Wolf - Canis lupus

Wolf facts

Size

Males 20 - 60 kg
Females 15 - 55 kg

Reproduction
Mating: January - March
Birth: March - May
Litter size: 1 - 11

Diet
Mainly carnivorous, specialised in wild ungulates, but can also feed on small and medium sized vertebrates, invertebrates, fruits, carrion and human garbage, as well as livestock.

Social organisation
Group living in packs, normally with only two reproductive animals. Wolf packs are territorial.

Home ranges

100 to 1000 km2

Wolf. Photo J. Linnell
Wolf - Canis lupus. Photo © John Linnell/NINA

Threats:

(1) Some populations (e.g. Scandinavia) are small and isolated, and are therefore at risk.

(2) Human tolerance is often very low, especially in areas where wolves return after an absence. Wolf depredation on livestock, competition with hunters for wild ungulates, create obvious conflicts. People often fear wolves, and in many cases wolves become symbols of a range of other conflicts between rural and urban areas.

(3) Human caused mortality is the most important factor affecting wolves, from poaching and hunting. It is vital to combat poaching and ensure that hunting and lethal control are kept within sustainable limits.

Distribution:

Distribution maps available from Data Dryad


Status:

c. 23,000 in Europe (Source: LCIE Status Assessment 2017-2022/23)

9 populations

 

Population name

Countries

Size (2017-2022/23)

Trend

Scandinavian

Norway, Sweden

520

Increase

Karelian

Finland

310

Increase

Baltic

Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland

3200

Increase

Central European 

Germany, Poland, Netherlands, Denmark, Belgium, Luxembourg, Austria, Czech Republic

3000

Increase

Carpathian

Slovakia, Czech Republic, Poland, Romania, Hungary, Serbia

4000

Unknown

Dinaric-Balkan

Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Montenegro, "the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia", Albania, Serbia (incl. Kosovo*), Greece, Bulgaria

c. 4700

Increase

Alps

Italy, France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, Germany

2000

Increase

Italian peninsula

Italy

2557

Increasing

Iberian

Spain, Portugal

2400

Stable

Sierra Morena

Spain

0

Extinct