Wolf
Canis lupus Linnaeus, 1758
The wolf (Canis lupus), also called the grey wolf or gray wolf, is a mammal in the family Canidae of the order Carnivora. It is a large, nocturnal, terrestrial carnivore with a representative adult body mass of 32.18 kg, and its main foods include moose, red deer, wild boar, bison, fish, carrion and berry.
Quick facts about the wolf
Gestation lasts from 61 to 63 days, litters have a representative size of 4.98 young and up to 6, and sexual maturity comes at 1.6 to 1.8 years. The wolf is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category, and checklists record it in Australia.
- Weight
- 21 kg – 32.2 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 20 years – 29.5 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Carnivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- apple, arvicolinae, berry, bird, bison, carrion and 30 moresrc for Main food
- Habitat
- Not recorded
- Gestation
- 61 days – 63 dayssrc for Gestation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 4.98 – 6src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 19.4 months – 22 monthssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 0.82src for Litters or clutches a year
- Active
- At night (nocturnal)src for Active
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- 1 countrysrc for Countries on record
Photos of the wolf
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
Where does the wolf live?
Countries where Catalogue of Life checklists list the species. Many checklists carry no country data, so the list is often incomplete. It is not a range map.
The wolf is listed for 1 country.
- Listed
- Not listed
The same countries as a list
Listed by: ITIS (scope: global), through the Catalogue of Life.
What is the wolf?
The wolf (Canis lupus; pl.: wolves), also known as the grey wolf or gray wolf, is a canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of Canis lupus have been recognized, including the dog and dingo, though grey wolves, as popularly understood, include only naturally occurring wild subspecies. The wolf is the largest wild extant member of the family Canidae, and is further distinguished from other Canis species by its less pointed ears and muzzle, as well as a shorter torso and a longer tail. The wolf is nonetheless related closely enough to smaller Canis species, such as the coyote and the golden jackal, to produce fertile hybrids with them. The wolf's fur is usually mottled white, brown, grey, and black, although subspecies in the Arctic region may be nearly all white.
Of all members of the genus Canis, the wolf is most specialized for cooperative game hunting, as demonstrated by its physical adaptations to tackling large prey, its more social nature, and its highly advanced expressive behaviour, including individual or group howling. It travels in nuclear families, consisting of a mated pair accompanied by their offspring. Offspring may leave to form their own packs at the onset of sexual maturity and in response to competition for food within the pack. Wolves are also territorial, and fights over territory are among the principal causes of mortality. A carnivore, the wolf is an apex predator that feeds on large wild hooved mammals as well as smaller animals, livestock, carrion, and garbage. Single wolves or mated pairs typically have higher success rates in hunting than do large packs. Pathogens and parasites, notably the rabies virus, may infect wolves.
The global wild grey wolf population is estimated to be between 200,000 and 250,000 individuals as of 2026 and has been assessed as Least Concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Wolves have a long history of interactions with humans, having been despised and hunted in most pastoral communities because of their attacks on livestock, while conversely being respected in some agrarian and hunter-gatherer societies. Although the fear of wolves exists in many human societies, the majority of recorded attacks on people have been attributed to animals suffering from rabies. Wolf attacks on humans are rare because wolves are relatively few, live away from people, and have developed a fear of humans because of their experiences with hunters, farmers, ranchers, and shepherds.
From the Wikipedia article “Wolf” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wolf&oldid=1385042202), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
What does the wolf sound like?
Is the wolf endangered?
