Species fact sheet

Canis lupus

Biology:

Size:   

Reproduction:   

Diet:   

Social organisation: 

Home ranges:    

 Males 20 - 60 kg / Females 15 - 55 kg

 Mating: January - March

 Birth: March - May

 Litter size:  1 - 11

 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.

 Group living in packs, normally with only two reproductive animals.

 Wolf packs are territorial.

 100 to 1000 km²

300 -

2000 -

>43 -

>500 -

3 -

60 - 100 -

130 - 170 -

 several hundred -

several hundred -

800 - 1000 -

900 -

>500 -

1000 -

4000 -

>500 -

5 - 17 -

 3 - 6 -

14 -

600 - 700 -

400 - 500 -

300 - 500 -

100 - 150 -

>185 - 

90 - 100 -

30 - 40 -  

 Portugal

 Spain

 France

 Italy

 Switzerland

 Slovenia

 Croatia

 Bosnia & Herzegovina

 Serbia & Montenegro

 Macedonia

 Albania

 Greece

 Bulgaria

 Romania

 Slovakia

 Czech Republic

 Hungary

 Germany

 Poland

 Lithuania

 Latvia

 Estonia

 Finland

 Sweden

 Norway  

(1) Some populations (e.g. Germany, southern Spain, 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. Their 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.