Timber wolves have a wide natural distribution that extends across most of North America and includes much of Europe, Asia, India, and China. However, the powerful carnivores have suffered from human encroachment and their numbers have been reduced or eradicated altogether from a significant amount of their former range. In North America, for instance, where the timber wolf was honored and respected by Native Americans for thousands of years, the wild animals are now primarily restricted to Canada and Alaska, although reintroduction into other areas is underway.