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Turkey at a glance

Main prey for wolves here are wild boar, brown hare and livestock. Wolves occupy approximately 75 percent of their former range.

In this paper, researchers Hüseyin AMBARLI, Alper ERTÜRK and Anıl SOYUMERT write:

In Turkey, the family Canidae is represented by three species, which are the gray wolf (Canis lupus Linnaeus, 1758), golden or Asiatic jackal (Canis aureus Linnaeus, 1758), and red fox (Vulpes vulpes Linnaeus, 1758), whereas the only representative of Ursidae is the brown bear (Ursus arctos Linnaeus, 1758).

All four species suffer from a lack of adequate scientific information and science-based approach for their management as they are intermittently allowed to be either hunted or killed by the public without reliable population estimates and information on problematic individuals.

Although we know that all four of these carnivore species have currently viable populations in Turkey, there are no accurate census data or long-term monitoring programs. Under these circumstances, developing and implementing realistic and comprehensive management and conservation plans for these species is not possible for either governmental bodies or conservationists.

Species Information

Species
Common Names: gray wolf, kurt (Turkish)
Latin Name: Canis lupus

Subspecies 1
Common Name:
Latin Name: Canis lupus lupus

Subspecies 2
Common Name:
Latin Name: Canis lupus pallipes

Current Wolf Population, Trend, Status
Number of wolves: About 5,000 to 7,000, according to this paper
Population trend: Declining
Legal protection: No protection

This page was updated in 2020

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