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A PUBL ICAT ION OF THE INTERNATIONAL WOLF CENTERSUMMER 2004

A PUBL ICAT ION OF THE INTERNATIONAL WOLF CENTERSUMMER 2004

Br i t i sh Columbia’sRainfores t Wolves, page 4

Cr ying Wolf in Kyrgyzs tan, page 7

3 From the Executive Director

10 International Wolf Center Notes From Home

13 Tracking the Pack

15 Wolves of the World

19 News and Notes

20 Personal Encounter

24 Wolf Tracks

25 As A Matter of Fact

26 Wild Kids

28 A Look Beyond

Features

THE QUARTERLY PUBLICATION OF THE INTERNATIONAL WOLF CENTER VOLUME 14, NO. 2 SUMMER 2004

On The CoverGray wolf pup howling, Rocky Mountains.Photo by Daniel J. Cox.

Daniel J. Cox has worked as a professionalwildlife photographer for nearly 25 years. Hisphotographs have been published in NationalGeographic magazine and in publications ofthe National Wildlife Federation, Audubonand Sierra Club, among many others. His workcan be viewed at www.naturalexposures.com.

Departments

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Crying Wolf in Central Asia

In November 2003, Carter Niemeyer, wolfrecovery coordinator for Idaho, visited thecentral Asian republic of Kyrgyzstan to assessthe problem of wolves preying on domesticlivestock. He found that Kyrgyzstan’s “wolfproblem” is much like wolf problems in theUnited States.

C a r t e r N i e m e y e r

Rendezvous in a RainforestIn the heart of the “Great Bear Rainforest,” a

nearly pristine, but largely unprotected, temperate rainforest on British Columbia’s mainland coast, biologists are studying the area’s apex carnivore—the gray wolf—with the hope of finding ways topreserve this animal and other coastal life.

C h r i s D a r i m o n t

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A Midnight Visitor

One of the great parts of my job is the necessity to work out of our two offices.

I spend most of my time in our Twin Cities office, but during the year I make

numerous trips to our flagship education facility in northern Minnesota. The

trip north to Ely is more than the 250 miles. There is the transition in ecological zones

from the broadleaf forest to the mixed forests of the north, where coniferous trees

and spruce bogs command a large presence. There is the transition from the largely

urban landscapes to a region dominated by the Superior National

Forest, including the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. As I head

north, I leave behind the human population center of Minnesota and

the commercial and industrial centers of the state. The more sparsely

populated northeastern area of the state supports natural resource–based

businesses like farming, forestry and mining.

As a birder, my scanning of the terrain close to the Twin Cities focuses

on finding red-tailed hawks and sandhill cranes. Farther north, I shift

my search to bald eagles, great gray owls and loons. And on the mammal

front, the search for moose and bears begins when I reach the north country.

While the rich diversity and distinctive identities of these two regions of the state

always make the trips north and south interesting, the element that makes the trip north

most distinctive is the transition into wolf range. While the chance of seeing a wolf is

unlikely (in my 10 years on the job I have seen wild wolves in Minnesota only a dozen

or so times), there is a special feeling that comes with simply crossing into wolf territory.

I was strongly reminded of this on my most recent visit to Ely. While staying

overnight in an isolated cabin near the Center, I was startled in the morning by two

things. First, the thermometer registered 26 degrees below zero—a temperature rarely

experienced in the Twin Cities in recent years. But more engaging than the tempera-

ture were the fresh tracks of a wolf that had passed by my cabin during the night. The

light snow that had fallen confirmed that the tracks were recently made. Seeing those

tracks so close to where I had spent the night added a whole new flavor to the trip

sand reminded me in a direct way just how much the presence of wolves in the land-

scape adds to the quality of any outdoor experience. �

From the Executive DirectorINTERNATIONAL

WOLF CENTER

BOARD OF DIRECTORSNancy jo Tubbs

Chair

Dr. L. David MechVice Chair

Dr. Rolf O. PetersonSecretary

Paul B. AndersonTreasurer

Dr. Larry D. Anderson

Julie Potts Close

Thomas T. Dwight

Nancy Gibson

Hélène Grimaud

Cree Holtz

Cornelia Hutt

Dean Johnson

Dr. Robert Laud

Mike Phillips

Dr. Robert Ream

Jeff Rennicke

Deborah Reynolds

Jerry Sanders

Paul Schurke

Teri Williams

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Walter M. Medwid

MISSION

The International WolfCenter advances the survival

of wolf populations byteaching about wolves, their

relationship to wild lands andthe human role in their future.

