Accuracy and Precision of Estimating Age of Gray Wolves by Tooth Wear

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 commercial
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 years. The
commercial service aged young wolves with cementum annuli to within year of
actual age, but under estimated ages of wolves 9 years old by 1-3 years. No
differences were detected in tooth wear patterns for wild wolves from Alaska,
Minnesota, and Ontario, nor between captive and wild wolves. Tooth wear was not
appropriate for aging wolves with an underbite that prevented normal wear or
severely broken and missing teeth.