A PUBLICATION OF THE INTERNATIONAL WOLF CENTER SPRING 2001 · 2 As a Matter of Fact 3 From the...

Female Wolf Attackedon Isle Royale, page 4

Realities BehindOutlaw Wolves, page 8

Five Days inYellowstone, page 11

A PUBL ICAT ION OF THE INTERNATIONAL WOLF CENTERSPR ING 2001

Cover-spring 1/29/01 9:29 AM Page 2

L. David Mech, Editor

How Many Howls Are Enough?Of the 48 continguous United States, only Minnesota has managed toprotect and restore a viable wolf population. Editor L. David Mech,

internationally recognized for his study of Canis lupus, has crafted one of the great conservation stories of the last century in The Wolves of Minnesota: Howl in the Heartland. Nature enthusiasts will find singular pleasure in the data and photography compiled

here by Dr. Mech and his colleagues.

Al l Proceeds Benef i t

The Internat iona l Wolf CenterAvailable Online at www.wolf.org or Directly by Calling 1-800-ELY-WOLF, Ext. 29

ISBN 089658-464-X $24.95100+ Photographs Hard Cover

Teaching the World About Wolves

Cover-spring 1/24/01 3:58 PM Page 3

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8 0 0 - 9 5 0 - 9 4 2 5

2 As a Matter of Fact

3 From the Executive Director

14 International Wolf CenterNotes From Home

17 Tracking the Pack

18 Wolves of the World

22 Personal Encounter

26 News and Notes

27 Wild Kids

28 A Look Beyond

4Dramatic encounter endswith unexpected twistRolf Peterson’s account of a lone wolf’sdesperate attempt at surviving a series of attacks that led her into the icy waters of Lake Superior.

R o l f P e t e r s o n

Features

THE QUARTERLY PUBLICATION OF THE INTERNATIONAL WOLF CENTER VOLUME 11, NO. 1 SPRING 2001

8The Realities Behind OutlawWolf LegendsOld Three Toes, one of the outlaw wolves of the1900’s is chained and muzzled by Governmenthunter Roy Spangler at the Henerson Ranch,Colorado in June 1923. These outlaw wolves were semi-romantic celebrities.

S t e v e G r o o m s

Departments

Dav

e M

ech

Inte

rnat

iona

l Wol

f Cen

ter

11Five Days inYellowstoneThe journal of an International WolfCenter member’s trip to YellowstoneNational Park documents fascinatingwolf sightings.

A l y s o n B a k e r

Dw

ight

And

rew

s

On The CoverA Timber wolf pup takes time to smell

the wildflowers on a sunny springafternoon. This photo of a captive

wolf pup was taken by William Rideg,Kishenehn Wildlife Works in

Missoula, MT.

IntWolf-spring 1/24/01 4:17 PM Page 1

2 S p r i n g 2 0 0 1 w w w . w o l f . o r g

Publications DirectorMary OrtizMagazine CoordinatorAmy BowmanConsulting EditorAmy FarrarTechnical Editor L. David MechGraphic DesignerTricia Hull

International Wolf (1089-683X) ispublished quarterly and copyrighted,2001, by the International Wolf Center,3300 Bass Lake Rd, Minneapolis, MN55429, USA. e-mail: [email protected] rights reserved.

Membership to the International WolfCenter includes a subscription toInternational Wolf magazine, free admissionto the Center, and discounts on programsand merchandise. • Lone Wolf member-ships are U.S. $30 • Wolf Pack $50 • Wolf Associate $100 • Wolf Sponsor $500 • Alpha Wolf $1000. Canada and othercountries, add U.S. $15 per year for airmail postage, $7 for surface postage.Contact the International Wolf Center,1396 Highway 169, Ely, MN 55731-8129,USA; e-mail: [email protected]; phone: 1-800-ELY-WOLF

International Wolf is a forum for airingfacts, ideas and attitudes about wolf-related issues. Articles and materialsprinted in International Wolf do not necessarily reflect the viewpoint of theInternational Wolf Center or its board of directors.

International Wolf welcomes submissionsof personal adventures with wolves andwolf photographs (especially black andwhite). Prior to submission of other types of manuscripts, address queries to Mary Ortiz, publications director.

International Wolf is printed entirely with soy ink on recycled and recyclablepaper (text pages contain 20% post-consumer waste, cover paper contains 10% post-consumer waste). We encourageyou to recycle this magazine.

PHOTOS: Unless otherwise noted, orobvious from the caption or article text,photos are of captive wolves.

How far can a wolf see and can it see in the dark?

Wolves can see at least as well as humans and probably better, for on opentundra they can spot prey such as musk-oxen, or arctic hares, as far as humanscan. Dogs (and almost certainly wolves, from which dogs were domesticated)have several visual adaptations that allow them to see well in the dark. ■

Lynn

and

Don

na R

oger

s

International Wolf magazine is interested in what you think!

Please send comments and/or letters to International Wolf Center, c/o Magazine Coordinator, 3300 Bass Lake Rd., Minneapolis, MN 55429

or email [email protected].

Send us your email address and we can provide you with membership information via cyberspace.

The funds we save will allow us to educate more people. Contact [email protected] with your mail and email addresses.

New Question Who started the Isle Royale wolf study?


I n t e r n a t i o n a l W o l f S p r i n g 2 0 0 1 3

One of the results of our magazine surveys is that readers particularly

enjoy articles describing personal encounters with wolves. This also

relates to a frequently asked question at the Wolf Center, “Where can I go

to see wolves in the wild?” In this issue, two articles address those issues with

distinctive perspectives about encounters with wolves and other creatures in two

spectacular landscapes—Canada’s Northwest Territories and Yellowstone National

Park. Readers will capture a sense of the excitement and drama of being ‘on the

ground’ witnesses to the daily lives of wolves in open country as they participate

in two Wolf Center-sponsored field trips.

Rolf Peterson’s most recent personal encounter

story is not one to miss. This riveting description of

the private lives of wolves in Isle Royale National Park

provides us with a glimpse of just how precarious life

is for a wolf and also how incredibly resilient an

individual animal can be. His story reinforces the idea

that credit for wolf recovery is due in large measure

to the tenacity and adaptability of the species.

These personal stories are supplemented by wolf

tales that have become part of our history. Author

Steve Grooms provides an assessment of why certain wolves came to be legends in

the second part of his article on outlaw wolves. At a time when we knew so little

about the real wolf, the information void was filled with elaborate stories that

only intensified our prejudice toward the wolf and other predators. The stories of

legendary wolves remind us that we have come a long way since the early days

of the last century, but it should also be noted that the tradition of making

exaggerated claims about wolves has hardly disappeared with the new century.

Closer to home, several projects to enhance the visitor experience are in full

swing at our education center in Ely. By the time this issue is in your hands, a new

children’s exhibit room will be in the construction phase, new theater seating will

comfort visitors, and the final planning will be completed on three other significant

projects scheduled for completion in 2001, including a new garage/workshop,

improvements to our wolf enclosure and the repair and paving of the parking lot.

Our visitors are not the only ones getting attention. A walk-in freezer installed over

the winter will store an ample quantity of road-killed deer, ensuring a steady supply

of the favorite food of our newly expanded resident pack of wolves. All in all, it looks

like a most productive and promising spring at the International Wolf Center. ■

From the Executive Director

Several projects

to enhance

the visitor

experience are

in full swing at

our education

center in Ely,

Minnesota.Walter Medwid

INTERNATIONAL WOLF CENTER

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Nancy jo TubbsChair

Dr. L. David MechVice Chair

Dr. Rolf O. PetersonSecretary

Paul B. AndersonTreasurer

Dr. Larry D. Anderson

Phillip DeWitt

Thomas T. Dwight

Nancy Gibson

Helene Grimaud

Cornelia Hutt

Dr. Robert Laud

Mike Phillips

Dr. Robert Ream

Paul Schurke

Teri Williams

Pat Woodworth

MISSION

The International WolfCenter supports the

survival of the wolf aroundthe world by teaching

about its life, its associationswith other species and its

dynamic relationship to humans.

Educational services and informational

resources are available at:

1396 Highway 169Ely, MN 55731-8129, USA

1-800-ELY-WOLF1-218-365-4695

e-mail address:[email protected]

Web site: http://www.wolf.org



Life on Isle Royale

Dramatic Encounter Ends

with Unexpected Twistb y R O L F P E T E R S O N

Rolf

Pete

rson



The island’s Middle pack wasintent on expanding its territoryin 2000. After spending five

weeks at the west end of the island,the pack moved 20 miles on February16, east to country that in 1999 hadbeen used by both their own pack and another, the East pack. There, theMiddle pack found a kill made bycollared male 670 (originally from theEast pack) and a female. The Middlepack followed the pair’s tracks toanother kill, chased the male for amile, and killed him.

