# 1489 - Canadian Wildlife - Part 52

Today we will continue the series called "Canadian Wildlife".

The Royal Canadian Mint is known by its high quality work and the enormous number of commemorative coins issued each year. Among these commemoratives we find many, individual or in series, under the theme "wildlife".

Canada, with its vast lands and seas, is the home of a varied fauna and that will be showed in this series.

I will try to post land animals, sea animals and birds, in that order.

The fifty second coin is a 2017 CAD $20 "Master of the Land: the Timber Wolf".

This coin weights 26.51g (0.85oz) with 99.99% silver purity and Proof finish. Its shape is a special one, the scallop-shape, exclusive to the "Masters Club". Its mintage was 6,000 units and the issue price was CAD $99.95.

The timber wolf's intelligence, speed and agility makes it a formidable hunter; but unlike the unjust "Big Bad Wolf" persona of fairy tales, the timber wolf (Canis lupus) prefers to play, hunt and travel in a tight-knit group of up to 12 wolves. In fact, the adage "there is power in numbers" rings true when it comes to this hierarchical pack, for each member has an important role to play while working collectively to bring down their prey. Moving across the tundra or forest as though it knows every corner of its territory, the timber wolf uses its haunting howl to communicate with pack members or warn intruders encroaching on its domain—it's an unmistakable call of the wild that puts everyone on alert, and asserts the wolf's reign as master of the land.

Designed by Canadian artist Tony Bianco, the reverse transports you into the midst of a pack of timber wolves out in the Canadian wilderness. Even the engraved texture of the fur conveys movement, as the wolves tilt their heads in unison towards the sky to release their howls into the night air.

Thank you for reading. Please comment, upvote, reblog and advise me.