Latest Fish and Game wolf population estimate is 1,543 and stable since 2019

Idaho has had a summer population of about 1,500 wolves for the last three years

Idaho’s wolf population has remained stable and consistent over the last three years based on camera surveys done last summer and since 2019. The 2021 population estimate for Aug. 1 was 1,543 wolves. The 2020 and 2019 estimates were 1,556 and 1,566.

Fish and Game staff deploy cameras during summer when Idaho’s wolf population is near its annual peak. Biologists then monitor hunting, trapping, and other sources of mortality throughout the year to understand how the population varies from late spring when pups are born and throughout fall and winter when most hunting and trapping occurs.

"The population estimate is a valuable tool to measure the effectiveness of Fish and Game Commission’s wolf management and provide the public with a clear understanding of that management," Idaho Fish and Game Director Ed Schriever said.

Documented mortality from July 1 through Dec. 31, 2021, was 300 wolves, which is 37 more than July through December of 2020, and 36 fewer than the same period in 2019, which was a record year for wolf harvest.

Most wolves are taken by hunters and trappers each year. Other mortality includes wolves killed during, or after, preying on livestock, and wolf management done by Fish and Game to reduce pressure on elk herds, as well as natural mortality.

Documented wolf mortality in Idaho over the last 5 years (2016 through 2020) has averaged 436 wolves annually. Wolf mortality is tracked from July through June rather than a calendar year.