What wolf from Japan, also known as the Honshū wolf, went extinct in 1905?

The wolf from Japan also known as the Honshū wolf was the Japanese wolf, an extinct subspecies scientifically called Canis lupus hodophilax. It lived on Honshū, Shikoku, and Kyūshū, but not Hokkaidō, which was home to the separate Hokkaidō wolf.

The last confirmed Japanese wolf was captured and killed at Washikaguchi in Nara Prefecture on January 23, 1905. Its extinction followed a long decline intensified by disease, persecution, habitat loss, and changing attitudes toward wolves during Japan’s Meiji period. Rabies outbreaks made wolves more dangerous to people and livestock, while government policies encouraged their elimination.

The Japanese wolf was relatively small compared with many mainland gray wolves, a pattern associated with its long isolation on the Japanese islands. It was also culturally important: wolves were sometimes respected as protectors of crops and travelers. Reports of wolf-like animals have continued since 1905, but no modern sighting has been confirmed genetically. The Japanese wolf should not be confused with the extinct Hokkaidō wolf or with the living gray wolf as a species.