Wolf (Canis lupus)
Wolf has been living on the Estonian territory for at least 10 000 years. Wolf is very similar to a big German shepherd. There are no definite characteristics distinguishing a wolf from a dog, but there are certain differences in the carriage of head and tail. Wolf’s footprint is more oblong than the dog’s and the wolf’s trail runs straight. It is speculated that at present there are 150-300 wolves in Estonia. Average weight is 35-45 kilograms, but considerably heavier animals also occur. Wolf’s mating season is in January and February. In general the cubs are born in April. Sexual maturity is reached at 2-3 years. Cubs are born in the pack only to the so-called alpha couple. Wolf pack can kill any mammal living in Estonia.Wolf may be hunted by calling hunt, hunting from hides or stalking hunt and hunt using the flag lines from 1st January to 31st March and by driven hunt and hunt with hunting dogs from 1st January to 28th February.
The hunting volume of wolf is divided according to packs. Division of hunting quotas in such a way does not enable to plan wolf hunting in the form of paid hunting packages, due to which the wolf hunting in RMK hunting districts is organized in addition to wild boar hunting. The hunting volume is different by different years, depending first of all on assigned quota. Best possibilities for wolf hunting are in the Rakvere-Tudu hunting district.