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Gray wolf (Eastern DPS) Listed: 3/11/1967 Status since listing: Increased The eastern gray wolf (Canis lupis) was the only wild U.S. population that survived the early 20th century wolf eradication. During this period, gray wolves were hunted to near extinction because they were blamed for livestock losses. In 1974, the gray wolf became one of the first species listed under the 1973 Endangered Species Act. However, at the time it was found in the wild only in extreme northeastern Minnesota and in a small number on Isle Royal, Michigan [1, 2]. The eastern population formerly occurred throughout the Great Lakes and Northeast. Just 13 years after their disappearance from Minnesota, the gray wolf had recolonized the state and reached numbers of 350-700 individuals. By 1978, USFWS had proposed downlisting the Minnesota gray wolf to “threatened” to allow for killing of “problem” wolves. Twenty five wolves inhabited Wisconsin in 1980 and increased to 323 in 2002. Surveys of gray wolf occurrence in Minnesota estimated over 2,400 individuals in 1998 and in Michigan 279 wolves were counted in 2002 [2]. As of late winter 2004-05, there were roughly 435 gray wolves in Michigan (including wolves on Isle Royal), 3,020 in Minnesota, and 425 in Wisconsin, for a total Great Lakes population count of 3,880 [3]. The species remains extirpated from the rest of the eastern United States. [1] U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 2004. Gray Wolf. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Updated May, 2004. (http://www.fws.gov/midwest/wolf/biology/biologue.htm) |
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