Elevated urinary cortisol in a timber wolf ( Canis lupus ): a result of social behaviour or adrenal pathology?

• Published in: Canadian Journal of Zoology
• Main Authors: Moger, William H, Ferns, Lyn E, Wright, Jr., James R, Gadbois, Simon, McLeod, Peter J
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Canadian Science Publishing 1998
• Subjects: Animal Science and Zoology; Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics; Canis lupus
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z98-125; http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/z98-125

In a previously published report, a male timber wolf (Canis lupus) was identified as having significantly elevated urinary cortisol to creatinine ratios relative to other males in the pack. This second-ranking animal, whose social status was being challenged, was involved in far more aggressive interactions than any other pack member. The wolf died 3 years later from gastric and splenic torsion. Necropsy revealed a unilateral adrenal tumour identified by histology and electron microscopy to be a cortical adenoma. This finding is based on the presence of abundant lipid and no evidence of neurosecretory granules. Whether the increased cortisol levels in this wolf were the result of social stress, as originally suggested, the tumour, or both is uncertain.