List of gray wolf populations by country

[1] Once abundant over much of North America and Eurasia, the gray wolf inhabits a smaller portion of its former range because of widespread human encroachment and destruction of its habitat, and the resulting human-wolf encounters that sparked broad extirpation.

Today, wolves are protected in some areas, hunted for sport in others, or may be subject to extermination as perceived threats to people, livestock, and pets.

[...] In 2023, wolves have been detected across all EU Member States except Ireland, Cyprus and Malta, and there are breeding packs in 23 countries.

"[6]Information on the number of wolves in the European Union across time is given in the table below from the document: Austria wolf population is increasing and is the home of 7 packs as of 2022.

Population numbers estimate across time is given from Blanco and Sundseth (2023) in the table below: The wolf in Portugal is afforded full protection.

The population is expanding southwards and eastwards from the northwest, having recently reached Madrid, Ávila, Guadalajara and Salamanca.

Isolated individuals have been sighted in the vicinity of human populated areas such as Tuscany, Bologna, Parma and Tarquinia.

[15] Wolves have also been sighted denning 25 miles from Rome, with one small population living in the regional park of Castelli Romani.

[6] Population numbers estimate across time is given from Blanco and Sundseth (2023) in the table below: Under the Berne Convention, wolves are listed as an endangered species and killing them is illegal.

Under German (and international) law wolves are a protected species; in several regions livestock damage compensation programs exist.

[7] Population numbers estimate across time is given from Blanco and Sundseth (2023) in the table below: In 2020, DNA analysis of sheep killed in Luxembourg confirmed presence of wolves in the country after over a century.

The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency states that a minimum of 300 wolves is necessary in order to keep a genetic diversity that ensures long-term sustainability.

[49] The population has subsequently increased and by 2024 about 40 adult wolves were known in Denmark (all living in Jutland), including 8 pairs and at least 6 of them had pups that year.

[57] Population numbers estimate across time is given in the table below: Wolves are legally hunted only in areas with high reindeer densities.

[60] Population numbers estimate across time is given from Blanco and Sundseth (2023) in the table below: In 2007, a new version of the law on nature conservation introduced compensation for livestock damage, paid by the state.

[6] Population numbers estimate across time is given from Blanco and Sundseth (2023) in the table below: As of 1 June 2021 they are legally protected and can't be hunted.

[69][7][6] Population numbers estimate across time is given from Blanco and Sundseth (2023) in the table below: Since 1991, they have been a protected species, and compensation is paid for livestock losses.

However, according to Dr. Djuro Huber of the University of Zagreb, illegal wolf killings increased after the protection scheme began, resulting in the deaths of 40 wolves.

[8] The former State Union of Serbia and Montenegro has a stable population of 500 wolves, though it is unknown if they are afforded any protection and no compensation is paid for livestock damage.

Population numbers estimate across time is given from Blanco and Sundseth (2023) in the table below: Wolves in Bulgaria are granted no legal protection.

[80] This competitive exclusion of wolves by tigers has been used by Russian conservationists to convince hunters in the Far East to tolerate the big cats, as they are less harmful to livestock, and are effective in controlling the latter's numbers.

[85] Egypt's Sinai Peninsula has a confirmed, but rare, presence of Arabian wolves around St. Katherine, Sheikh Awad, and the Blue Desert, although there are no accurate population estimates available.

Recrudescence of wolf bagging numbers happened as a nationwide survey, including markets, made in the summer of 2004 left assuming that 20,000 to 30,000 wolves could be taken by hunters each year.

Furthermore, it was also noted that not knowing the size of the country wolf population, the impact of these hunts could not be assessed on a conservation basis.

[103] Pakistan has an estimated population of at least 365-415 Tibetan gray wolves (Canis lupus chanco): 350 - 400 across Gilgit-Baltistan, and at least 15 in South Waziristan.

[106] The Palestinian Territories have an unknown number of Arabian and Indian wolves,[87] but their presence is confirmed in the West Bank and Gaza.

Usually, however, wolves in the United States are mostly seen during the winter months in northern Minnesota, northern Wisconsin, Michigan's Upper Peninsula, and portions of Washington, Idaho, northern Oregon, northwest Wyoming, California, and Montana, as the majority of wolf populations migrate from Canada to the Northwestern states and some of the Midwestern and Great Lakes States during the winter months for the competition over eating bison, elk, white tailed deer and other large ungulates, disputed between other carnivores such as grizzly bear, cougar, and coyote.

[122] This move was blocked by lawsuits filed by conservation groups, but was successfully delisted on April 15, 2011, by the US Congress as part of a budget bill.

[127] Alaska has a stable population of 10,500-12,000 wolves, which are legally hunted from August to April (in deer-rich areas) as a big game species.

[134] The Northern Rocky Mountain states (Wyoming, Idaho and Montana) have an approximate population of 1,657 wolves in 282 packs (including 85 breeding pairs).