The Arctic wolf (Canis lupus arctos), also known as the Melville Island wolf is a possible subspecies of gray wolf native to the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, from Melville Island to Ellesmere Island. It is a medium-sized subspecies, distinguished from the northwestern wolf by its smaller size, its whiter coloration, its narrower braincase, and larger carnassials. Since 1930, there has been a progressive reduction in size in Arctic wolf skulls, which is likely the result of wolf-dog hybridization. Contrary to its mainland counterparts, the Arctic wolf has never been seriously hunted or pursued, as the high Arctic holds few human settlements. As a result, the Arctic wolf is relatively unafraid of people, and can be coaxed to approach people in some areas. It has occasionally acted aggressively toward humans. Otto Sverdrup wrote that during the Fram expidition, a pair of wolves attacked one of his team-mates, who defended himself with a skiing pole. In 1977, a pair of scientists were appr...