Michigan wildlife researchers have released new information on the state’s gray wolf population, and a new way of counting wolves is providing a much more detailed picture of how their numbers change throughout the year.
Researchers with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Michigan State University used more than 1,300 remote cameras across the Upper Peninsula to estimate wolf abundance throughout different seasons. The project represents the first time researchers have successfully produced Michigan wolf population estimates using a large-scale remote-camera network.
The results are particularly relevant to U.P. hunters because they provide new information not only about how many wolves Michigan has, but also about how dramatically that number can fluctuate depending on the time of year.
Latest Winter Estimate: 792 Wolves
Michigan’s newest traditional winter wolf survey produced an estimated minimum population of 792 wolves in the Upper Peninsula in 2026.
That compares with the DNR’s 2024 estimate of roughly 760 wolves. The 2024 survey also identified 158 packs averaging about 4.8 wolves per pack. Despite year-to-year changes in the estimates, the DNR has considered Michigan’s wolf population statistically stable for more than a decade.
Michigan’s wolf population has also exceeded state and federal recovery goals for more than 20 years. But the new camera project shows why a single winter number doesn’t tell the entire story.
Cameras Estimate Anywhere From 525 to Nearly 1,200 Wolves
Researchers deployed 1,311 DNR-owned cameras throughout the Upper Peninsula beginning with the full-scale survey in 2023.
The cameras were generally placed along lightly traveled roads and trails where wolves were likely to move. Between October 2023 and June 2025, they collected more than 2 million photographs.
Machine-learning software helped researchers identify animals in those images before the results were reviewed and incorporated into statistical population models.
The resulting monthly wolf estimates varied substantially.
- The highest estimate was approximately 1,198 wolves in October 2024.
- The lowest was approximately 525 wolves in March 2025.
That doesn’t mean hundreds of wolves suddenly disappeared from Michigan over a few months. Wolf populations naturally go through an annual cycle.
Numbers increase after pups are born and survive through summer. By fall, pups are large enough to travel with packs, while young wolves may begin dispersing in search of territories and mates.
Mortality and dispersal gradually reduce the population before the next breeding and denning period, producing lower estimates toward late winter.
For hunters, this is an important distinction: Michigan doesn’t simply have one fixed number of wolves throughout the year.
Camera Counts Closely Matched Traditional Wolf Surveys
One of the most significant findings was how closely the new method agreed with Michigan’s established winter wolf surveys. Michigan traditionally estimates wolves by locating and following tracks in snow and identifying individual packs and territories.
During the comparable 2024 period, the camera system estimated approximately:
- February — 773 wolves
- March — 794 wolves
The traditional winter survey produced a very similar estimate in the same general range.
That agreement gives researchers confidence that remote cameras could become an important additional tool for monitoring Michigan wolves.
It also solves one major problem with traditional wolf surveys: snow.
Track surveys need suitable snow conditions. A mild winter can leave researchers without enough snow, while frequent heavy snowfall can repeatedly cover tracks before biologists can follow them.
The camera network operates regardless of those conditions and can collect information throughout the year.
The Cameras Could Tell Hunters Much More Than Wolf Numbers
The project may eventually have implications well beyond wolves. The cameras also photographed white-tailed deer, black bears, coyotes, bobcats, red foxes, wild turkeys and other wildlife.
Researchers believe a single large camera network could potentially be used to monitor several wildlife populations simultaneously, reducing the cost and manpower needed for separate surveys.
That could be particularly valuable in the Upper Peninsula, where deer populations, winter severity, predators and habitat conditions are closely connected.
For deer hunters, better information about where wolves and deer occur — and how those distributions change seasonally — could eventually give wildlife managers another source of data when evaluating deer management decisions.
Wolves and U.P. Deer Remain a Major Hunting Issue
Few Michigan wildlife issues generate as much discussion among hunters as wolves.
The U.P. wolf population recovered after wolves were nearly eliminated from Michigan during the 20th century. Natural recolonization accelerated during the late 1980s and 1990s, and the population eventually surpassed recovery objectives.
More recently, Michigan’s wolf population has remained relatively stable, suggesting wolves may be near the biological carrying capacity of available U.P. habitat.
At the same time, many U.P. hunters continue to raise concerns about predation on deer, particularly in areas where deer populations have struggled following severe winters.
The relationship isn’t simple. Winter severity, habitat quality, food availability, hunting mortality and predation can all influence deer numbers. But wolf abundance remains an important part of the discussion about managing the Upper Peninsula deer herd.
The new camera system may eventually help researchers understand those relationships at a much finer scale.
Can Michigan Have a Wolf Hunting Season?
Not currently. Gray wolves in Michigan remain protected under the federal Endangered Species Act. Under current federal protections, wolves generally cannot legally be killed except when there is an immediate threat to human life.
Michigan therefore cannot simply establish a recreational wolf hunting season while those federal protections remain in effect.
The issue remains politically active, however. Legislation introduced in the Michigan House in 2026 would require the DNR to establish a wolf hunting season in the Upper Peninsula within 90 days if gray wolves are removed from federal Endangered Species Act protection.
Whether that ever results in an actual Michigan wolf season ultimately depends heavily on future federal action.
What the New Wolf Numbers Mean for Michigan Hunters
Perhaps the biggest takeaway from the new research is that Michigan now has two different ways of looking at its wolf population. The traditional winter survey provides a useful minimum population estimate at approximately the lowest point of the wolves’ annual population cycle.
The new camera survey can show how wolf abundance changes throughout the rest of the year.
For 2026, the traditional survey puts that winter minimum at approximately 792 wolves. Camera research, meanwhile, shows that the number of wolves on the landscape can be substantially higher during other portions of the annual cycle.
For hunters interested in the future of U.P. deer management — and the long-running debate over whether Michigan should eventually have a regulated wolf season — those numbers will be important to watch.
Follow Michigan Seasons and Regulations With Hunterizer
Michigan hunting regulations continue to change, including major updates affecting deer and other game species.
The Hunterizer app puts Michigan hunting seasons, species-specific regulations and hunting zones in one place and helps hunters quickly answer one of the most important questions before heading into the field: What can I hunt here today?
Hunterizer covers 45 Michigan species, including big game, small game, upland birds, migratory birds and furbearers, with season information, legal hunting methods, bag limits, hunting hours and other important regulations.
As Michigan wildlife management evolves — whether that involves deer regulations, changing season structures or potentially even wolf management someday — Hunterizer will continue updating Michigan hunting information to help hunters stay informed and hunt legally.
