Sadly, grey wolves have suffered to great extents from direct human persecution, habitat disturbances and diseases which have been spread by domestic dogs (1). 

Wolves are very important in the ecosystem because they maintain natural prey populations. However, the belief that livestock was endangered by wolf populations increased and led to the severe hunting of grey wolves. The populations were nearly wiped out. Currently in the lower 48 United States, about 2,600 gray wolves exist, with nearly 2,000 in Minnesota (3). 

Some recovery plans have been formed to evaluate the populations of grey wolves. The main cause of the severe decline of grey wolves has been habitat destruction and persecution by humans. But the reintroduction of gray wolves into protected lands has greatly increased their survival rates in North America (3). Populations in Alaska and Canada have remained steady and are fairly numerous. Currently the State of Alaska manages 6,000 to 8,000 gray wolves and Canada's populations are estimated at about 50,000 (3).

In the state of Michigan, the people have dedicated themselves to protecting the grey wolf. There was an annual "Michigan Wolf Awareness Week" for the month of October which began in 1992. There is a "Michigan Gray Wolf Recovery and Management Plan" which was signed on December 15, 1997 (4).

Michigan Gray Wolf Population, 1989-2004

 

    (4)

Habitat:

Grey wolves are very adaptable to different terrain. They  can live in: tundra, steppe, open woodland and forest (1).

Geographic Range:

The original range of the grey wolf was located in most of the Northern hemisphere. However, due to various inhibiting factors to the growth of the grey wolf population, they are now found in only some areas of the United States, Alaska, Canada, Mexico, and Eurasia (3).