Habitat:  Wolves belong to a group of species known as generalists. This means that as long as their basic needs of food, water, and shelter are met, they can adapt to a wide variety of environmental conditions. This includes the tundra of Alaska and Siberia, forestlands, prairies, mountains, the deserts of Mexico and southwestern states and the coastal beaches of British Columbia. Wolves’ favored prey – ungulates – can be found in all these varied habitats in the form of elk, deer, bison, caribou, big horned sheep, mountain goats. In addition, wolves aren't particularly picky about the smaller prey they will eat. This is another trait of generalist species. Originally, worldwide, wolves were the most widely

distributed of wild mammals. 

 

When searching for a territory to call home, two additional limiting factors come into play. Wolves will avoid settling into areas already occupied by another family of wolves and will also avoid areas that are too heavily occupied by humans. Human disturbance of the landscapes, such as road/ town/city development, deforestation, livestock grazing and  mining in areas that were historically prime wolf habitat, have placed major obstacles to the wolves’ recovery.  

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