Select a Location
Lithuania at a glance
Main prey for wolves here are ungulates and livestock.
The Lithuanian Fund for Nature reports on its website the following information about wolves there: “The wolf, or Canis lupus, is one of the two species of large predators living in Lithuania on a permanent basis. Mostly they are found in the Lithuanian border areas with large masses of forestland and wetland. These are the Kamanai Nature Reserve, the Žagarė Forest, the Biržai Wood, the Šimoniai Wood, the Labanoras Wood, the Adutiškis Wood, the Taurai Wood, the Dainava Wood, the Čepkeliai Marsh, and the Karšuva Wood. In other forests, wolves are fairly rare.
“The records of foresters and non-governmental organizations show that in March of 2011 there were 140-180 wolves in Lithuania, and the official statistics from the Ministry of Environment put the number at 300 wolves. However, the official data in countries where wolves are hunted is distorted and artificially increased because the number of wolves allowed to be hunted depends on the results of such surveys.”
Species Information
Species
Common Names: gray wolf, vilkas (Lithuanian)
Latin Name: Canis lupus
Subspecies
Common Name:
Latin Name: Canis lupus lupus
Current Wolf Population, Trend, Status
Number of wolves: Between 140 and 300, depending on the source.
Population trend: Increasing
Legal protection: No protection
This page was last updated in 2020.
Additional Information
Links
Research
- Wolf numbers and distribution in Lithuania and problems of species conservation
Linas Balčiauskas - Wolf conservation and acceptance: Comparison of southeast Lithuania and northeast Poland
Linas Balčiauskas, H. Volodka and Martynas Kazlauskas - The genetic structure of the Lithuanian wolf population
Laima Baltrunaite, Linas Balčiauskas and Mikael Akesson
