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Ecosystems With Wolves

Gray wolves, Canis lupus, once roamed western and northern North America from Alaska to northern Mexico. Red wolves, Canis rufus, inhabited the Southeast. Their numbers in the continental U.S. fell dramatically as the country was settled. Both species received federal protection in the 1970s. Their populations are slowly recovering and wolves are re-establishing their roles in several ecosystems throughout their original ranges.

Gray Wolves in the Northern Rocky Mountain Ecosystem
- Yellowstone National Park, within the Northern Rocky Mountain Ecosystem, is home to gray wolves.
  
  Gray wolves are adaptable and were historically found in every type of ecosystem except tropical forests and deserts. The Northern Rocky Mountain Ecosystem was selected as a reintroduction site for wolves based on the availability of its main prey--large ungulates such as deer, elk and moose. This ecosystem encompasses most of Idaho and adjacent areas of Wyoming and Montana. The area is mountainous with definitive seasons that influence the migration of the wolves' prey.
Mexican Gray Wolves in the Southwest
- The Mexican gray wolf roams the mountains and grasslands of the Southwest.
  
  The Mexican gray wolf, Canis lupus baileyi, is a subspecies of the gray wolf that was believed extinct in the 1970s. It was reintroduced into eastern Arizona in 1998 and its population now extends into western and central New Mexico. They live in almost any habitat except the low desert. They hunt mammals of all sizes--from rodents to elk.
Gray Wolves of Alaska
- Wolves roam throughout Alaska, including Denali National Park.
  
  Gray wolves in Alaska never underwent the intense population control that wolves in the lower 48 states did following European settlement. This is due in part to the vastness of Alaska and minimal human encroachment. Alaska's wolves are similar to other gray wolves and select their habitats based on prey availability. Their range includes most of Alaska from coastal islands to the Arctic tundra. Wolves here eat a variety of prey including caribou, Dall sheep and sometimes birds and fish.
Gray Wolves of the Great Lakes Region
- By the 1960s, only a few remnant populations in northern Minnesota and northern Michigan remained. Most wolves inhabited boreal forests and bogs--areas with little human encroachment. However, successful conservation efforts have allowed the wolves to start returning to their original range and they now live as far south as central Wisconsin and roam the entire Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Wolves in this ecosystem eat deer, beaver and small mammals.
Red Wolves of the Southeast
- Red wolves are making a comeback in the southeastern U.S.
  
  The red wolf range once stretched from Texas to Florida to Pennsylvania. As of 2011, the only wild population remaining consists of approximately 120 wolves within a five-county area in North Carolina. Red wolves will live wherever shelter and food are plentiful but prefer upland forests, wetlands and coastal prairies. They primarily feed on small to medium-sized game including rodents, rabbits and deer.

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