Two days later near this kill, tracksin the snow showed that the Middlepack had encountered another wolfpair and had given chase. By aircraft,we followed these tracks for sixmiles, to and along the south shore of the island. We caught up with the 11-member pack at water’s edge,vigorously shaking themselves dry.Twenty feet out in Lake Superior, ona submerged rock in ten inches offrigid water, stood a bedraggled wolf,cowering, its hind quarters almostunder water.

During the next hour, we circled

overhead. After several minutes ofrolling in the snow to dry off, Middlepack wolves either lay in the snow,watching the victim, or strutted backand forth along the shore. In quicksuccession, three wolves jumpedinto shallow water and leaped for the rock where their quarry stoodquivering. Confronted by thissnarling trio, the stranded wolfsnapped furiously at them. The lonewolf was forced backward into neck-deep water, but retained itsfooting and held the attackers at bay;they retreated to shore to shake androll again in the snow.

While we watched, the pack led a series of a dozen attacks on thewolf. The lone wolf ’s desperatedefense was effective, but the ordeal,including standing neck-deep in icewater, took its toll. During the lastfew encounters, the loner adopted anew strategy—when attacked on itsrock, it retreated into the lake andswam along the shore about 30 feetto another submerged rock, buying a few moments before the packmembers jumped back to shore and

The lives of wolves can be grim

as these animals strive to kill

prey many times their size

and compete with each other

and neighboring packs.

Rolf Peterson witnessed an

especially interesting version

of events last year on

Isle Royale, the national park

in Lake Superior that since

1958 has been a natural

laboratory for wolf research.

—Dave Mech

Rolf

Pete

rson

The Middle Pack closes in toattack the lone female wolf,

even after she took desperaterefuge in icy Lake Superior.



away with an all-out run. But sheonly crawled out of the water andstiffly walked a few steps beforestarting to shake off her drenched fur.

Within seconds, the Middle packarrived and knocked the hapless wolfover. The whole pack crowdedaround and bit her. When they pulledback briefly, the female snapped atthem. The last wolf pressing theattack held her throat for severalseconds, leaving her motionless onthe shoreline rocks. The Middle packretreated toward the forest edge, thenlay down in the bright afternoon sun,keeping an occasional eye on theirvictim. We thought the female wasdead, but she raised her head briefly,which brought on a renewed attack.

Finally, the female lay still. Weheaded back to our base camp torefuel at one o’clock.

At half past three, we found the pack heading into the island’s

interior. We planned to land andcollect the carcass, but as we circled,we saw a wolf approaching the scene in the tracks of the Middle

pack — the trailing member of the pack. As it drew near the scene,this looking all around with its tailtucked between its legs. Eventually, it followed tracks to the water’s edgeand saw the female’s carcass.

Without hesitation, the newcomerapproached and, when only two feetaway, the female raised her head! Theoncoming wolf kept its distance, butmoved near the female’s hindquarters,revealing himself as a potential suitor.The male retreated a few feet, climbedup on a nearby rock, and lay down to watch. The female laid her headback down on the bedrock shore.

Periodically, the male approachedthe female, his attention seeming tobreathe life into her. We left the pairalone for two hours. When wereturned at six o’clock for our finalcheck of the day, both wolves weregone! We marveled at the female’sresilience.

The next day, the Middle pack wasmiles away, and from the aircraft, wecould find no sign of the woundedfemale and her new companion. We

landed on a nearby lakeand snowshoed to theattack scene. About 50yards into the woods,we found a successionof three bloody beds.We followed paralleltracks of both wolves,

ran to the new location, where theyrenewed their attack.

We became aware of a newelement when the breeding male ofthe Middle pack jumped to the rockto confront the lone wolf. Instead of pressing the attack, he slowlywagged his raised tail, then circledaround the wolf’s side and inspectedits hindquarters; the male was interested in courting the stranger, afemale in heat, it turned out. Hisarousal prompted his own mate tojump to the rock and launch a severeattack, the other wolves grabbing the strange female and throwing her on her back in the water! Soonall 11 wolves were involved in the melee. In less than a minute,however, the pack retreated and thebedraggled female rose to her feet.

After 45 minutes, the lone female,once again facing a violent attack,swam into Lake Superior, heading fora rocky point about 50 yards downthe shore. Her “dog-paddle” strokesseemed vigorous, and I thought shemight be able to reach shore and get

We became aware of a new element when the breeding male of the Middle pack jumpedto the rock to confront the lone wolf.

L A K E S U P E R I O R

C a n a d a

U n i t e d S t a t e s

This graph, published in Ecological Studies ofWolves on Isle Royale 1999-2000 depicts wolfpack movements during the 2000 winter study.MP II marks the location of Middle Pack II. EPIII marks the location of East Pack III. IsleRoyale annual reports are available forpurchase at www.wolf .org.



with occasional drops of bloodmarking the female’s path for a fewhundred yards.

Five days later, we were rewardedwith a clear view of the woundedfemale and her suitor standing on arocky knoll, about a half-mile fromthe attack site. The female wasstanding while the male attentivelylicked her wounded neck.

Obviously the female was recov-ering! Her companion had providedmuch-needed attention to her neckwound and may have saved her life.But then he became a pest, displayingan imposing array of courtshipbehavior. The female had no evidentinterest, and she had to expend valu-able energy to whirl and snap at hisunwelcome advances.

For almost an hour, we circledoverhead and watched the femaleward off all physical contact with the male except his attention to her

wounded neck. Twice she grabbed amouthful of snow; evidently she had not been able to get to the lakefor water. Prevented from displayingcommon courtship behavior, such aspawing the female’s back, inspectingor mounting her rear, or playfullychasing her, the male tried a newapproach, something I’d never seenbefore in wolf courtship—he stood in front of the female and quickly duga deep hole in the snow, as thoughcaching food, similar to some of thehunting-related courtship behaviorof red foxes.

Two hours later, when we checkedthe pair for the last time, the male wasstill making a nuisance of himself,and the female was still snapping at

him: two individuals, one focused onmere survival, the other on reproduc-tive imperatives, neither with muchchance of success outside the existingterritorial packs. We felt fortunate toobserve the pair again, but this wasour last flight of the winter season. A final outcome would only beknown to the wolves. ■

Rolf Peterson is a professor of wildlifeecology at Michigan TechnologicalUniversity and the author of numerousjournal articles and books aboutwolves, including The Wolves of IsleRoyale: A Broken Balance, publishedby Willow Creek Press. The precedingstory first appeared in ‘EcologicalStudies of Wolves on Isle Royale, 1999-2000,’ an annual report.

Rolf

Pete

rson

Five days after being left for dead by the Middle Pack and by the author, the wolf was on her feet receiving attention to her wounds from a male suitor.

For information about the International Wolf Center’s upcoming adventure toIsle Royale from June 2-7, 2001 please call 1-800-ELY-WOLF Ext. 25.


Uncovering The Realities

Behind “Outlaw” Wolf

LegendsP A R T I I

b y S T E V E G R O O M S


In the last issue of InternationalWolf, we discussed a few of thefascinating legends surrounding

famous wolves with names, oftencalled “outlaw” wolves. From time totime, particular wolves have becomefamous. This was especially commonin the Great Plains states during theearly decades of the 20th century.

When most wolves had beenextirpated from a region, sometimes afew remarkable individuals survivedagainst great odds. These were oftengiven a name. Many of them becamesemi-romantic celebrities, somethinglike human outlaws, and theirexploits were publicized in regionalnewspapers. They were pursuedrelentlessly. At least 150 men huntedThree Toes of Harding County duringthe 13 years the wolf preyed on cattlein a region of South Dakota.

These legendary wolves inspiredmany thrilling and puzzling stories.People talked about them as if theyhad magic abilities to avoid bullets,traps and poisons. Often they wereaccused of wanton depredation onlivestock. Many named wolves weredescribed as physically distinctive,being an unusual color or larger thanaverage wolves. Many were loners.Their exploits were the stuff of camp-fire legends.

But these stories, while fun toread, raise problems for modernstudents of wolves because they

The legendary outlaw wolves inspired many thrilling and puzzling stories. They weredescribed as being physically distinctive, being an unusual color or larger than average

wolves. Many were loners. Their exploits were the stuff of campfire legends.



present such a strange picture ofwolves. Wolves do not have super-natural abilities, and their rangesaren’t nearly as extensive as describedin the old stories. Wolves are not thehuge monsters depicted in thelegends. In general, reading these old tales leaves the impression theauthors weren’t willing to let facts get in the way of a good story.

What can we make of these storiesnow? How can we separate mythfrom reality in these old, semi-authenticated stories?

