Wolf Conservation Program

Raincoast’s Wolf Conservation Program is built on peer-reviewed science, public education, and wildlife management reform.

Photo by Michelle Valberg.

Raincoast’s wolf initiatives are working towards shifting the provincial management of gray wolves away from a poorly-informed and exploitation-based model to one that respects the welfare of wolves and their important role in functioning ecosystems. Our ultimate goal is to end the killing of wolves in British Columbia for the purposes of predator control, trophy, and perceived competition for shared prey. 

Moving towards coexistence

The level of human-caused wolf mortality in BC can only be described as staggering. In addition to the hundreds of wolves dying at the hands of lethal control programs (government sanctioned wolf culls), the BC government estimates that some 1,200 wolves are killed annually from recreational hunting and trapping, all sanctioned and encouraged by the province. To ensure that wolves continue their wild ways amidst an uncertain future, coexistence must replace killing wolves.

support this work
A darkly coloured wolf with black highlights walks across the sand in the intertidal zone.
Photo by Colleen Gara.

Science-based approach

Our policy recommendations and advocacy on behalf of wolves are grounded in rigorous, peer-reviewed research and conservation ethics. With our community partners, we continue to gain scientific understanding about wolves across BC. This includes work on coastal wolves – a subspecies that has been found to be genetically distinct from their inland cousins, unique to the Pacific coast. Collaborative efforts among Raincoast scientists, Indigenous Nations, organizations, and several universities are creating contemporary knowledge about this globally unique wolf-deer-salmon system.

Questions we are asking

At Raincoast, we aim to apply and advance research methods that are minimally invasive to wildlife. Accordingly, much of our wolf research hinges on obtaining information from camera traps, acoustic loggers, and samples such as hair and scats, which we collect without capturing or handling wildlife. Through our research along the central and south coasts of BC, we hope to gain a better understanding of wolves and other apex predators in anthropogenically-disturbed populations, and their interactions with prey species in salmon-bearing watersheds. Along the south coast, we are conducting initial surveillance in tributaries of the Fraser River and working collaboratively to develop this research with the local First Nation.

  • How do wolves interact with their environment during disturbance?
  • How does seasonal salmon abundance influence the distribution and behaviour of wolves in wolf-ungulate-salmon systems?
  • How do apex predators, like wolves, contribute to carbon cycling in this unique system? 
  • What are the economic and ecological benefits of wolf presence in anthropogenic landscapes?
Wolf research papers
Wolf reports and books
Hand programming a wildlife cam.
Three running wolves as seen from the air.

The BC government is seeking its second five-year approval to continue killing wolves

Help us tell the government to stop scapegoating wolves and start protecting caribou habitat.
Wolves trot through the snow along the forest edge.

BC seeks another five years of wolf killing: Our technical feedback

Raincoast’s submission draws on expertise in large carnivore ecology, animal welfare, and ecosystem dynamics.
Aerial view of a cutblock with a forest and creak to the right.

Endangered caribou, wolves, and ecological integrity

Killing wolves to protect caribou may accelerate ecological decline and ultimately diminish long-term caribou survival prospects.
Slide 2: An ecotype is a population within the same species that has developed unique genetic traits over time in response to the specific environment it lives in, such as local climate, available prey, or habitat type. Two primary wolf ecotypes are recognized in BC.

Wolf ecotypes in BC

Understanding the ecotype of recovering wolves is critical for conservation, as distinct ecotypes carry adaptations that influence habitat use, diet, and ecological function.
On the left is a coastal rainforest ecotype of wolf, with dark fur, and the left is a Northern Rocky Mountain forest ecotype wolf, in a snowy scene with light grey fur and a larger head.

Genetic legacy and ecological differences of grey wolves (Canis lupus) in southern British Columbia

Understanding the ecotype of recovering wolf populations is important for conservation and management.
The breeding female of a wolf pack emerges from the den just a few weeks after giving birth. The hair loss around her belly and her pronounced teats are visible signs that she is nursing pups.

A mother’s reflection, it takes a pack

Whether in a village or a wolf pack, caring for the next generation is a shared responsibility.
A group of wolf pups sit together in a lush green forest, looking at and playing with one another.

Seasonal shifts in a wolf’s life

What does a wolf’s development look like?
A red-haired young woman stands in front of a projector, speaking to a crowd sat listening as she speaks on wolf biology.

Embracing your inner wolf and field researcher

Events and presentations to get you thinking about wildlife and coexistence.