The wolf is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the wolf classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classMammalia
- orderCarnivora
- familyCanidae
- genusCanis
- SpeciesCanis lupus Linnaeus, 1758
Synonyms Canis karanorensis, Canis lupus altaicus, Canis lupus canus, Canis lupus chanco, Canis lupus coreanus, Canis lupus deitanus, Canis lupus flavus, Canis lupus fulvus, Canis lupus laniger, Canis lupus lycaon, Canis lupus major, Canis lupus minor, Canis lupus niger, Canis lupus orientalis, Canis niger, Lupus laniger, Lupus lupus
Other names and names in other languages (216)
- American wolfEnglish
- Black wolfEnglish
- Common wolfEnglish
- Common wolfEnglish
- Gray wolfEnglish
- Grey wolfEnglish
- Grey wolfEnglish
- Grey wolfEnglish
- Large wolfEnglish
- Timber wolfEnglish
- Timber wolfEnglish
- Western wolfEnglish
- White wolfEnglish
- DalehöAfar
- АбгадуAbkhazian
- ТыгъужъAdyghe
- ホㇿケゥAinu
- ウォセカムィAinu
- WasoAlabama
- БӧрӱSouthern Altai
- ተኵላAmharic
- ǷulfOld English
- الذئبArabic
- الذئب العربيArabic
- ذئب رماديArabic
- ذئب رمادي، ذئبArabic
- DheebArabic
- ܕܐܒܐAramaic
- বাঘAssamese
- LlobuAsturian
- БацӀAvaric
- CanavarAzerbaijani
- Adi canavarAzerbaijani
- БүреBashkir
- Wuif/WoifBavarian
- воўкBelarusian
- звычайны воўкBelarusian
- шэры воўкBelarusian
- ВълкBulgarian
- Chengu སྤྱང་ཀི།Tibetan
- BleizBreton
- Vuk - ВукBosnian
- ШоноBuriat
- LlopCatalan
- БорзChechen
- NashobaChoctaw
- ᏩᏯCherokee
- Влькъ - ⰂⰾⱐⰽⱏChurch Slavic
- КашкӑрChuvash
- Ахаль кашкӑрChuvash
- Сӑрӑ кашкӑрChuvash
- Hó'neheCheyenne
- Mahiihkan - ᒪᐦᐃᐦᑲᓐCree
- БорюCrimean Tatar
- vlk obecnýCzech
- BlaiddWelsh
- Grå ulvDanish
- UlvDanish
- VergZaza
- ހިޔަޅުDivehi
- Γκρίζος ΛύκοςGreek
- LoboSpanish
- Lobo grisSpanish
- HuntEstonian
- HallhuntEstonian
- OtsoBasque
- گرگPersian
- susiFinnish
- ÚlvurFaroese
- FjallaúlvurFaroese
- loupFrench
- Loup grisFrench
- Loup VulgaireFrench
- LopArpitan
- LôfFriulian
- FaolchúIrish
- Mac tíreIrish
- FaolScottish Gaelic
- madadh-allaidhScottish Gaelic
- madaidhean-allaidhScottish Gaelic
- 𐍅𐌿𐌻𐍆𐍃Gothic
- λύκοςAncient Greek
- વરુGujarati
- 狼Hakka Chinese
- LouHaitian Creole
- 'Īlio haeHawaiian
- ʻĪlio haeHawaiian
- Sivi vukSerbian (Latin)
- זאב מצויHebrew
- भेड़ियाHindi
- Kwewuhop
- VukCroatian
- WjelkUpper Sorbian
- FarkasHungarian
- szürke farkasHungarian
- ԳայլArmenian
- Գորշ գայլArmenian
- SerigalaIndonesian
- VolfoIdo
- Amaruq - ᐊᒪᕈᖅInuktitut
- AmabuqInupiaq
- ÚlfurIcelandic
- LupoItalian
- Lupo grigioItalian
- オオカミJapanese
- タイリクオオカミJapanese
- მგელიGeorgian
- მგელი - ႫႢႤႪႨGeorgian
- QasqırKara-Kalpak
- AmaroqKalaallisut
- ДыгъужьKabardian
- пӑсты войkca
- ҚасқырKazakh
- វនសុនខKhmer
- ತೋಳKannada
- 늑대Korean
- 회색늑대Korean
- КӧинKomi-Permyak
- گورKurdish
- BlythCornish
- КарышкырKyrgyz
- LupusLatin
- LovoLadino
- WollefLuxembourgish
- БарцӀlbe
- holanemidldn
- ЖанавурLezghian
- LôLigurian
- WoufLimburgish
- LufLombard
- ຫມາປ່າLao
- VilkasLithuanian
- Pilkasis vilkasLithuanian
- stiqayuʔlut
- VilksLatvian
- ВрьгазMoksha
- ВьрьгазMoksha
- AmboadiaMalagasy
- ПиреMari
- WuruhiMāori
- волкMacedonian