In their paper, “Accounts ofFamous North American Wolves,”Philip Gipson and Warren Ballardattempt to reconcile fact with fictionfor 59 famous wolves. In the end, the authors conclude that manystories are “exaggerated, inaccurate or fabricated.” Whenever we haveevidence to check old legends—suchas skeletal remains, taxidermymounts, old records or photos—theprovable fact often dashes cold wateron the old legends.

One source of inaccuracy mighthave been the bias of those writingthe reports. Freelance “wolfers” and

governmental agents working toextirpate wolves had an incentive to exaggerate the exploits of depre-dating wolves. Glorifying outlawwolves glorified their own work andargued for continued funding of it.Many tales of renegade wolves comefrom the same source, Stanley P.Young. Young, one of the earliestscientists interested in wolves,believed that wolves were such ahazard to wild game and livestockthat they needed to be controlled.Gipson and Ballard conclude thatYoung’s anti-wolf bias encouragedhim to fabricate and speculate whenretelling stories of outlaw wolves.

Cattlemen had their own reasonsto exaggerate. If a rancher’s inatten-tion caused a heifer to drown, hemight prefer to tell his buddies that“Old Clubfoot” had struck again.Missouri’s Jesse James used to readnewspaper accounts that had himholding up banks in three states onthe same day. The same phenomenonis apparent with these wolf tales.

Some stories about famous wolvesare outright lies. A good example isErnest Thompson Seton’s maudlin

tale, “Lobo, King of the Currumpaw.”Seton claimed that Lobo died of abroken heart. But the skeleton ofLobo, which exists in a museumtoday, has a fresh bullet hole in theskull. Skeletal remains suggest thatthe size of renegade wolves wasroutinely exaggerated. Some oldphotos prove that the sex of famousoutlaws was improperly reported.For many different reasons, thepeople who created these legends justweren’t as careful with the facts asthey should have been.

Yet we should not totally dismissall tales of outlaw wolves. It is notdifficult to understand why so manystories ascribed strange behavior tothe old outlaws.

Many famous wolves were lonersfor the obvious reason that thecampaign to eradicate wolves hadalmost been completed. A great manyof these wolves operated in the firstthree decades of the last century, atime when trapping, and particularlypoisoning, had almost eliminated allwolves. So few wolves remained alivethat they could not form normal packsocial structures.

I l l u s t r a t i o n s b y J O A N O U L L E T T E

This sketch shows the infamous Lobo, the dark wolf in the foreground with his mate Blancastanding behind him. This drawing was adapted from a sketch by Ernest T. Seton, who wrote

the book, Wild Animals I have known, published in 1904 by Charles-Scribner & Sons.



We can also speculate about whysome of these old famous wolveswere claimed to hunt such largeterritories. Since few wolves werealive, the survivors did not need todefend a territory against otherwolves, and were uniquely free toroam opportunistically. And since itwas easier for wolfers to find and kill any wolves that operated in asmall region, wolf eradicationprograms would tend to eliminatewolves with small territories but notkill those with less predictable habits.

It also makes sense that these lastwolves would attack so many cattleand sheep, even though wolvesnormally select wild game as theirprey. Toward the end of the 19thcentury, unregulated market andsport hunt ing had depleted populations of wild game. Beforemodern management techniquesrestored game populations, gameherds fell to dangerously low levels.The last wolves alive were almostforced to attack livestock.

We can even understand, at leastin a general way, why some of thesewolves behaved in ways not normalfor wolves. Most of the famouswolves lived during a period that wasextraordinary. Exploitation pressureswere ferocious. Normal pack struc-tures had been destroyed, and thesurvivors were often forced to live assolitary individuals. The natural preybase had been almost eliminated. It is hard to imagine how a wolf insuch abnormal times could possiblyhave behaved “normally.”

Often the wolves themselves werephysically abnormal. Many weredisabled as a result of being shot,t r apped o r sna red . The mos tcommon injury was the loss of one or more toes to traps. Many of thesewolves were old, some so old theyhad poor teeth. These so-called“gummers” had to resort to unusualtactics to get prey. Several famouswolves were hybrids, not surprisingin view of the fact that wolves that

are deprived of the chance tomate with other wolves

will sometimes matewith dogs.

It even makessense that these

outlaw wolves were exceptionallyhard to eliminate. The last survivorsof such a ferocious campaign of persecution would naturally behighly wary. Some famous wolvesmight have survived because theysimply happened to have unusualhabits. Wolves that behaved typicallywere readily killed by techniquestargeted to kill typical wolves. Wolveswith unconventional habits, whetherthose animals were exceptionallysmart or not, didn’t so easily fall prey to techniques invented to kill conventional wolves. For example,one wolf famous for her resistance totraps baited with scents was found to have no sense of smell. Herlegendary elusiveness was a happyaccident arising from a disability.

We can enjoy these old tales today,for they are thrilling stories. But weshould not too easily accept them astruthful, even though most were basedon elements of truth. The carefulreader will enjoy these old legends but not accept them at face value.

Above all, modern fans of wolvesshould not form general opinionsabout wolves based on the reportedexploits of these unusual animals.Modern wolves are not nearly asdestructive as the legends of theoutlaws would lead us to assume. Atthe same time, wolves are not gener-ally as elusive and canny abouthumans as the outlaw legends suggest.

Outlaw wolves are fascinatingbecause they were so exceptional.For this reason, we should notacquire distorted notions of whatnormal wolves are like based on the anguished last days of the lastwolves living before modern wolfrestoration began. ■

Steve Grooms is the author of severalbooks, including a popular book onwolves and wolf restoration in the United States, Return of the Wolf,which he just revised. A writer living inSaint Paul, he serves on InternationalWolf magazine’s advisory committee.

According to Animals Under The Rainbow, by Aloysius Roche (published by The Broad Water PressLimited, 1952), monks during the 12th century fed wolves and regarded them as creatures created by

God during a time when wolves were severely persecuted. This drawing depicts the allegedly true storyof a wolf St. Francis of Assisi fed to keep it from being driven by hunger to attack the local people.



Day“Focus on the rock in the center of thescope.” The image finally came intofocus: a perfect oval—it was a black wolf curled with its nose tucked neatlyunder its tail. I whooped for joy. A wolfsighting, on our first day in Yellowstone!The black wolf from the Rose CreekPack slowly lifted its head, lookedaround, then curled up again.

b y A L Y S O N B A K E R

Journal Entries Detail an Exciting Look atWolves in the Wild

Following the reintroduction of wolves toYellowstone five years ago, each March andNovember, wildlife technicians in the park observe

the wolves of the Rose Creek, Druid, and Leopold packsdaily to gather data for a study of what wolves prey on and how. Alyson Baker, an International Wolf Centermember from New Zealand, along with other membersand researchers, went on a wolf observation trip thatcoincided with the March 2000 study. Here, ‘Day One’

sets the stage for the rest ofAlyson’s fascinating journal entries about her first experienceobserv ing wolves in th i s remarkable ecosystem.

Dou

glas

Sm

ith

Yellowstone Park’s Druid Peak Pack inhabits primarily the east end of the broad Lamar Valleylying in the northeastern corner of the park. There, they often cross the park highway or lie onridges above the road where visitors can spot them through binoculars or spotting scopes.

Five Days in Yellowstone

Five Days in Yellowstone



DayOur second day gave us wonderfulopportunities to watch the RoseCreek wolves sleeping, frolicking,urinating, ‘scatting’, testing bison,and chasing elk. The night before, wehad listened to a talk by renownedwolf expert Dave Mech, who was also observing the Yellowstonewolves. Yellowstone is allowingunprecedented opportunities tostudy wolves interacting in the wild.

Yellowstone isn’t the end of a re-introduction program, it is thebeginning of a new era of wolfresearch. Fresh observations ofwolves have caused Mech to questionsome of the “fundamental truths” of wolf behavior, particularly withrespect to pack hierarchy and domi-nance. There is so much to observeand think about, so many suspectedchanges in the other species in thepark, so many theories to test!

DayA good way to find wolves is to findfilmmaker Bob Landis. Today, wefound Landis along a road watchingthe Druid Peak Pack. They areknown as the “Deadly Druids”because they have killed wolves fromother packs and coyotes as well aselk. But to our group, the Druidswere most obliging. We observedeight pack members at a kill.Yellowstone Wolf Interpreter RickMcIntyre shared a wonderful story.

McIntyre had observed an encounterbetween the Druids and the RoseCreek Pack, which have adjoiningterritories.

