The Problem

Ontario is home to the iconic, but 'hidden', Eastern Wolf

Prior to settlement by the English and French, Ontario had two distinct wolves, the Grey wolf in the north and the Eastern wolf in the south. The Eastern wolf was heavily impacted by Europeans, being extensively hunted and losing large amounts habitat with settlements. Western coyotes migrated east and survived much better on the new landscape of southern Ontario, and mixed with the remaining Eastern wolf population leading to two new species: The Eastern coyote (often mistaken for wolves, sometimes called "coywolves”,”brush wolves”, “Tweed wolves”) and the Eastern Wolf (previously known as the Algonquin wolf).

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What is the difference between an Eastern coyotes and an Eastern Wolf?

Eastern coyotes and Eastern wolves are physically indistinguishable – you can’t tell them apart without a genetic test. Most Eastern wolves live in and around Algonquin Park; roughly 500 individuals total in Ontario. To conserve Eastern wolves in and around Algonquin Provincial Park, it was necessary to enforce a hunting and trapping ban for both Eastern wolves and eastern coyotes.  Adding to the confusion is the fact that Eastern coyotes and Eastern wolves sometimes interbreed, particularly in areas where Eastern wolves are harvested (sadly, this happens across much of their range).  

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Given what we know about the Eastern wolf’s low odds of surviving outside of areas protected from hunting, trapping and vehicle traffic, the vast majority of canids (wolves/coyotes) in the southern parts of our province are Eastern coyotes. Eastern coyotes are much better adapted to living in rural and urban areas, and there are even well-documented populations in Toronto and other heavily populated cities in southern Ontario.