Wolves have been hunted for centuries. Their habitat has been destroyed through clearance of the land for settlement, and fuel. They have been seen mostly as a threat to humans as they were at the top of the food chain. 

They were also seen as a threat, as they preyed upon domestic animals because of their vulnerability. They have been hunted by poison, trapping, and shooting. Over the years, the wolf became a sought after prize. 

Wolf fur became a prestige object signifying bravery and valor. There were hunting parties set up to find and kill them, for no other reason than for sport,even when they posed no threat. 

With the expansion of the human race, the wolf numbers have dwindled, until they became extinct in many places across the world. 

There are now reintroduction programs being implemented across the world, to save the wolf from complete extinction, but poaching is still a very real problem and hazard. 

They were formally found throughout the northern hemisphere in Alaska, Canada, the region around the Great Lakes. They were hunted to extinction in all other areas of the country. 

The wolf population was lowest in Eurasia in 1930�s and 60�s, and lowest in North America in the 1950�s. In 1995 there was a reintroduction of the Gray Wolf into the wilderness areas like the Rocky Mountains. There were also 30 Gray Wolves reintroduced into Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, Minnesota, and are thriving. There are also some in the Isle Royal National Park, ********. There are now approximately 2,500 Gray wolves in the lower 48 states of America, and 10,000 in Alaska to date.

With the combination of the hunting of wolves that takes place (they preyed on cattle), coupled with the fact that the red wolf has been mating with coyotes, and coyotes expanding into their territory, the red wolf numbers have dwindled. Also, many diseases such as heartworm preyed on the wolves.

In 1967, the Red Wolf was made an endangered species. In 1980, the Red Wolf was declared extinct in the wild. Currently there are only 300 Red Wolves in the world, and only 75-80 of them currently survive in the wild.