If wolf packs happen to encountereach other in border territory, thesmaller group usually retreatsdiscreetly. This day, both packs hadseven wolves. After a frozen momentin which the packs did their arithmetic, both groups charged!They flew toward each other at topspeed… and flowed right througheach other, unscathed. McIntyrehypothesized that at the last possiblemoment, pack members recognizedkin in the other group.

There are more than five researchprojects on nine species currentlyfunded in Yellowstone, all using radiocollars. It was suspected that the elkwe had seen killed on our first day wasone that had been radio-collared for anelk study. A tech hiked out to check.

Meanwhile, Doug Smith, a biologistfor the Yellowstone Gray WolfRestoration Project, had just hikedinto a mountainous area to try tolocate the Crystal Creek Pack. A signalfrom a female dispersing from thatPack was then picked up deep in RoseCreek territory, causing much specu-lation—how would the Rose Creekwolves react to a dispersing female?

When Doug called in, he said hehad found the entire Crystal CreekPack intact. The collared elk waslocated with a mountain lion on thecarcass (death from unknown causes).The new theory? The radio signalemanating from the Rose Creek terri-tory must have been from a collar on a dog being taken in to track thelion found on the elk… except when the lion techs emerged, they hadn’tbeen using dogs!

The excitement in our group roseas the black stood, stretched, andmoved left. Now we could see a large,gray female sprawled on the ground.The commentary from the techni-cians (techs) sped up as the packassembled. The techs identified eachwolf by number, until we had ninewolves in view! The excitement inthe pack was also rising. The animalsbegan loping, feinting in the snow,and circling each other. Then thewolves faded from view as fallingsnow hid them behind a wall ofwhite; from behind it, came a chorusof howls.

When the snowfall waned, wespotted the pack moving toward anenormous elk herd isolated in thevalley above. Over and over, thewolves corralled a group of elk,circled, made forays into the herd,then wandered off. Suddenly, two ofthe wolves that had been identified asthe breeding pair were running at topspeed toward an elk. After dashing toa better vantagepoint, I could see thekill through my binoculars! One wolfsat to the left, patiently waiting for its turn, while all the other packmembers stood, faces down and tailsup, ripping at the carcass.

And this was just our first day! Ifwe needed any further proof of howlucky we had been, we only neededto watch Diane Boyd, a wolf biologistwith 20 years of field experience whohad just joined us. Boyd was soecstatic at having witnessed her firstkill from the ground, I thought shemight scent mark on the spot!

It was starting to feel like whatever the groupdreamed, we would witness.



The mystery was never solved.In contrast to the research mael-

strom is the simplicity of the wolves.The Druid senior male and femalewith two pups later that afternoonwere having a lovely time playing,sleeping and howling, the black maleswaying in the sun as he howled.

DayIt was starting to feel like whateverthe group dreamed, we wouldwitness. Once, a coyote stopped rightin front of our van to yip and howl.We saw elk frolicking and head-butting in the snow. Snow-coveredbison slept within camera range. And of course, we kept seeingwolves. Day four started with Rickcalling on the walkie-talkie: “TheDruids are waiting for you aboutthree miles down the road!”

These bloody faced, meat-drunkwolves had made yet another kill.The Druids made four kills in 50hours while we were in Yellowstone.

Both Diane Boyd and Dave Mechnoted that when they had handleddrugged Yellowstone wolves, theanimals were so fat that the biologistcouldn’t feel their hips or pelvisbones, contrary to most wolves theyhad studied. Someone asked Dianewhy the pack territories inYellowstone are much smaller thanobserved elsewhere. Was it abun-dance of prey, or the newness of thearea? Diane responded, “Obesity.”

DayOur last day was the only day wedidn’t see wolves. We hiked into oneof the Druid kill sites and watchedtechs sawing off a section of a deadelk’s leg bone to test the marrow forfat content. They also pulled anincisor to test the elk’s age. Then techsremoved a metatarsal (foot) bone tohelp them assess the condition of theelk herd. The metatarsal bone of anelk fetus is the one that grows mostrapidly in the womb. Thus, an

analysis of an elk’s age and metatarsallength indicates the condition of theelk’s mother during the winter whenthe elk was in her womb.

What a week! So much complexinformation to absorb and so manywonderful memories! One evening,we were racing up and down theroads while maintaining walkie-talkie contact, trying to help thetechs locate fast traveling Druids.Dave Mech leaped into the caryelling, “God I love this! This is somuch fun!”

On that same evening, I spottedelk running at top speed. Sweepingmy binoculars to where they hadappeared, I saw why: two Druid pups exploded into view in a dreamof energy, swirling snow and fur! I will always treasure these memoriesof the wolves. ■

Alyson Baker is an International WolfCenter member from New Zealand. Wolfrelated trips have brought her to suchplaces as Anaktuvuk Pass, in Alaska,and to the Sierra de la Cabrera in Spain.

Dou

glas

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The Rose Creek pack makes its way over the snow in the Slough Creek area east of Tower Junction. This area is close to the center of the pack’sterritory, where visitors often watch the wolves trying to catch elk, their main prey, or sometimes even bison.


L. David Mech ReceivesLifetime Achievement Award

On November 3, 2000 the second annual Eugene M.Shoemaker Award was presented to L. David Mech, the

founder of the International Wolf Center in Ely, Minnesota.This lifetime achievement award was created to honor a USGeological Survey employee who uses his or her outstandingscientific ability to introduce complex concepts to manydifferent audiences. The award citation reads as follows:

“Dave exemplifies the criteria for this award not only as a highly respected world-expert on wolf biology and wolfrecovery but by aggressively pursuing every opportunity toinform the public on issues surrounding wolf conservationthroughout the world. With Dave’s guidance, theInternational Wolf Center has grown into a major environ-mental voice for educating the public about wolves. DaveMech sets a high standard for others in ensuring theresearch findings make their way into the decision makingarenas and the public consciousness.”

Congratulations, Dave.


the capital city in the highlands of centralMadagascar. To keepwarm, I put on two layersof socks, bought a threedollar sweater in down-town Antananarivo, andpulled out my fleece jacketfrom the Wolf Center.”

Natasha: “Imagine mysurprise when one day I walked into the Peace Corps office inAntananarivo to find anew volunteer wearing anEly Wolf Center jacket!My family has a place onBear Island Lake, and I


Notes From Home

Imagine the most unlikelyplace to meet your future

spouse. For Aaron andNatasha Sampson, it was inMadagascar, an island offthe coast of southeasternAfrica. This is where thetwo were serving as PeaceCorp volunteers. Thefollowing is a brief accountof the story told by Aaronand Natasha and an explanation of how TheInternational Wolf Centerplayed a major role in theirdiscovery of each other. Aaron: “It was cold when I

arrived in Antananarivo,

Wolf Center Plays Matchmakerin Unlikely Place

Aaron and Natasha Sampson enjoy a dance at theirwedding in Ely, Minnesota on September 23, 2000.

Dave Mech demonstrates how a radio-tracking antenna works. Behind himis a collection of wolf radio collars. Mech has volunteered much of his timeto educating people about wolves.

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Wolf CenterCommendsNew Member

The International Wolf Centerwould like to publicly recognize

one of our newest members, TylerThompson, who purchased his very own membership by sellinglemonade last summer! At right isthe letter Tyler’s mother submittedto the Center:

Good going, Tyler! Withoutmembers like you, the Wolf Centerwould not be what it is today. ■

consider Ely home. WhenI tapped Aaron on theshoulder to point out thecoincidence, we foundthat both of our sets ofparents were actually inEly that very weekend. To make a long storyshort, we realized overthe next few months thatwe had a lot in common.”

Aaron: “Without the jacket,she wouldn’t have paidany attention to me.”

Natasha: “That’s notentirely true.”

Aaron: “But somewhat true.” Natasha: “Anyway, when

I returned to the U.S. inDecember of 1997, Aaroncame along, and we’vespent as much time aspossible in Ely. It is aspecial place for both of us and after ourengagement in January of 2000, it seemed theideal location for ourwedding.”

Because Aaron’s motheris such a strong supporter of the Wolf Center, shesuggested inviting guestsfor a tour on the morning of the wedding. Our guestshad a wonderful time–soAaron and I would like tosay thank you to the WolfCenter–not just for giving a tour to our guests on theday of our wedding, but alsofor helping to bring aboutthat day in the first place!

Congratulations Aaronand Natasha!

Tyler Thompson sells lemonade to raise money forhis International Wolf Center membership.

Che

ryl T

hom

pson

Dear International Wolf Center:I am so proud of my son Tyler—I wanted toshare his love of wolves with you. We have visited the Wolf Center twice. Upon

arrival of your fundraiser [forms] in the mail,Tyler decided he was going to make money to send to help the wolves! He proceeded toorganize a Kool-Aid sale in which he made$16.50 to send to you. I thought you mightenjoy the picture he drew and the time he spenton the computer making the sign for his sale.Tyler has a big heart for animals, and

most of all, wolves.Please accept our donation of $28.

