E-Fauna BC: Electronic Atlas of the Wildlife of British Columbia

Canis lupus Linnaeus, 1758
Grey Wolf; Timber Wolf
Family: Canidae
Photo of species

© Larry Halverson  Email the photographer   (Photo ID #76816)

E-Fauna BC Static Map
Distribution of Canis lupus in British Columbia
Details about map content are available here.

Species Information


The grey wolf is the largest wild member of the Canidae family and is one of two wolf species in British Columbia (the second is the Coyote or Prairie Wolf). They live in packs but are elusive and are not often seen. The pack is comprised of a male, a female, and their offspring.

The Grey Wolf may be confused with the Coyote, but is more variable in colour and larger and heavier, while the Coyote is fairly uniform in colour. The two species do hybridize in the northeastern US and southeastern Canada.

Global Range

Though once abundant over much of Eurasia and North America, the gray wolf inhabits a very small portion of its former range because of widespread destruction of its territory, human encroachment of its habitat, and the resulting human-wolf encounters that sparked broad extirpation.

BC Range:

The Grey Wolf is found throughout British Columbia.

Status Information

Origin StatusProvincial StatusBC List
(Red Blue List)
COSEWIC
NativeS4S5YellowNAR (May 1999)
BC Ministry of Environment: BC Species and Ecosystems Explorer--the authoritative source for conservation information in British Columbia.

Additional Notes

Videos:

View a video of the Grey Wolf by ARKive

Further Reading

Darimont, C. T., T.E. Reimchen, and P.C. Paquet. 2003. Foraging behaviour by gray wolves on salmon streams in coastal British Columbia. Canadian Journal of Zoology 81: 349–353.

Additional Photo Sources

General References


Recommended citation: Author, Date. Page title. In Klinkenberg, Brian. (Editor) 2021. E-Fauna BC: Electronic Atlas of the Fauna of British Columbia [efauna.bc.ca]. Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. [Accessed: 2024-12-07 9:44:46 AM]
Disclaimer: The information contained in an E-Fauna BC atlas pages is derived from expert sources as cited (with permission) in each section. This information is scientifically based.  E-Fauna BC also acts as a portal to other sites via deep links.  As always, users should refer to the original sources for complete information.  E-Fauna BC is not responsible for the accuracy or completeness of the original information.


© E-Fauna BC 2021: An initiative of the Spatial Data Lab, Department of Geography, UBC