Are Wolves Endangered, and How Can We Save Them?

Wolves are some of the most iconic species of the forest, from their howls that echo across the land to their pups that playfully bound through the forest, to the strong familial bonds of their packs. But this could all end for some wolves.  

Keep reading to learn which wolf species are endangered and how we can help protect them. 

What Species of Wolves Are Endangered in North America?  

• Red wolf 
• Mexican gray wolf 
• Some gray wolf populations 

Why Are Wolves Endangered?

Overall, wolf populations are negatively impacted by: 

• Habitat loss and degradation  
• Changes in federal and state endangered species laws 
• Government policies aiming to remove wolves from the landscape, like state predator control programs 
• Poaching and trophy hunting 
• Conflicts with humans over livestock predation 
• Prey loss  
• Hybridization with coyotes in red wolves 
• Lack of education about wolves 
• Vehicular strikes 

How has this impacted wolf populations?  

Wolves currently occupy less than 10% of their historic range in the U.S., with population numbers as low as 6,000 gray wolves, 319 Mexican gray wolves, and an estimated 27 red wolves in the wild as of 2025.  

These population declines have significantly reduced the genetic diversity of wolf populations, which increases the risk of inbreeding, particularly for Mexican gray wolves and red wolves. This makes the species more vulnerable to defects and mortality.  

How will climate change impact wolves? 

Climate change will affect wolves in multiple ways. As temperatures increase and weather patterns change or intensify, key habitats could be lost or shift, making it harder for wolves to survive. Prey distributions and abundance could also decrease, impacting wolf populations. Population declines could also lead to inbreeding as populations shrink and become more isolated across the landscape.  

Other research has shown that as temperatures rise and winters become milder, wolf predation on smaller species such as beavers could intensify. Overall, climate change may impact longstanding patterns that dictate which food sources are available for wolves at different times of year.  

How does wolf decline or loss impact other wildlife?

Wolves are at the top of the food chain, meaning they are integral to the stability of their environments. Research from the northwestern U.S. has shown that the complete removal of gray wolves led to unsustainable elk population growth, leading to overgrazing that harmed trees and other vegetation. In places like Yellowstone, this primarily impacted aspen and willow saplings. These trees provide nesting spots for migratory birds, provide shade that keeps rivers cool, reduce riverbank erosion through their roots, and provide beavers much needed dam building materials.  

In some places, the removal of wolves leaves coyotes as the top predators, leading to declines in small animals like foxes, badgers, and beavers. And without wolves leaving large carcasses on the landscape from their hunts, scavengers like ravens and bears lose an important food source. Other research from Yellowstone, where wolves have been reintroduced, suggests that as coyote populations decline from wolf predation, pronghorn antelope fawn survival increases.  

Doesn’t the Endangered Species Act (ESA) protect them? What happened to it? 

Red wolves were designated as “threatened with extinction” in 1967 and were placed under further protection with the passing of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in 1973. After being nearly hunted to extinction in the lower 48, gray wolves were protected by the Endangered Species Act in 1974. Mexican wolves were added two years later. This helped protect wolves and bring some back from the brink of extinction.  

Recently, certain populations of gray wolves have lost their protections. Anti-wildlife Members of Congress passed a bill in 2011 delisting gray wolves in the Northern Rockies from the ESA, leaving them under state management in Idaho, Montano, and Wyoming. This has opened the door for legal trophy hunting, leading to hundreds of wolf deaths in the region each year.  

The ESA still exists and is one of the best tools we have to protect species from violence and climate-wrecking industries. But repeated attempts by the trophy hunting lobby to strip ESA protections from wolves, combined with Trump rollbacks and attacks on the ESA by Big Oil, logging, and mining, continue to threaten wolves and their habitats. 

How Can We Save Endangered Animals Like Wolves? 

Friends of the Earth’s biodiversity campaign works to protect species by safeguarding the Endangered Species Act and working to reverse Trump rollbacks. But the Endangered Species Act continues to be under fire. We need to work together to show we do not support weakening the Endangered Species Act or removing protections from endangered species.