal wolves. The Sea wolf's main food source is seafood, making up 90% of its diet. Salmon accounts for nearly a quarter of their diet. They also forage on barnacles, clams, herring eggs, seals, river otters, and whale carcasses. These Sea wolves of the Great Bear Rainforest are distance swimmers. There are packs living on the big island off the coast, which is 8.1 miles from Bella Bella, and there is no other way for wolves to get there – except to swim. They are not sedentary and many of them migrate through the archipelago, swimming from island to island throughout the year. At times, they follow the salmon, but other times they show up even when there's no salmon to be found. That's because Sea wolves have a diverse diet. A recent study found that it can be up to 90 percent marine-based: lone wolves take down seals and otters, while packs have been spotted feasting on the occasional whale carcass. The carnivores also, surprisingly, eat shellfish. Using their paws, they dig in the sand for clams, and use their powerful jaws to crack open the shells of mussels. Sea wolves are fast, powerful swimmers and move stealthily in the water, their backs and bodies submerged and with only their eyes, ears and snouts peeking above the surface. Mythical creatures Gonakadet and Wasgo, found among the Tsimshian, Tlingit and Haida peoples of British Columbia and Alaska, were inspired by these pescatarian Sea wolves. The Vancouver Sea wolf is of medium size, measuring roughly 26 to 32 inches high, 4 to 5 feet from nose to end of tail, and weighing roughly 60 lbs. It is usually a mix of grey, brown, and black. Occasionally, they are seen pure white or pure black as depicted in this portrait.
Amy E. Fraser’s Oil Pastel Animal Portrait series is an impassioned tribute to the beauty and magic of our beloved Animal Kingdom. Fun, gestural and energetic, these vibrant animals are painted in a stylized realism that is imbued with distinctive character and personality.
The Vancouver Coastal Island Wolf by Amy E. Fraser. Animal Portrait Paintings created from the artist’s intense connection to and love for all creatures great and small. Oil Pastel on archival paper. All images copyright Amy E. Fraser. All rights reserved.
Uploaded
May 30th, 2022
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