| Some centuries ago the wolf (Canis lupus) was common across the whole of Europe and in virtually every habitat. Relentless persecution and habitat loss have caused such a drastic decline in numbers over the last 300 - 400 years that viable populations are now restricted to Central and Eastern Europe.
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European Wolf Distribution
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| Source: Smit and Wijngaarden, 1976 |
Population
In Romania a Carpathian population of perhaps 2 500 still lives. (Leslie et al, 1995, Piechoki, 1994)
Pronatura estimate a minimum Retezat population of 15 individuals.
Outside Russia, the Romanian Wolf (and also the Bear) population is the largest in Europe, possibly constituting 40 per cent of the total. (MWFEP, 1996b).
European Wolf numbers can also be counted in their thousands in the former Yugoslavia and in Russia, whereas
only hundreds are still to be found in Poland, Bulgaria, the Czech and Slovak Republics and in Eastern Finland. (Bjarvall and Ullstrom, 1986, p. 123; Cajander, 1998).
Although the wolf is a strictly protected species listed in the Bern Convention, in 1995 Romania sought and obtained permission from the Secretariat to shoot 520 wolves and in 1996 the total was 410.
At least one US company is offering Wolf Hunting holidays in Russia. (Go to their WEB site)
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