Canada
Canada boasts the largest wolf population in the Western Hemisphere. The vast subarctic wilderness of Nunavut and the Northwest Territories is home to over 10,000 wolves, the most of any province, with Ontario not far behind. With the exception of the midwestern provinces' broad prairies, grey wolves roam the entire Canadian mainland, from Labrador to the Yukon, living much as it always has. Some of the world's best wolf-howling destinations include Canada's remote Wood Buffalo National Park in northern Alberta and the Nahanni National Park Reserve, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Northwest Territories.
Russia
Owing to its currently volatile political and economic situation, Russia is in a less than ideal position to promote the kind of strict environmental regulations that have proven necessary to protect wolf populations in other parts of the world. Nevertheless, packs continue to thrive here in greater numbers than anywhere else. Siberia's isolated wildernesses and Russia's western taiga remain largely undeveloped, allowing wolves to live in their native habitat undisturbed.
Though it is possible to encounter wolves throughout the Russian countryside, you are more likely to find them in national parks and preserves, the only areas where wolf hunting and trapping is restricted by law. An obvious destination is Lake Baikal. Located in eastern Russia's Irkutsk region, Lake Baikal is the deepest lake in the world and the largest, holding about one-fifth of the world's fresh water. Prime wolf habitat near the lake includes Barguzinsky Zapovednik (one of Russia's oldest nature preserves) and Zabaikalsky National Park. Wolves enjoy protected status in both parks.
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