By the numbers
Wisconsin’s estimated wolf population fell to 1,226 in the winter of 2024-25, down 6.5 percent from the previous winter, according to the latest wolf monitoring report from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. But the figure remains well above the figures the DNR initially reported for 2023 and comes after the agency reformed its methods of counting wolves.
The nearby graph shows the trend of the DNR’s estimate as well as upper and lower bounds of what the actual number likely is: The DNR estimates that the true wolf population has a 95 percent chance of falling between 1,087 and 1,379 wolves.
The report revises previous population estimates upward. When the Badger Institute last reported on Wisconsin’s wolves in May 2025, the latest available estimate was 1,007 wolves for 2023. The DNR now puts that year’s population at 1,283, an increase of 276, or 27.4 percent, in the estimated number of wolves. The revised series then rises to 1,311 in 2024 before falling in 2025.
The revisions follow changes in how the DNR analyzes tracking and GPS collar data. Equipment failures and limited snowfall had prevented the agency from producing a reliable estimate for 2024 at the time. The DNR refined its methods and applied them to data from 2020 through 2024, allowing comparisons across those years and 2025.
Under the updated estimates, the population peaked at 1,340 wolves in 2020. The estimated number of packs declined from 363 in 2023 to 354 in 2024 and 336 in 2025. The latest decrease amounts to 18 packs, or 5.1 percent, though it also was not statistically significant. Before 2020, the DNR reported minimum counts, including 248 wolves in 2000 and 914 in 2019. Since 2020, it has used a statistical model.
Wyatt Eichholz is a policy and legislative associate at the Badger Institute.
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