Recovery of the Gray Wolf

The gray wolf was once the world's most widely distributed mammal. It has become extinct across much of its former range. In North America, colonists arrived “with a hatred and fear of wolves and established bounties as early as 1607 to kill the animals. As the settlers killed off more and more of the wolves' traditional prey, such as buffalo and elk, wolves turned more and more to hunting livestock — setting off a rivalry that continues today . . . In 1995, 22 years after the gray wolf was listed as an endangered species, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service launched an ambitious program to reintroduce wolves to Yellowstone Park and the wildlands of Idaho's Selway Bitterroot ecosystem.”  Today, the US population is estimated at about 4,400. Animal protection and conservation organizations have been petitioning the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to reclassify gray wolves under the Endangered Species Act as threatened to ensure continued protections. The European Western-Central Alps population remains endangered.