The High Arctic: Home to the Arctic Wolves of Canada and Greenland

Oct 13, 2024

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Scattered amongst the Northwest Territories of Canada and the vast wilderness of Greenland lives the Arctic Wolf. The Arctic Wolf is known by its additional names: White Wolf, Polar Wolf, and the Latin name “Canis lupus arctos”. Due to the location of their northern habitat, the Arctic Wolf experiences more than thirty days each year with no sunlight, a phenomenon known as the “Polar Night”. In contrast, the Arctic Wolf also experiences as many as over fifty days with no sunset due to the earth’s rotation. With average temperatures within this inhospitable climate plunging to as low as -22°F each winter, the Arctic Wolf depends upon their thick white coats and unique physical characteristics to keep themselves warm.

As a subspecies of the Grey Wolf, the Arctic Wolf has adapted to the frigid Arctic climate. Unlike their relatives, Arctic Wolves have a few physical characteristics that help them survive the unrelenting wind and snow of the Arctic winter. Arctic Wolves have shorter noses and ears, which allow their blood to circulate closer to their bodies without the need to travel to extremities unnecessarily far from their primary circuit. The Arctic Wolf is also smaller, but with an extra layer of fat that not only provides insulation, but also acts as food storage when hunting is slow. The Arctic Wolf is known to be a predator of animals like musk oxen, caribou, and the Arctic hare, but has essentially no predators.

From 1982 to 1995, the Arctic Wolf population was considered vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, but has since been updated to the status of “least concern” and has remained that way ever since. It is surprising to note that their total population is estimated by some to be less than one hundred individual wolves, but due to the aforementioned lack of serious predators and their tendency to wander and patrol over significant distances, there is little need for their population to exceed the current number. This does, however, make it an exceptionally difficult task to locate these beautiful creatures. With their population numbers already low, their snow-white camouflage adds to the difficulty of observing them within the Arctic, though their lack of fear towards humans does not make the task seem less daunting.

The Northeast Greenland National Park is known to be the largest national park in the world and is the primary home of the Arctic Wolf. The national park’s 375,000 square miles of pristine and unspoiled wilderness are home to an estimated 90% of all Arctic Wolves. With hunting and trapping now prohibited within the national park, all of the native animal populations have begun to thrive. Previously, from the early 1900s to the 1960s, huntsmen and trappers from Denmark and Norway put sizable dents within the native populations of Arctic wildlife. Thankfully, the population numbers have been restored to an acceptable range. Today, around 350 trapper huts remain throughout the tundra of the high Arctic and are maintained by a private organization called “Nanak”. These huts can be seen as a reminder to take note of previous Arctic activity and to take on the responsibility to protect Arctic wildlife from the threats of extinction and harm.