- ചെന്നായ്Malayalam
- LupuMaltese
- Саарал чоноMongolian
- ᠴᠢᠨᠤᠠ - ЧоноMongolian
- Saaral ChonoMongolian
- लांडगाMarathi
- Serigala KelabuMalay
- Serigala - سريڬالاMalay
- YvhvMuscogee
- ဝံပုလွေBurmese
- ВерьгизErzya
- MąʼiitsohNavajo
- Bwanso ब्वाँसोNepali
- LupeNovial
- ma'iinganOjibwa
- Ma’iinganOjibwa
- БирӕгъOssetic
- ਬਘਿਆੜPunjabi
- WilkPolish
- Wilk SzaryPolish
- لېوهPashto
- LupRomanian
- Lup cenuşiuRomanian
- Серый волкRussian
- Обыкновенный волкRussian
- БөрөYakut
- वृकःSanskrit
- gumpeNorthern Sami
- වෘකයාSinhala
- අළු වෘකයාSinhala
- VlkSlovak
- Vlk dravýSlovak
- VolkSlovenian
- Sivi volkSlovenian
- بگھڙSindhi
- YeySomali
- UjkAlbanian
- UjkuAlbanian
- Ujku griAlbanian
- вукSerbian
- Вук - VukSerbian
- vargSwedish
- varg/hundSwedish
- ஓநாய்Tamil
- RutoTahitian
- తోడేలుTelugu
- ГургTajik
- зайбTajik
- зиъбTajik
- увайсTajik
- гурги хокистарӣTajik
- หมาป่าThai
- หมาป่าสีเทาThai
- ተኹላTigrinya
- KurtTurkish
- Avrasya KurduTurkish
- БөрүTuvinian
- КионUdmurt
- بۆرەUyghur
- вовкUkrainian
- بھیڑیاUrdu
- BoʻriUzbek
- Bo‘riUzbek
- qashqirUzbek
- LóvoVenetian
- HändikazVeps
- Hahk händikazVeps
- Järgeline händikazVeps
- Chó sóiVietnamese
- Ontoquaswam
- tulí∙šɁWasho
- LeuWalloon
- გერიMingrelian
- וואלףYiddish
- 灰狼Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the wolf
Other species in the same genus Canis.
Coyote
Canis latrans
Golden jackal
Canis aureus
Ethiopian wolf
Canis simensis
Dog
Canis familiaris
Thoa
Canis lupaster
CompareWolf vs CoyoteWolf vs Golden jackalWolf vs Ethiopian wolfWolf vs Canis etruscus
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is a wolf?
The wolf is a mammal in the family Canidae, order Carnivora. Its scientific name is Canis lupus.
How heavy is a wolf?
The wolf has a representative adult body mass of 32.18 kg, placing it in the large size class.
What does a wolf eat?
The wolf is a carnivore. Its main foods include moose, red deer, roe deer, wild boar, bison, rangifer tarandus, fish, salmon, carrion, berry and apple.
How long does a wolf live?
Sources give a lifespan of 20 years for the wolf, with values up to 29.5 years.
How many young does a wolf have?
A wolf litter has a representative size of 4.98 young, with up to 6 reported, after a gestation of 61 to 63 days.
Which countries is the wolf recorded in?
Checklists record the wolf in Australia.
Who named Canis lupus?
Canis lupus was named by Linnaeus, 1758.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals · CC0 1.0 · 1.0
Wilman, H., Belmaker, J., Simpson, J., de la Rosa, C., Rivadeneira, M.M. & Jetz, W. (2014) EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95: 2027. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1917.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1 - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Wolf (Canis lupus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/wolf
“Wolf (Canis lupus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/wolf.
@misc{wolf_2026,
title = {Wolf (Canis lupus)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/wolf},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}