Grey Wolf, Endangered Species Digital Photography Key Ring

Though once abundant over much of Eurasia and North America, the grey 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. Even so, the grey wolf is regarded as being of least concern for extinction according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, when the entire grey wolf population is considered as a whole. Today, wolves are protected in some areas, hunted for sport in others (like Alaska under Governor Sarah Palin’s leadership to shoot them from aircraft), or may be subject to extermination as perceived threats to livestock and pets.