Sincerely,Cheryl Thompson




Major DonorsMichael Baker

James Brandt

Larry Cross

Joan Cunningham

Kathleen Davies

Wallace and Mary Lee Dayton

Isabelle Dee

Brian Dietz

Lynda Eisenberg

Richard Erickson and Julie Corty

J. Henry Fair and Helene Grimaud

Barbara Geyer

Nancy Gibson and Ron Sternal

W. Anthony Gillilan, Jr.

Charles & Sharon Heck

Lacey Hunter

Lois Kaiser

Virginia Kluwin

Ralph & Marjorie Koldinger

Robert Kulus

Conrad Lenzo

Leonard, Street & Deinard

Mary Mc Leod

Dave Mech

Thomas Micheletti

Sarah Morris

Tim & Rita Mulcahy

Jeannie Neidich

Dody Nesbit

James Nystrom

Karen Pajari

Linda Pirtle

John Porretto

Sherry Ray

Nan & Gerard Snyder

Jeff Stehman

Randy Swanson

Target Stores

Twin Spruce Foundation

US Trust Foundation

Melville Walters III

Dorothy Webber

Pat Woodworth

Kiana Memorials Karla BrockwayWolf Food Freezer Donation

Edward Harrison

HonoraryIn honor of Brian Brouse’s Birthday

Dody Nesbit

In honor of Attorney David Fistreceiving one of the Tulsa Community’s highest awards forCommunity Service

Dody Nesbit

In honor of Mr. and Mrs.Josh Price’s weddinganniversary

Dody Nesbit

In honor of Axel Rosar

Lisa Rosar

MemorialsIn Memory of James Gordon Fullerton, II

Howard and Camilla

In Memory of Pidge Hodowanic

Carolyn MerrillRichard HarmonEsther Billick

In Memory of Zella A. Lonergan

David Lonergan

In Memory of Debi L. Mc Clary

Jim Mc Clary

In Memory of Ken Pihringer

Bruce & Lynn Lutz

In Memory of Paul “Kirk” Principe

John & Pamela Brady

In Memory of Joseph Rozman

Mayme Glavan

In Memory of Enar Strid

Kathryn HonakerSue & Jim PollackRonda StingleyMarjorie & David Webster

In Memory of Frank L. Wolf

Richard & Joan Quinlisk


Contributors

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Correction

International Wolf was

notified by Sherry Jokinen

that two photos on pages

six and seven of the

winter 2000 issue were

inaccurately attributed to her.

The photos were taken by

Heather Wieczorek.


and by late December,Malik and Shadow’s phys-ical body structure matchedthat of MacKenzie, Lucasand Lakota, nearing 100pounds. Even though theymaintained the soft pelageand the slight uncoordi-nated efforts of pups, overwinter, they became part of the pack’s “social domi-nance hierarchy.”

During fall and earlywinter, the adult wolvesmade allowances for thepups; the newcomers wereallowed to eat at the carcassfirst; they could pull onMacKenzie’s tail withoutretribution; and they couldjump on top of one of theadults with nothing more

than a responsive grunt. Aswinter waned and the pupsbegan maturing, minimalallowances were made forthese antics, and adult wolfrules began to apply. Thedeer carcass we feed themeach Saturday night was no longer left to Malik andShadow’s leisure: they nowhad to compete with themore experienced adults.

Feeding is not the onlyplace where the pupsnoticed a change. When thepups were young, they wereaccustomed to greeting thewolf care staff as soon as thestaff entered the enclosure.By definition of the socialdominance hierarchy, thealphas have rights to do asthey wish and they began to apply those rights as thepups began maturing.

One hierarchical right isthe right to greet first. Whenwolf care staff enter theenclosure, MacKenzie, the

pack’s alpha female, force-fully pushes the pups asideand leaves them waitingtheir turn. Mackenzie takesthis right seriously; staffm e m b e r s h a v e e v e nobserved her draggingLakota off the greeting rockby his tail so he wouldn’tgreet the handlers first!

The pups have notpermanently established aplace in the pack’s rankorder and may not until theyreach sexual maturi ty,between 18 and 24 months.Until then, the pups waittheir turn as lower packmembers , l ook ing fo ropportunities to climb in thesocial rank order. One thingis certain — the changingdynamics will make forinteresting observations for Center visitors. ■

Lori Schmidt is the wolf curatorat our Center in Ely, MN.

TECHNICAL EDITOR’SNOTE: While the interactionsdescribed in this article are interestingfrom an academic standpoint, readersshould not assume that they representtypical social interactions in naturalwolf packs. The International WolfCenter wolf pack is unusual in threeimportant respects: (1) the wolves areconstrained by a fence and are artifi-cially fed, (2) the adults are spayed,thus changing their natural hormonalprofiles, and (3) the pack is composedof adult littermates and newly intro-duced, unrelated pups. Most naturalwolf packs are composed of an adultbreeding pair and their immatureoffspring; occasionally an unrelatedadult joins the pack temporarily.

—L. David Mech

Tracking the Pack

Fitting Into the Pack: A Lessonin Social Dominance Hierarchyb y L o r i S c h m i d t

There is a saying in thewolf world: “Invest in

your pups; they’re thefuture of the pack.” TheInternational Wolf Centerhas done just that bynurturing the newest packmembers of our residentpack in Ely (InternationalWolf, winter 2000). As thephoto in this article demon-strates, the Center’s effortspaid off — Mal ik andShadow have developedinto healthy, full-grownArctic wolves. I’m sure thequestion on everyone’smind is: How did it go?

The pups were intro-duced into the main packon August 9th, weighing 34 pounds; by October 6th,they weighed 62 pounds,


Kyle

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Shadow (left) and Malik enjoy a quiet meal. As pups the adult wolves made allowances for them; they were allowed to eat at the carcass first.


It is the world’s rarestcanid. It looks somewhat

like a red fox with its long,slim legs, extended muzzleand small body, and like afox, it preys exclusively onrodents, usually foragingalone by day. Unlike the fox, however, the Ethiopianwolf, or “ky kebero,” lives in large family packs that

often include olderadults who may remainbecause d i spersa l territory is limited ornon-existent.

Carnivores living ingroups often do so fora number of reasons.For example, huntinglarge prey may requirepack hunting. Pressurefrom rival predatorspecies may also be afactor in some regions.These t r ad i t iona lexplanations for groupliving among carni-vores do not, however,apply to the Ethiopianwolf. Catching rodentsdoes not require packhunting, and rivalpredator species arenot a threat.

Claudio Sillero, azoologist who hasworked for 13 yearst o p r o t e c t t h eEthiopian wolf and its

a f r o a l p i n e h a b i t a t ,explained the adaptive basisof the animal’s intricatesocial organization. Largergroups, said Sillero, candefend larger, better qualityterritories such as tracts ofgrassland where rodents are plentiful. Social aggrega-tions among Ethiopianwolves can be selected relatively quickly because ofthe high level of relatednesswithin the packs.

Ethiopian wolf packsusually consist of three to13 closely related adults andjuveniles. Raising pups is a cooperative activity. Thepack centers its interactionsaround the den during the pup-rearing season,protecting the pups andregurgitating food to them.

Ethiopian wolves areparticularly interestingbecause they are whatSillero calls “specializedcarnivores.” Other membersof the dog family tend toadapt readily to a variety of habitats, and most areopportunists in terms ofprey selection. Gray wolvesand red w o lv e s , f o rinstance, may prey prima-rily on ungulates such aselk, deer or moose. In addition, they will supple-ment their diets with a

variety of small mammalssuch as hare or beaver. Incontrast, the small isolatedEthiopian wolf populationsare restricted to rodent preyon the open moorlands of the Ethiopian Highlands.This factor, combined withthe animal’s distinctives o c i a l b e h a v i o r , h a sprompted the question: Isthis canid a wolf?

Canis simensis has longbeen referred to as theSimien jackal or Simien fox.These names are not,however, accurate. As aresult of genetic studies,m a n y s c i e n t i s t s a r ec o n v i n c e d t h a t t h e s egrace fu l mammals a reindeed a distinct species ofwolf. “The first explorers to the area had the rightname when they called it the Abyssinian wolf,”Sillero said.

Swift intervention andhelp from the internationalcommunity is critical inorder to diminish the realpossibility that this uniquemammal wi l l becomeextinct. The main threats to the Ethiopian wolf ’ssurvival are habitat destruc-tion and fragmentation,competition with humansfor high-altitude agricultureand grazing, direct perse-cution, hybridization withdomestic dogs, and especiallyinfectious diseases such as canine distemper andrabies. Fewer than 500adults are bel ieved tosurvive in the wild, half ofthem in Bale MountainsNational Park, where theyare protected by law.

