Ethiopian wolf

How it was counted

The figure is the Ethiopian Wolf Conservation Programme's estimate for the whole species, in animals, published without a range, so it reads as about 450. None are held in captivity, so the wild figure is the whole figure.

An estimate published without a range: the best figure from the Ethiopian Wolf Conservation Programme, so read it as about 450 wolves, not exactly that many.

What moves it

The Ethiopian Wolf Conservation Programme names rabies among the chief threats, along with distemper, persecution, habitat lost in the highlands, and how small and cut off the mountain populations are. It reports that confirmed or suspected disease (mostly distemper) has killed wolves in Bale in recent years, far fewer than in an earlier outbreak. It also reports African wolves and other wildlife moving up into the high ground where the wolves live, bringing new rivals, predators, diseases and a risk of crossbreeding, and says some Ethiopian wolves in Menz-Guassa (a small population) have bred with African wolves, limited so far.

• rabies. Source: Ethiopian Wolf Conservation Programme (Oxford WildCRU, Dinkenesh Ethiopia, Ethiopian Wildlife Conservation Authority), Annual Report 2026.
• habitat loss, disease and persecution. Source: Ethiopian Wolf Conservation Programme (Oxford WildCRU, Dinkenesh Ethiopia, Ethiopian Wildlife Conservation Authority), Annual Report 2026.
• small, isolated populations. Source: Ethiopian Wolf Conservation Programme (Oxford WildCRU, Dinkenesh Ethiopia, Ethiopian Wildlife Conservation Authority), Annual Report 2026.
• canine distemper: 12 wolves died of confirmed or suspected disease, mostly distemper, in Bale over the past two years, far fewer than in the 2015 outbreak. Source: Ethiopian Wolf Conservation Programme (Oxford WildCRU, Dinkenesh Ethiopia, Ethiopian Wildlife Conservation Authority), Annual Report 2026.
• hybridisation with African wolves in the small Menz-Guassa population, so far restricted (five putative hybrids in two packs). Source: Ethiopian Wolf Conservation Programme (Oxford WildCRU, Dinkenesh Ethiopia, Ethiopian Wildlife Conservation Authority), Annual Report 2026.
• African wolves and other wildlife moving up into the Afroalpine, bringing new competition, predation, disease and hybridisation risks. Source: Ethiopian Wolf Conservation Programme (Oxford WildCRU, Dinkenesh Ethiopia, Ethiopian Wildlife Conservation Authority), Annual Report 2026.

Who is helping

The Ethiopian Wolf Conservation Programme, with the Ethiopian Wildlife Conservation Authority, runs rabies and distemper vaccination, follows the packs through its Wolf Monitors and Wolf Ambassadors from local communities, and is planning translocations (moving wolves between places). The programme reports that long-running vaccination has helped protect the wolves in Bale.

The next count

The programme publishes an annual report. No date for the next figure is known as of 12 November 2026.

Sources

• Ethiopian Wolf Conservation Programme (Oxford WildCRU, Dinkenesh Ethiopia, Ethiopian Wildlife Conservation Authority), Annual Report 2026 Last checked 12 November 2026.

What changed

• 12 November 2026 Added to Live Species, on the wall (1,000 or fewer): About 450 (Estimate, no range, 2026).

Every change on the site