IBERIAN WOLF (Syllabus: GS Paper 3 - Env & Eco)

Context: The Iberian wolf (Canis lupus signatus), the species of gray wolf native to the Iberian Peninsula comprising Spain and Portugal, has been extinct in the historic region of Andalusia in the extreme south of Iberia since 2020, according to the regional government.

Key Points

• Andalusia is an ‘autonomous territory’ of Spain and consists of eight provinces: Almería, Cádiz, Córdoba, Granada, Huelva, Jaén, Málaga, and Seville.
• The Iberian wolf is currently distributed over most of the autonomous territories of Galicia, Asturias, Cantabria, Castilla y León and some areas of La Rioja, Madrid and northern Castilla La Stain.
• More than 90 per cent of the population is located in Castilla y León, Galicia and Asturias; On the contrary, the southern population is in sharp decline.
• The Iberian wolf, like other types of gray wolf, lives in packs that are territorial and hierarchical and led by a dominant breeding pair.
• In Andalusia, it was mainly found in Sierra Morena which had good cover, prey base in the form of wild ungulates and a scarce asphalted road network as well as lack of other infrastructure.
• IUCN Status: Vulnerable.