Wolves essentially were eliminated in Washington by the 1930s through hunting, trapping and poisoning. Federal wolf reintroduction programs in Montana, Wyoming and Idaho are close to meeting or exceeding their recovery goals of 10 breeding pairs in each state. Currently, about a dozen wolf breeding pairs reside in Central Idaho, and about 110 adults and yearlings are in the Yellowstone area. In the wild, wolves feed primarily on elk and deer. Although wolves will prey upon domestic livestock, they are generally considered to present less of a depredation problem than coyotes.
Wolves are reclusive by nature and avoid contact with humans.
There has never been a documented human fatality involving a healthy, wild wolf in the United States.