Following is a condensation of various pamphlets and articles featured at Wolf Hollow.

Once populating the entire lower 48 states, the wolf was the regulator of the many herds of hoofed mammals.  A natural balance existed between the number of wolves, mammals and the supporting capacity of the land.  In order for the livestock industry to lease vast areas of public grazing land, a cheap solution was undertaken:  the systematic slaughter of the wolf though shooting, poisoning and trapping.  It was a sad but successful process.  The wolf was eliminated from just about all areas of the United States. 

Wolves prey primarily on large grazing animals like elk, deer and bison.  The incidence of predation on livestock is remarkably low.  In an average year in Minnesota, which has about 1,650 wolves, around 50 of the 7,200 livestock operations report any losses of livestock due to wolves (ranchers are reimbursed for any losses by the Federal Government).  Wolves that prey on livestock are routinely controlled.   In Minnesota, an average of approximately 60 wolves per year were killed, died or kept in captivity between 1984 and 1993, in association with livestock damage.  In Montana, several wolves have been killed, relocated or moved to captivity because of livestock conflicts.

According to wolf expert Dr. L. David Mech, there is no documented case of a healthy wild wolf killing or seriously injuring a human in North America.  By comparison, more than 20 people are killed and 3 million attacked each year by man's best friend, the domestic dog. 

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services statistics:

What is the historical range of the gray wolf in the contiguous United States?
Before the arrival of European settlers, wolves ranged widely across the continent, from coast to coast and from Canada into Mexico.  Two species were found in North America:   the gray wolf lived throughout most of the Untied States, Canada, and Mexico, and the red wolf lived only in the southeastern United States.

What are the current population designations of the gray wolf in the United States?
The Fish and Wildlife Service currently manages the recovery of three distinct populations of gray wolf by addressing three recovery units (the Eastern, Northern Rocky Mountain, and Mexican gray wolf). The Eastern gray wolf population is centered in the western Great Lake States of Minnesota, Michigan, and Wisconsin.  The population boundary of the Eastern gray wolf also stretches through virtually the entire East, however, wolf recovery is not considered feasible in most portions of this densely populated area.  The Northern Rocky Mountain gray wolf population consists of two re-introduced populations of wolves in Wyoming (Yellowstone) and Idaho, and naturally-occurring wolves in Montana, and Northern Idaho and individuals in the North Cascades Mountains of Washington.  The potential recovery boundary also includes Oregon, Washington, Utah, and Colorado.  The Mexican gray wolf population, which was recently re-introduced into Arizona, includes most of southeastern Arizona, southern new Mexico and west Texas within its potential recovery boundary.  The Service is also considering the recovery potential of additional populations in the northeastern states that could include New York and Maine, and possibly Vermont and New Hampshire, as well as the re-introduction of wolves to the Olympic Peninsula of Western Washington.

How many wild wolves are there currently in individual states?

If you are interested in checking further into the reintroduction of the Eastern Wolf, please contact Coalition to Restore the Eastern Wolf (CREW) at newolves@mindspring.com

THIS IS NOT A TEST
by Jackie Malcolm

1. Kills to eat, for fun, and for sport.
   
2. Has annihilated whole species through total disregard for the planet they inhabit.
   
3. Has killed "en masse" both to systematically wipe out other species / groups and/or to secure special "parts" of a particular prey.
   
4. Kills members of own species for material gains, for a mate, for territory.
   
5. "Bonds for life" but readings show that approximately 50% of the mates break that bond, often leaving the other mate as a helpless caretaker of the offspring.
   
6. Pays little attention to birth control in relation to food and territory availability.
   
7. Has been known to abuse offspring of their species physically and sexually.
   
8. Its "teenagers" often run in packs and rob, kill, and maim members of their own species.  Have been known to turn against siblings, fathers, and mothers.
   
9. Not uncommon to breed with own offspring which could result in weak, malformed, or mentally deficient offspring.
   
10. On one continent alone, the group has been documented as wantonly attempting to annihilate by killing, trapping, poisoning, maiming, skinning, hunting, and performing inhumane acts upon a species known as canis.

1. Kills only to eat.
   
2. Has never annihilated any species due to their own inborn understanding of species versus food availability.
   
3. Has killed "en masse" when the opportunity has arisen to assure a ready supply of food.
   
4. Kills members of own species for territory to insure welfare of the group as a whole.
   
5. "Bonds for life" to insure group cohesion for perpetuation of the species.
   
6. Bases its culture on controlling the number of offspring so as to balance the group's existence with food availability.
   
7. Reveres offspring of the group as they are the future.
   
8. Its "teenagers" stay within the group, help raise the younger siblings and teach them skills which will assist in the survival of the group.
   
9. Group "hierarchy" prevents incest breeding.  In the absence of a mate, in this species incest on a limited basis can strengthen the gene pool that produces leaders.
   
10. On the same continent, despite its persecution by another species, this group has never had any authentically documented case on record of killing any member of the species known as homo sapiens.