Is there a future for theEthiopian wolf? Despite

W O LV E S I N E T H I O P I A

On the Edge of Extinction:Saving The Imperiled Ethiopian Wolves

b y N e i l H u t t

E t h i o p i a

ERITREA

N

S O M A L I A

T A N Z A N I A

UGANDA

U R U N D I

DJIBOUTI

Y E M E N

Goba

Addis Abbaba

Bale Mtns. Nat'l. Park

A f r i c aE t h i o p i a

K E N Y A

“Ethiopian wolves exemplify an evolutionary

paradox: habitat specialization versusgeneralist versatility.”

—Claudio Sillero, Wildlife Conservation

Research Unit, Oxford University




the grim statistics, an inter-national effort is beingmade to develop a conserva-tion strategy.

O n e y e a r a g o , t h eWildl i fe ConservationResearch Unit at OxfordUniversity organized aninternational Ethiopianwolf conservation strategyworkshop to discuss waysto protect these endangeredanimals and the uniqueafroalpine ecosystem in the Bale Mountains. Whileno immediate plans exist for a captive breeding program,education programs areunderway to raise conserva-tion awareness among theEthiopian people.

Sillero has pointed outthe necessity of establishingmanagement practicesconcentrating on diseaseprevention and on ways tocurtail hybridization. “Themost worrying threat,” hesaid, “is that of diseasestransmitted from domesticdogs. Thus, one of the mainactivities of the EthiopianW o l f C o n s e r v a t i o nProgramme, established in1995, i s t o vacc ina t edomestic dogs in areasaround wolf populations toreduce contact with disease.”

The chal lenges aredaunting, but by using the Ethiopian wolf as a “flagship species,” broaderconservation initiativesmight be developed to saveother wildlife found only in Ethiopia.

M E X I C A N W O L F

El Lobo: A Future in the “Land ofEnchantment?”“There are no neat stories in nature, no tidyclosures with beginning,middle, and end, noepiphanies. There is only ongoing process,continuous struggle.”

—Rick Bass, The New Wolves

In biological terms, therecovery plan for the criti-

cally endangered Mexicanwolf suggests hope for a neatstory with a tidy closure.T h e B l u e R a n g e Wo l fRecovery Area (BRWA),where the U. S. Fish andWildlife Service (USFWS)hopes to re-establish a wildpopulation of at least 100Mexican wolves by 2008,

encompasses almost 7,000square miles straddling theborder of Arizona and NewMexico. This vast expanseof public land containsfavorable wolf habitat with a large native prey base of deer, elk and smallmammals. It also containsfederally leased grazingland—and livestock.

The process of wolfrecovery has, therefore,been a continuous struggle,one that has pitted urban-ites against rural citizens,ranchers against environ-mental is ts , and some pro-wolf groups againstUSFWS policies.

In April of 1998, 11captive-raised Mexicanwolves were released intothe primary recovery

In April of 1998, 11 captive-raisedMexican wolves were released into

the Apache National Forest in Eastern Arizona. Several others

have been released since then. Dic

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zone—the Apache NationalForest in eastern Arizona.Biologists were optimisticwhen the captive-raisedwolves began hunting elk.Then in 1999 came thereports that two wolf packshad killed livestock. Thewolves were recaptured andreturned to captive breedingfacilities where they wereheld for translocation intothe Gila Wilderness inwestern New Mexico. Thisdecision ignited a firestormof controversy over therecovery program.

The approved wolfrecovery action for theMexican wolf allows for thetranslocation of recapturedw o l v e s t o t h e G i l aWilderness. Of particularsignificance is the fact thatonly wolves previouslyreleased in the primaryrecovery zone in Arizona areeligible for release into theGila, a remote area with nolivestock and with plenty of game. Despite theseadvantages, however, twotranslocated packs releasedin April 2000 have run intotrouble. Three wolves fromone pack were recapturedwhen they moved onto aranch within weeks of the i r re lease . Then in June, the alpha male fromanother pack was returnedto captivity after he killed a lamb.

A coalition of environ-mental groups is pushingwildlife agencies to changethe i r po l ic ies . These pol ic ies , the coal i t ionclaims, are so sensitive tolivestock interests they

hamper the entire Mexicanwolf recovery program. Thecoalition also advocateschanging the practice ofreleasing only recapturedwolves into the Gi laWilderness. If release intothis region would maximizethe potential of reintro-duced animals to succeed,why not make the Gila aprimary release site?

Brian Kelly, the directorof the USFWS MexicanWol f Recovery P lan ,believes that in spite ofvigorous opposition, wolfreintroduction is working inthe Southwest. “What weare ultimately trying to do is to get animals in the wild who behave. . . likewild wolves,” said Kelly;this means avoiding peopleand staying away from livestock. Kelly projects thatthe wolves will shake off“the human imprint” asmore generations are borninto the wild.

In the meantime, thereturn of the Mexican wolfto the Southwest has causeddeep division in NewMexico’s isolated ranchingcommunities. Pat Wolff, alocal environmental activist,acknowledges the challengeof being a wolf advocate in the Southwest, but she remains cautiously optimistic. “Accept the factthat change takes time,”advises Wolff. “It could takedecades to change the wayhumans relate to the naturalworld and to each other.Time is running short butwe must not give up hope.”

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Environmental policies are so sensitive to livestock interests that some say they hamper the entire Mexican wolf recovery program.

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W O LV E S O F T H E N O R T H W E S TT E R R I T O R I E S , C A N A D A

Finding aBalance“The landscape conveysan impression of absolutepermanence. It is nothostile. It is simply there—untouched, silent andcomplete.”

—Edmund Carpenter (fromArctic Dreams, by Barry Lopez)

The Northwest Territoriesis a vast mosaic of

ecozones, each with distinctcharacteristics. The treelesssweep of the tundra in theserene Arctic l ight, thewindswept boulder fieldsbursting with summer color,the boreal forests known tothe Athapaskan people as“the land of little sticks”—each of these does suggestp e r m a n e n c e , s i l e n c e ,completeness.

But this vast land is nolonger untouched. Moderntransportation has madeeven the most remote areasaccessible both to thosewho come to enjoy a wilder-ness experience and tothose who want to exploitthe region’s rich mineralresources. Canada’s Northfaces the challenge ofmaking choices that willdetermine the future of theland and its wildlife—and that includes the wolf.

The late Dr. DouglasPimlott, Canadian wolfresearcher and internationalconservat ionis t , oncec o m m e n t e d o n t h e difficulty of meeting thechallenge of conflictinggoals—including the one

“You cannot stop progress.” Patricia Hogg, a wildlife

biologist at the EkatiDiamond Mine in theNorthwest Territories, viewsthe power of modernhumans to alter nature witha mixture of hard realismand determined optimism.Her job is to gather infor-mation on potential effectsthat North America’s firstdiamond mine may have onlocal wildlife and on thetundra ecosystem. She ismindful of the weight of thatresponsibility. Can she andothers like her help mini-mize the detrimental effectsof progress? Hogg thinks so.“When a road engineer callsme to ask where I want thecaribou crossings built onthe haul road, and whenproduction is brought to ahalt for fear of disturbing araptor’s nest, I know I havemade a difference,” she says.

The extent to whichCanadians like Patricia Hoggsucceed in their efforts toprotect this pristine land will make a difference to the wolves, too. In 1997, the Canadian governmentestimated that approxi-

mately 10,000 wolves live inthe Northwest Territorieswhere the population isstable or increasing. Wolvesin this region are classified as big-game animals andfurbearers. Aboriginalpeoples are not restrictedfrom hunting wolves by adefined hunting season, nor are they restricted to“bag limits.” Non-aboriginalresident hunters aren’trestricted to bag limits,either, but they are permittedto hunt wolves only during a specified season. Wolfhunting and trapping isgenerally restricted to winter when fur is in primecondition and when thepacks are not raising pups.

With the recent increasein wolf popularity, has comea polarization of public attitudes toward wolves.Airplanes and all-terrainv e h i c l e s h a v e o p e n e d frontier areas to hunterswho have money andleisure time for big gamehunt ing exped i t ions .Predictably, a trend hasbegun toward protectivelegislation to maintain

ungulate populations atc a r r y i n g c a p a c i t y b yprotecting habitat and byregulating human hunting.Concerns about protectingwolves have been voiced as well, and many wolf advocates have rallied todemand a change in the law to end wolf huntingwith snowmobiles.

