Canis lupus

The taxonomy and evolutionary history of eastern wolves remains unresolved. This database follows the American Society of Mammalogists in recognizing Canis lupus, C. rufus, and C. lycaon (previously treated as a subspecies of C. lupus) in North America (ASM 2005).

Wilson et al. (2000) concluded that the eastern timber wolf (Canis lupus lycaon) and the red wolf (Canis rufus) are sister taxa and are best considered to be conspecific. Additionally, Wilson et al. found that these two taxa form a North American lineage with the coyote (Canis latrans) that is distinct from that of the gray wolf (Canis lupus), which is Eurasian in origin. Wilson et al. (2000, 2003) proposed that the eastern timber wolf (Canis lycaon) be recognized as a species distinct from the gray wolf (C. lupus). Nowak (2002) presented an analysis of cranial morphology of recent and Pleistocene Canis and concluded that Canis rufus is a valid species and that lycaon may be a hybrid between Canis rufus and western Canis lupus. In a checklist of North American mammals, Baker et al. (2003) accepted C. lycaon and C. lupus as separate species as proposed by Wilson et al. (2000, 2003). Without explanation they retained the red wolf (Canis rufus) as a third North American wolf species. Wozencraft (in Wilson and Reeder 2005) recognized one Northern Hemisphere wolf species (Canis lupus) and listed rufus and lycaon as subspecies, noting that rufus appears to be a hybrid. Recent genomic research (e.g. Heppenheimer et al. 2018) support recognizing eastern wolves as a distinct species, C. lycaon.

Holarctic distribution; survives in wilderness that is not subject to human population pressures; extirpated from most of contiguous U.S. due to human-caused direct mortality; reintroduced populations in Yellowstone and central Idaho have been increasing rapidly; many (tens of thousands) remain in Canada/Alaska, about 2000 south of Canada, 100,000+ in Palearctic. NatureServe rank calculator version 3.1 yielded a rank of G5? and this species is nationally ranked N5 in Canada.

Formerly throughout North America south through much of Mexico; also Europe and Asia. Replaced by the red wolf in the southeastern United States. Today found south of Canada only in northern Mexico (no recent confirmed reports; extirpated or maybe a few in eastern Sonora, Chihuahua, and/or Zacatecas?), a few areas in the Rocky Mountains (northwestern Montana, reintroduction sites in Wyoming and Idaho), northwestern Great Lakes region (northeastern third of Minnesota, northern Wisconsin, Michigan Upper Peninsula), and Cascade Mountains of northern Washington. Formerly much more numerous in the Rocky Mountain states than in the southwestern U.S. (Johnson 1991). Extirpated in much of southern Canada (see Theberge [1992] and Can. Field-Nat. 106:138 for range/status map); remains in 85% of former total Canadian range (Theberge 1991).

In 1995, wolf reintroductions were initiated in the Yellowstone ecosystem and in central Idaho (nonessential experimental populations) (USFWS 1994; Federal Register, 16 August 1994; Bangs and Fritts 1993; End. Sp. Bull. 20(4):4-5). See Bangs et al. (1998) for information on the status of gray wolf restoration in Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming. In 1998, USFWS (Federal Register, 12 January 1998) announced its intention to reintroduce the Mexican gray wolf (subspecies baileyi) into Arizona and New Mexico (Apache and Gila national forests, also possibly White Sands Missile Range).

Wolf observations in the Dakotas have increased in recent years, likely related to range expansion and population increases in adjacent areas, especially Minnesota; most occurrences have been of young individuals, suggesting dispersal (Licht and Fritts 1994).

Grewal et al. (2004) used genetic data to determine that the wolf population in Algonquin Provincial Park in Ontario, Canada, is a southern part of a larger metapopulation of Canis lycaon (or Canis lupus lycaon).

Because wolves are wide-ranging it is difficult to estimate the number of distinct occurrences. The 30-km separation between EOs given in EOSPECS is a compromise figure. It could have been smaller in the northern USA where pack home ranges in Minnesota were 130 km2, or larger in Alaska where home ranges up to 13,000 km2 are reported (Mech and Frenzel 1971, Burkholder 1959).

Exterminated from large areas through trapping, shooting, poisoning, and reduction in prey populations (ungulate herds). Threatened by direct human-caused mortality and possibly habitat loss. Landscape change resulting from development may interfere with restoration in some areas (Carroll et al. 2003). Heavily persecuted in former Soviet Union and in China.

The threats to the northern Rocky Mountain wolf population have been reduced or eliminated as evidenced by the population exceeding the numerical, distributional, and temporal recovery goals each year since 2002 (USFWS 2006).