We evaluated the accuracy and precision of tooth wear for aging gray wolves
(Canis lupus) from Alaska, Minnesota, and Ontario based on 47 known-age or
known-minimum-age skulls. Estimates of age using tooth wear and a commerci
al cementum annuli-aging service were useful for wolves up to 14 years old.
The precision of estimates from cementum annuli was greater than estimates
from tooth wear, but tooth wear estimates are more applicable in the field
. We tended to overestimate age by 1-2 years and occasionally by 3 or 4 yea
rs. The commercial service aged young wolves with cementum annuli to within
+/- 1 year of actual age, but under estimated ages of wolves greater than
or equal to 9 years old by 1-3 years. No differences were detected in tooth
wear patterns for wild wolves from Alaska, Minnesota, and Ontario, nor bet
ween captive and wild wolves. Tooth wear was not appropriate for aging wolv
es with an underbite that prevented normal wear or severely broken and miss
ing teeth.