D r . L u C a r b y n , aresearch scientist for theCanadian Wildlife Servicea n d a n I U C N w o l fspecialist, has summarizedthe task Canadians face.“We are all learning toappreciate and use ourresources wisely,” Carbynwrote in a guest editorial for Outdoor Canada. “Thechallenge of balancing onthe one hand the increasinghuman demands on wildliferesources with a deliberateprogram to protect wildlifediversity on the other hand is as difficult as it is important.” ■

Cornelia Hutt is a wolf advocate, educator andInternational Wolf Centerboard member who lives in Purcelville, Virginia.

The treeless sweep of tundra in the Northwest Territories suggests permanence, silence, completeness.

Dav

e M

ech



It was a race against time! Whowas going to make it to the top ofthe ridge first—Will, a fellow

adventurer, and I with our cameras,or those two adventurous arctic wolfpups we were trying to ambush?Even now, as I sit and reflect on thebest trip I have ever taken, I have tosmile as I recall those two small wolfheads popping up over the ridge justbefore we made it to the boulder wehad chosen to hide behind. We hadto stop dead in our tracks right wherewe were, and start shooting pictures!

But let me take you back to thebeginning of this marvelous trip. Tenof us were fortunate enough to havesigned on with IWC board membersDave Mech and Nancy Gibson, andDean Cluff, the northern regionalbiologis t for the NorthwestTerritories, to travel 250 miles north-west of Yellowknife in the NorthwestTerritories into the “Barrenlands” to

look for a wolf pack. We expected tosee at least one or two wolves,because Dean had radio-collaredthem earlier and knew they were stillin the vicinity.

Our float plane flew us over alandscape filled with what seemed tobe equal parts water and land toAylmer Lake, our base camp for theweek. What a base camp it turnedout to be—great food, wonderfulhosts, and cozy accommodations. Allwe had to worry about was findingthose wolves—so immediately afterlanding, we headed off to look for agood vantagepoint for seeing the twowolves Dean had located with histracking equipment.

We belly-crawled to a ridgetopabout half a mile from where wethought the wolves might be restingfor the day. As we scanned the opposite hillside with our binocularsand spotting scopes, eventually webegan to see boulders and rockscome to life! Instead of two lonefemale wolves that Dean knew werethere, we counted 12 pups and sevenadults, for a total of 19 wolves! Werealized then that our wolf adventurewas going to be about as good as any adventure could get! When wereturned the next day to count 15pups and nine adults on that hillside,we found that we were in for the best wolf week of our lives!

Our days evolved into a routinebased on wolf activity. Wolves aremost active in the mornings andevenings, so we chose to arrange ourdays around the wolves’ nighttimebehavior. One of the many high-lights of the trip for me were thenightly debriefing sessions given byDave Mech that combined his andNancy’s insights with our observa-

An Arctic Expedition: Adventurers ComeFace to Face With Thriving Wolf Cultureb y D e b b i e R e y n o l d s

A wolf pup breaks from its pack and curiouslyapproaches Debbie Reynold’s party.

Deb

bie

Reyn

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tions. I learned moreabout wolves and theirbehavior during this oneweek than I would everhave learned from anyclassroom experience.

This was a week ofmany firsts for me. I hadnever seen a wolf packin the wild before. Wenot only observed arecord setting pack of 24wolves, we also foundanother wolf pack somedistance away with at least four pupsand three adults. At least one of the adults began bark-howling while we were there! Since we did not wantto stress this small pack, we checkedout the den site and quickly left. We went back to observe the originalpack, and we did not seem to alarm its members.

Another first for me was hearing a wild wolf pack howl. One night atdusk as we walked back to our boats,we heard the deep voice of the alphamale begin to howl; then the variedvoices of the eight other adultschimed in, the pups adding their ownhigh-pitched notes. We heard thatchorus at least four more times, butnone as beautifully haunting as thatfirst evening’s song.

During our week there, we sawwolves everyday and it becamealmost commonplace to observethem regurgitating to their pups. My favorite observation happenedearly the last evening we were there.The adults had just left for the huntand must have found somethingrather quickly, as they began toreturn almost immediately. The firstadult came over the ridge heading to the rendezvous site, when all of a

sudden, the earth seemed to justerupt puppies—it was a veritabletrain of little bodies streaming to meet the adult! We laughed at the sight!

The Arctic is a special and beau-tiful place, and during the summer,this part of it certainly doesn’tpersonify its “Barren Lands” nick-name—it is teeming with life! The tundra was just loaded withedible berries of all kinds (blue-berries, cloudberries, bearberries,cranberries and crowberries), a veritable feast for anyone willing toslow down and pick them, which I certainly did! We observed all

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Debbie Reynolds taking a moment to relaxbetween adventures on a trip to the NorthwestTerritories.

Nan

cy G

ibso

n

For more information about Center-sponsored trips to the Northwest

Territories, see the back cover of thismagazine and contact the Center’s

development director, GeorgeKnotek, at 763-560-7374,

or [email protected].



manner of wildlife besides wolves,including caribou adults and calves, a small herd of musk-oxen, severalrough legged hawks, two nests ofalmost-fledged peregrine falconswith their noisy parents, severalkinds of loons, plovers and sparrows,arctic hare, sik-siks (the arctic groundsquirrel), and the ever-present blackflies and mosquitoes (they onlyannoyed us a few times when thewind died down).

Perhaps the most beautifulmemory I have of our time spent inthe Arctic is of the aurora borealis, ornorthern lights. We had left thewolves later than usual this particularevening and experienced theuniquely Arctic occurrence of themoon rising and sun setting at thesame time as we traveled home forour nightly discussion. At midnight,as our discussion was wrapping up,we heard cries of “ooh, ahh” that I associate with fireworks displays.We hurried outside to watch a fullhour of the most beautiful northernlights that even our Canadian groupmembers had ever witnessed! Withsunspot activity particularly high this year, we were able to see multiplecolors snake across a cloudless sky,raining curtains of fire on us from a boiling center during each occurrence. I will never forget thatArctic night.

There were numerous otherspecial moments. We found theremains of two caribou carcasses and learned that, in a few moreweeks, even their antlers would be consumed as food by some arcticcreature. During a very rainy dayspent in comfort at our base camplistening to Dave, Nancy and Deandiscuss wolf behavior and their

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personal experiences with wolves, amember of the pack we had beenobserving all week trotted throughcamp to check us all out! This wolfcould not have timed its appearanceany better! And, as luck would haveit, there was not a camera in sight!

One evening as we were packingup to leave our observation site, sixof the adult wolves moved off tohunt. But instead of going over theridge behind their rendezvous site, aswe had observed on other evenings,this group came right toward us! Westopped packing up to see how thiswas going to turn out. The excite-ment was palpable as Dave instructedus to get ready to lie down fast tomake ourselves as inconspicuous as a large group of people could on theopen tundra should they actuallycome up to our location; unfortu-nately for us, the wind had shifted toour backs, pushing our scent toward

the wolves. They must have beenquite confused, as our scent mixedwith that of a caribou that had passedjust a short while before. The wolvesstopped about 250 yards from us,teasing us with their nearness untilthe closing night chased us to ourboats for a moonless ride home.

The trip was filled with wonderfulwolf adventures, many of them“firsts” for me. The Arctic is a specialplace, too, impressive in its un-spoiled beauty. I will return to theArctic again. ■

Debbie Reynolds is an InternationalWolf Center member and the boardchair of the Raptor Center in SaintPaul, Minnesota. She is also the board chair of Milkweed Editions, a non-profit press in Minneapolis.

Although the Arctic is nicknamed the “Barren Lands” it is teeming with life. This caribou was one of the many animals found roaming the tundra.

Deb

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An arctic hare poses for a quick snapshot.


Scientists compared Minnesota cattleranches that suffered wolf losses withthose that did not. The biologists hadhoped to find ways ranchers couldchange their husbandry practices tominimize losses to wolves. The onlydifferences they found, however, werethat the ranches where wolves struckwere larger and had more cattle. Thestudy was published in the fall 2000Wildlife Society Bulletin and can beaccessed through www.wolf.org.

WOLVES IN NEWFOUND-LAND attacked 10 dogs in

and around Nain during a shortperiod of November. These attacksled authorities to suspect that thewolves were rabid, so two schoolswere closed, according to TheAssociated Press.

THE HIGH ARCTIC WOLFPACK studied since 1986 by

Dave Mech still retains apair of adults. Althought h e p a c k ’s s e c o n dbreeding female sincet h e s t u d y b e g a n(“Whitey”) died in1997, one of Whitey’s1992 pups (“Explorer”)survived into summer2000 and had a mate but not pups. Mechbelieves that the lack ofreproduction is relatedto a decrease in musk-oxen and arctic haresfirst noticed in 1998. ■


WILDLAND PRESERVATIONreceived a major boost last

fall when Congress appropriated $12 billion for land conservation,preservation, and infrastructureimprovement over a six-year period.The appropriation was part of theInterior and Related AppropriationsBill signed by the President onOctober 11, 2000.

