gray wolves habitat

The gray wolf or grey wolf (Canis lupus) is a species of canid native to the wilderness and remote areas of North America, Eurasia, and North Africa.

Wolves are the largest members of the dog family. They have a highly organised social structure enabling it to enjoy maximum cooperation when hunting, communicating and defending territory.

Wolf packs are established according to a strict hierarchy, with a dominant alpha male at the top and alpha female not far behind. Usually this male and female are the only animals of the pack to breed. Packs consist of between five and ten animals – usually offspring from several years.  All of a pack's adults help to care for young pups by bringing them food and watching them while others hunt.

Historically, the grey wolf held the title of the world’s most widely distributed land mammal. It ranged throughout much of the northern hemisphere, from Mexico, north through North America to the Arctic, and throughout most of Eurasia, as far south as southern India. Today, however, this species has a more restricted distribution, occurring mainly in wilderness and remote areas of Canada, Alaska, northern USA, Europe and Asia, and is extinct in parts of Western Europe, Mexico and the US