Do wolves need wilderness areas to survive? Can they survive near urban areas?
It was thought that gray wolves were a wilderness species, but wolves are expanding into areas that we once thought could not support them. In Minnesota and Wisconsin, wolves have shown that they can tolerate more human disturbance than we previously thought. Consequently, it appears that wolves can survive anywhere there is sufficient food and human tolerance to allow their existence. From a biological standpoint, we know that wolves can and do survive near urban areas. But whether wolves survive near cities and towns will depend on people. There are areas near large cities that have sufficient wild prey to support wolves. Wolves are predators, however, and conflicts arise when they kill livestock and domestic animals, including pets. These conflicts, along with urban hazards such as vehicle traffic, will likely limit the establishment of wolf populations near urban areas. 4) How far do wolves travel? Wolf packs usually hunt within a specific territory. It is not uncommon for territor
