Arctic willow vs gray wolf

Salix arctica compared with Canis lupus

Key Differences

• Arctic willow is Not Evaluated while gray wolf is Critically Endangered.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Arctic willow	gray wolf
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Mammalia (Mammals)
Order	Malpighiales (Malpighiales)	Carnivora (Carnivorans)
Family	Salicaceae	Canidae (Dogs & Wolves)
Genus	Salix	Canis (Dogs & Wolves)
Species	Salix arctica	Canis lupus

Conservation Status

Arctic willow

NE — Not Evaluated

gray wolf

CR — Critically Endangered

Population: ~300.0K

Trend: Stable →

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Arctic willow	gray wolf
Diet	—	Carnivore
Average Lifespan	—	13 years
Average Length	—	1.6 m
Average Weight	—	45.0 kg

Habitat & Geographic Range

Arctic willow

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Range

Distributed across Canada, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden.

gray wolf

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, deserts and xeric shrublands, and tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests, among 13 distinct biome types. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (Seychelles), Asia (Japan), Europe (5 countries), North America (7 countries), Oceania and the Pacific (Marshall Islands, Vanuatu), and South America (5 countries). Currently classified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Arctic willow

The Arctic willow (Salix arctica) is a species in the genus Salix. Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

gray wolf

The most widely distributed wild canid, gray wolves range from North America across Eurasia in diverse habitats including tundra, forests, and grasslands. Highly social animals living in family packs led by a dominant breeding pair. As keystone predators, wolves regulate prey populations and profoundly shape ecosystem structure, as demonstrated by their reintroduction in Yellowstone. Once heavily persecuted, populations are recovering in many regions.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 2 countries:

🇳🇴 Norway 🇸🇪 Sweden