WOLF RECOVERY IN THEWEST continued at a rapid

pace in 2000. According to the U.S.Fish and Wildlife Service, estimatednumbers of wolves in the threerecovery areas are as follows:Northwestern Montana, 80-100;Yellowstone area, 165-185; centralIdaho, 190-220.

WOLF DEPREDATIONS ONL I V E S T O C K are more

complex than previously thought.

THE KILLING OF A MEXICANWOLF was solved by federal

agents, leading to the sentencing inOctober of James Rogers to fourmonths in prison, six months underhouse arrest, and 50 hours of community service. The SpringvillePolice Department and New MexicoDepartment of Fish and Game assistedthe U. S. Fish and Wildlife Servicewith the investigation.

A M I N N E S O T A W O L FMANAGEMENT PLAN has

been prepared by the MinnesotaDepartment of Natural Resources inkeeping with legislation passed by the2000 Minnesota Legislature. The U. S.Fish and Wildlife Service required the plan before it would agree toproposing the removal of the wolf inMinnesota, Wisconsin, and Michiganfrom the Endangered Species List.

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Puppies...WhatWill They Be WhenThey Grow Up?b y N a n c y j o T u b b s

Wolf pups and dog puppiesmay look alike, and infact, they are cousins. But

while the dog will grow up to be fed,worked or pampered by humans, thewolf sleeps outside, hunts for aliving, endures harsh weather andstruggles for its place in the pack.Wolf pups and dog puppies act differ-ently from each other because theyare in training for lives as different asa house cat and a mountain lion.

“In the beginning, Malik andShadow would run to me for security,but all that changed when theyreached four weeks of age”, saidNancy Gibson, who helped raise theCenter’s two arctic pups. “Dogpuppies are interested in getting atten-tion, affection and food from people.Wolf pups want food, period!”

Dogs have been fed by theirhuman families sincethey were tamed andselectively bredfrom wild

wolves beginning 14,000to 100,000 years ago. Onthe other hand, wildwolves have to hunt andkill their own food. Nearlyhalf of wild wolf pups insome populations die ofstarvation their first year.

Malik and Shadow“wolfed” their meals thissummer. They snarled andsnapped at each otherwhile gulping up to sevenpounds of beef in about a minute. In the wild,wolves may go days orweeks without a kill, sothey gorge when food isavailable. Getting enoughto eat is a life or deathmatter for them.

Besides having impolitetable manners, wolf pupscan’t be house trained. They wouldchew your sofa into a rubble of foam and splinters. They mark theirterritory too, peeing on every available surface. They may comewhen called if food is involved.

Dogs have been bred and trainedto meet human needs: they herd

sheep, sniff out drugs, retrieve ducksand guide the blind. The wolf isn’tinterested in pleasing humans. In fact,wolf pups that are not socialized by humans beginning when theyopen their eyes will remain shy ofpeople for life.

In play, wolf pups are learning the pack roles of dominance and submission. When stalking a beetleon a stump, they show a deep focus,intensity and intelligence that willserve them as adults on the hunt. As they fight for every scrap of food,they are building strength and size to run with the pack in the fall.Everything young wolves do has apurpose: survival. ■

Nancy jo Tubbs is chair of theInternational Wolf Center Board of Directors.


Claire and Hannah Anderson hold their Cockapoo puppy, who demonstrates one very clear difference between dog puppiesand wolf pups: dog puppies want affection from humans!

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One result of this total change in media treatment of dangerousanimals is that many people havebecome sympathet ic to l a rge predators. This can be a good thing,but lack of fear is not so good. AtYellowstone Park, tourists have casu-ally approached bison to hug them fora photo, sometimes with fatal results.

One animal most affected by thischange of perception is the blackbear. Many people now see bears aslumbering buffoons who pose nodanger, whereas people used to fearbears and shoot them on sight.Several cities have passed ordinancesagainst feeding bears, although noteveryone obeys them.

The maxim of woods-wise peopleis: “Feed a bear, kill a bear.” In otherwords, if you feed a bear, you teachthat bear to lose its fear of people andto see them as a source of food. That

often leads the bear to do somethingto cause it to be destroyed.

Now this is happening withwolves. The animal that used toinspire horror now looks no morethreatening than a Siberian husky to many people. A wolf recentlyattacked a sleeping kayaker in BritishColumbia. That wolf had been fed by humans. Having lost its fear ofpeople, the wolf had begun to showfrustration and aggression withhumans who didn’t feed it. Thisattack could have been fatal if theinjured man had not been quicklymoved to a hospital.

Feed a wolf, kill a wolf: we mightyet see that idea expressed in cityordinances. People need to approachall large predators such as bears,wolves or cougars with caution andrespect. While all fans of wolvesshould celebrate the new positiveview of wolves, we now must guardagainst dealing with wolves as if theywere no more dangerous than dogs.Treating large predators as pets is

dangerous to humans and usually fatal to the animal. ■

Steve Grooms is the author of several books, includingReturn of the Wolf, which

he just revised. A writer living in Saint Paul, he serves on International

Wolf magazine’s advisory committee.

Once it was natural for peopleto fear wildlife almost byreflex. Filmmakers and tele-

vision writers took advantage of thatfear to present terrifying encountersbetween people and all sorts of“dangerous” animals such as snakes,spiders, and various large predators.These terrifying images of dangerousanimals inflamed people’s irrationalfear of all kinds of creatures.

This has now been turned upsidedown. The many wildlife TV showsnow show animals sympathetically,even those capable of killing humans.Such creatures as lions and wolvesare shown as loving parents, notsavage beasts. The bears we see inthese films look no more dangerousthan the singing bears in cartoons.

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(Cyberspace that is)www.wolf.org

My, How They’ve Grown!Join arctic pups, Malik andShadow, on their romp throughthe Wolf Center’s web photo album.The album includes an array ofimages of the pups from thoseprecious newborn moments to theirmost recent adventures with theambassador pack in Ely.

Whether for fun or

study, check out our

home on the Web today!

Teaching the World About Wolves

763-560-7374


3300 Bass Lake Road, #202M

inneapolis, MN

55429-2518

NO

NPRO

FIT ORG

.

U.S. Postage

PAID

Permit #4894

Mpls., M

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15Y

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!

Join DrK LK David MechI the world's foremost wolf biologistI Nancy GibsonI Emmy

awardJwinning naturalistI and Dean CluffI Regional Wildlife Biologist of the North

Slave RegionI on a wildlife adventure into a remote area of pristine wildernessK

The trip is designed to offer International Wolf Center members an opportunity to

explore this unspoiled regionI home to wolvesI caribouI musk oxenI wolverineI barrenJground grizzly bears and a vast array of arctic birdsK

The main objective of the trip will be to observe the dynamic relationship between the

members of a wolf pack and to learn about their prey in this wild landscapeK*

Comments of past trip participants:

"Hidden in the rocks just above their rendezvous siteI we watched as the adults returned from their

evening huntK As I watched the pups mob the adults and reestablish the family bondsI I was struck

by the wonder of this intimate moment in the life of

the pack J that and the fact that I would need a better

camera when I made a return trip!"

– Neil HuttOutdoor writer

"Seeing the wolvesI hikingI eating blueberriesI Northern

LightsI most of all – learning what being a field biologist is

all aboutK Dave Mech was incredibly patientI obviously

knowledgeableI and (he) shared that knowledge in an

exceptional way… (I didn’t want to) have to come home!"

– Debbie ReynoldsInternational Wolf Center member

Dates: Saturday, August 11 to Saturday August 18, 2001

Cost: $2990 + travel to Yellowknife, NWT

Space is limited to the first 13 participants.For More Information, please call 1-800-ELY-WOLF or email [email protected]

An exclusive opportunity for members of the International Wolf Center...

Experience the wolves and the wilderness ofCanada’s Northwest Territories

Teaching the World About Wolveswww.wolf.org

Top photo by Debbie ReynoldsBottom photos and wolf photo by Tristan Rebane

* WWolves aand oother wwildlife hhave

been ssuccessfully oobserved oon

previous ttrips tto tthe aareaK HHoweverIdue tto tthe wwilderness nnature oof tthe

locationI wwildlife oobservations ccan

never bbe gguaranteedK


A PUBLICATION OF THE INTERNATIONAL WOLF CENTER SPRING 2001 · 2 As a Matter of Fact 3 From the...

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Transcript of A PUBLICATION OF THE INTERNATIONAL WOLF CENTER SPRING 2001 · 2 As a Matter of Fact 3 From the...