Wolf (Canis lupus; Ukrainian: вовк; vovk). The largest of the wild members of the dog family Canidae. A powerful and intelligent social animal, the wolf inhabits both open and timbered areas throughout Ukraine (except the Crimea). Wolves are common in the forests of north Polisia, in steppe gullies, and in the Carpathian Mountains; they hunt in pairs or packs, mostly at night. In 2007 the wolf population in Ukraine exceeded 2,500. As carnivores wolves perform the important natural function of controlling the population of herbivores, but they also kill domesticated animals; for that reason wolf hunting is permitted year round.

[This article originally appeared in the Encyclopedia of Ukraine, vol. 5 (1993).]


Encyclopedia of Ukraine