History

Wolves have a wide range of habitats in which they live. Wolves can thrive in many habitats, which relfects their adaptability as a species. These habitats include temperate forests, mountains, tundra, taiga, and grasslands.

Original Distribution of Wolf Species

Gray wolves were once abundant and distrubuted over much of North America, Eurasia, and the Middle East. Now, a beacuse of a variety of human-related reasons, some of which being widespread habitat destruction and excessive hunting, wolves inhabit only a very limited portion of their former range. In the United States, with the exception of Minnesota and Wisconsin, (where they have a threatened status), they are listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act of 1973.

The relationship between humans and wolves has had a very long and turbulent history. Traditionally, humans have viewed wolves negatively, perceiving them to be dangerous or as nuisances to be destroyed- a perception now known to be extremely undeserved. folklore supported these views. At one point the wolf could be found in any ecosystem in the Northern Hemisphere. The wolf was one of the first species to go once a significant population of humans had settled down in any one area. technology also made killing the wolves eaiser, which in time made simlple control give way to complete annihilation.

Sometime in the 20th century people began to rethink their former notions, due to environmental awareness. People finally began to realize that in over one hundred years of being documented, there has been no verified human fatality caused by an attack from a healthy wolf. Wolves are naturally very cautious, and will almost always flee as humans approach.

While this is true for many cultures, there are also those who saw the wolf in a positive light. These cultures used the word wolf for a given name (Ulf, Ze'ev, ect.)

Today, there are over 300 wolves in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, and over 500 in Idaho. Both populations have long since met their recovery goals and the reintroduction expirement continues to create a sharp divide between industry and environmental interests.