Eastern timber wolf on the rebound in Great Lakes states

The timber wolf is a subspecies of the gray wolf that became one of the first animals to be listed under the Endangered Species Act.

Since 1978, the wolf population in Minnesota has nearly doubled to an estimated 2,200. In Michigan, the wolf population jumped from 57 in 1994 to 80 wolves a year later.

The recovery of the Eastern timber wolf has not required reintroduction of wolves, as is now being attempted in some Rocky Mountain states with gray wolves, but rather has been accomplished primarily through legal protection and public education, said Jim Hammill, a Michigan biologist, in an interview with The New York Times.

"The Yellowstone wolf reintroduction is small potatoes compared to what's happening here. Wolves have returned in impressive numbers, and they've done it on their own, at no cost."

Scientists are now conducting winter surveys and expect to find at least 200 additional pack members as a result of this summer's pup production.

This story compiled by the Outside Online staff