Arctic Wolf - Habitat and Distribution

Habitat and Distribution

The arctic wolf inhabits the Canadian Arctic and the islands, parts of Alaska and northern part of Greenland. Their habitat extends from 70° North latitude and higher. They have lived in North America for more than two million years. When they find a den, they make a couple of chambers for food and young. The arctic wolf is the only subspecies of the Gray Wolf that still can be found over the whole of its original range, largely because, in their natural habitat, they rarely encounter humans. The arctic wolf is also the only subspecies of wolf which is not threatened - their remote home means that they are relatively safe from man's activities, both in terms of hunting and habitat destruction.

Their habitat is extremely harsh and remote, and few scientists venture into that world during the long, dark winter – even the vast majority of Inuit live further south than the arctic wolf. As a result, the details of their lives through much of the year are virtually unknown.