Columbia Cascades

It started with a howl heard one night in the summer of 1990. And with that howl, wolves in the northern Cascades broke nearly 60 years of silence, ending a period when wolves were absent from Washington.

Wolves once roamed across North America. Throughout much of the continent, they were nearly eliminated by fur traders, by settlers who feared they would take domestic stock, and by government eradication programs. Most of Washington's wolves are believed to have been killed by the late 1800s following years of trapping and government bounties. Wolves were thought to be gone from Washington by the 1930s, although unconfirmed evidence of transient wolves turned up now and then in the years that followed.

Since that howl in 1990, efforts have been made to document the distribution of wolves in Washington. Documenting wolves in Washington is difficult because of the small number of animals and their elusiveness.

The monitoring indicates that wolves may be in the early stages of recolonizing the northern Cascades of Washington State. There may be wolves in the southern portion of the Cascades as well. Wolves may also occur in northeastern Washington, in the forests that lead to the foothills of the Rockies. National parks in the Columbia Cascades region in which it is possible that you may see a wolf include North Cascades, Mount Rainier, and Lake Roosevelt.

Today wolves in the United States (outside of Alaska) number around 2,500 and are protected as an endangered species under the Endangered Species Act. It is a violation of the Act to "take" a wolf. As defined in the Act, "take" means to harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect, or to attempt to engage in any such conduct.

The state of Washington still has plenty of areas where wolves can live. Wolves need adequate prey and acceptance by humans within the environment. Breeding populations in southern British Columbia and the availability of habitat south of the border probably contribute to the return of the wolf in Washington.

Like people, wolves are at the top of the food chain. Both serve as population regulators for deer, elk, and other prey. Wolves tend to prey on young, weak, or sick animals, which are easier to catch. Generally this spares the strong and improves the overall health of the prey population.

Wolves live in family groups called packs, made up of 2 to 12 or more members. A pack is governed by an Alpha pair, which is usually the only pair to breed. This pair has an average of six pups, born in early spring. Usually few pups survive the rigors of their first year.

Wolves howl and whimper, but rarely bark. Their howling is described as haunting by some, mournful by others who have heard wolves in the wild. The call of an adult wolf differs from that of a coyote or dog -- the howl is long and clear, uninterrupted by short yaps or barks.

Distinguishing a wolf from a coyote or dog is difficult, especially when lighting is dim, the sighting is brief, or the animal is at a great distance. In general, an adult wolf is much larger than a coyote. Coyote colors rarely vary, while wolf colors vary widely and solid-colored wolves are not uncommon.

People sometimes breed wolves with dogs, creating wolf hybrids that can be mistaken for wolves. Their wolf-like appearance may cause people to erroneously report wolf sightings. Attacks by wolf-dog hybrids on people and livestock may lead people to expect similar behavior from wild wolves and hamper wolf recovery. Hybrids seldom survive long in the wild.

• A wolf has very well developed senses. It can hear a rodent moving under heavy snow cover and other wolves howling from several miles distant. It can smell prey that is more than a mile away.


• Wolves run on their toes. This lengthens their legs and makes it possible for them to run faster and turn more quickly.


• There are probably fewer than 2,500 wolves in the entire United States today, outside of Alaska. Most of them occur in Minnesota and neighboring states, though a few occur in the northern Rockies and the northern Cascades.


• All dogs are descended from wolves that were tamed in the Middle East about 12,000 years ago.


• A wolf's winter coat is very wooly. It can be two and a half inches thick, with individual hairs as long as five inches.

Wolves in the wild are afraid of humans and generally avoid contact with them. No healthy wild wolf has ever been documented to have killed a person in North America.

Wolves rarely prey on domestic stock, but such incidents do happen. Wolves that kill livestock, such as in Minnesota and Montana, are removed from the area by experts employed by the federal government. Plans have been developed to deal with problem wolves if livestock losses occur in Washington.

Agency biologists, non-profit groups, and private scientists are studying wolf occurrences and distribution in Washington. The results of monitoring using human howling surveys, remote cameras, and other techniques will give scientists information on the wolf for development of a conservation-management strategy.

The Washington Wolf Management Steering Committee, made up of representatives from government natural resource agencies, with non-government organization advisors, is directing wolf conservation and management. The committee is cooperatively developing wolf management guidelines to serve until a recovery plan can be completed for wolves in Washington.

Funding for wolf recovery efforts in Washington comes from the sale of personalized license plates, federal funding, and private non-profit organizations.

You can help the wolf recovery effort. If you see a wolf-like animal or its sign, report it immediately by calling the Wolf Hotline at 1-800-722-4095. Protect but do not disturb any tracks or droppings. Take pictures or make notes as soon as possible, and record the location.

Wolves are a natural part of Washington's splendid array of wildlife. Whether wolves will permanently return to Washington largely depends on the value people give to their continued existence.

Organizations involved in wolf recovery in Washington include: the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Animal Damage Control, Bureau of Indian Affairs, U.S. Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Forest Service, National Park Service, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Washington Wool Growers Association, Wolf Haven International, and the British Columbia Ministry of the Environment.

Return to the Columbia Cascades home page.