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Greece at a glance

Main prey for wolves here are deer, wild boar, chamois (a goat-like animal) and livestock.

Callisto reports on its website that:

“The wolf in Greece occupies a great variety of habitats, from degraded, hilly areas to densely forested mountains. The greater numbers are found in mountainous and semi-mountainous areas with low human population. Up until the 1930’s the species distribution extended to the whole of the mainland country. The wolf was exterminated from the region of Pelloponisos to the south prior to the 1940’s and from the Prefectures of Voiotia and southern Fokida (Central Greece) in the 1960’s. Re-establishment of wolf numbers begun in the 1980’s due to the abandonment of the bounty system and the use of poisoned baits. Population numbers seem to be stable in most parts of its range, with a possible increase in its southern distribution. Today, wolf distribution extends from Thrace in north-eastern Greece, to Voiotia in southern Central Greece. Although small gaps between wolf territories exist, there is no evidence of complete fragmentation between neighbouring wolf areas.

“Potential fragmentation or lower genetic flow rate barriers include the Axios River and the Thessaloniki-Skopje highway in the north, as well as the construction of the Egnatia Highway running east-west from the Ionian Sea to the borders with Turkey.”

Species Information

Species
Common Name: gray wolf
Latin Name: Canis lupus

Subspecies
Common Name:
Latin Name: Canis lupus lupus

Current Wolf Population, Trend, Status
Number of wolves: About 800 (according to this site) to 1,000 (see this presentation for more information)
Population trend: Stable
Legal protection: Full protection (no exceptions)

This page was last updated in 2020.

Additional Information

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