Are there gray wolves in Washington State outside the North Cascades?
Yes. Wolves have been sighted throughout the Cascade Range and in the Selkirk Mountains in the state’s northeast corner. Are gray wolves reproducing in the North Cascades? In 1990, adults with pups were seen in the Hozomeen area. This was the first known reproduction of wild wolves in Washington State in at least 50 years! Since 1990, biologists have seen three separate groups of adult wolves with pups in the Cascades. Wolves mate in February or March. About 63 days later a litter averaging six pups is born. What about gray wolf numbers in the rest of North America? Gray wolves once roamed the continent from as far north as the Arctic to as far south as Mexico. Today they occupy about one percent of their former range in the contiguous United States. More than 1,000 gray wolves live in northern Minnesota. Small populations live in Wisconsin and Michigan. Ten to 15 more live in Michigan’s Isle Royal National park and about 30 in or near Montana’s Glacier National Park. Gray wolves are c
