Gray Wolf

Conservation Status

IUCN Red List

LC - Least Concern

NatureServe

N4 - Apparently Secure
S3 - Vulnerable

Federal

Threatened

In 1966 Congress passed the Endangered Species Preservation Act. A year later the Gray Wolf was classified as endangered. At that time only a few hundred remained in extreme northeastern Minnesota and a small number on Isle Royale, Michigan. In 1978 it was reclassified as threatened.

In 2012 Gray Wolf was delisted due to a significant increase in their numbers and their range. The delisting was controversial. In 2014 a federal judge forced the reinstatement of the wolf, and it was relisted as threatened. In January 2021 it was again removed from the protected species list.

Following a court order on 2/10/2022, “…gray wolves in the contiguous 48 states and Mexico – with the exception of the Northern Rocky Mountain population – are now protected under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) as threatened in Minnesota and endangered in the remaining states.”. The court order has been appealed by a number of parties. The appeals are in abeyance until 2/2/2024, when the USFWS "… intends to submit to the Office of the Federal Register a proposed rule concerning the listing status of gray wolves in the lower-48 United States under the Act.”

Minnesota

Delisted

In 1984, the Gray Wolf was classified as threatened in Minnesota only. Due to continued increase in their numbers it was reclassified as special concern in 1996 and delisted in 2013.

Description

Eastern Wolf (C. l. lycaon), also called timber wolf, is relatively small, with males weighing on average 67 pounds and females 53 pounds. They have longer ears and a narrower snout. They tend to be mottled gray.

Great Plains Wolf (C. l. nubilus) is much larger, with males weighing on average 100 pounds. They have shorter ears and a broader snout. They can vary from black to white, though most are gray.

Great Lakes Boreal Wolf (C. l. lycaon x C. l. nubilus) mostly has intermediate traits, grading from more C. l. lycaon-like in the east to more C. l. nubilus-like in the west.

Size

Total length: 59″ to 62″

Tail: 15½″ to 18″

Sign

Similar Species

Habitat

Any type of habitat

Ecology

Behavior

Lifespan

Usually 6 to 8 years

Life Cycle

Food

Mostly White-tailed Deer, but also beaver, other mammals, and wild fruits.