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

Publications DirectorMary OrtizMagazine CoordinatorCarissa L.W. KnaackConsulting EditorMary KeirsteadTechnical Editor L. David MechGraphic DesignerTricia Hull

International Wolf (1089-683X) ispublished quarterly and copyrighted,2004, by the International Wolf Center,12615 Co. Road 9, #200, Minneapolis, MN55441, USA. e-mail: [email protected] rights reserved.

Publications agreement no. 1536338

Membership in 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.

2 S u m m e r 2 0 0 4 w w w . w o l f . o r g I n t e r n a t i o n a l W o l f S u m m e r 2 0 0 4 3

Walter Medwid

Letter to the editor about Mexican wolvesoverly bleak

Iwas honored to have my bookThe Return of the Mexican Gray

Wolf: Back to the Blue reviewed in your Winter 2003 issue. Whilethe Mexican wolf reintroductionprogram in the Southwest and thewolf reintroduction program inYellowstone National Park bothfaced animosity from opposition,comparison of the two programsends there. Our southwestern re-introduction into Arizona did notarouse the widespread nationalinterest that the return of wolves toYellowstone did, but the twoprojects are not alike. Translocatingwild wolves from Canada intonorthwestern wilderness is muchdifferent from attempting to reintro-duce captive wolves into theirhistoric habitat.

As David Mech so thoroughlyemphasized in the splendid fore-word he wrote for my book, the fact that the only Mexican wolvesavailable for reintroduction werecaptive wolves made the reintro-duction much more complicatedand difficult than moving wildwolves into a similar surrounding.This in no way lessens the impor-tance of the Yellowstone reintro-duction. However, the fact thatMexican wolves were close to ex-tinction with their only hope forsurvival a return to the wild beforethey became unfit for wildernesssurvival makes the current increasein their wild population a victoryfor this endangered species.

This brings up the extremelybleak outlook expressed by MichaelRobinson in his letter in the sameissue. Robinson has supportedMexican wolf recovery with genuinededication for many years, but this negative letter conflicts with the updates I get by phone every few weeks from the energetic projectstaff in Alpine, Arizona. I do notbelieve that the U.S. Fish andWildlife Service fabricates ghostanimals to make up for the fact thatthe population has increased slowerthan originally anticipated. Monthlystatus reports on the USFWS Web site (Mexicanwolf.fws.gov)reflect that the year-end population,including pups, is close to 60Mexican wolves. Considering thepast year’s rash of illegal killings andaccidental killings, this populationstill exceeds the previous year’sending population by over a dozenanimals. Despite the setbacks facedduring 2003, the project biologistsare upbeat and optimistic aboutspring pup reproduction in 2004.

No one could predict when theMexican wolves were reintroducedin 1998 just how many years wouldbe required to fulfill the populationof 100 wolves called for in theEnvironment Impact Statement.Recent improvements in commu-nications among the affected stakeholders, hard-working staff mon-itoring the daily activities of thewolves, and active surveillance byagency law enforcement officers willwork together to achieve successfulsurvival for our Mexican wolves.

Bobbie Holaday1413 East Dobbins RoadPhoenix, Arizona 85042

we need. Stretching then trotting, theirnoses graze the ground for smells. Thisis how they view their world. Whensomething interesting is in the air, theyraise their heads to sniff. The wind has shifted, and tonight I become the interesting smell. The one I lateridentify as the mother, or breedingfemale, becomes particularly attentive.Wolves are so expressive. Even at adistance I can easily observe a conspic-uous change in her demeanor.

Tail up, she runs the first 50 of 100meters (55 of 109 yards) toward me.She then slows and winds her waycloser, stopping to smell, defecate,urinate and scratch her feet. My turf,she says. I agree. She is concernedabout her pups — her genetic contri-bution to the future. I feel like anintruder and want to express to herthat I mean her and her family noharm. Indeed, I’d like to help.

After several minutes of avoidingher glare from 10 meters (11 yards), I relent, lock eyes with her and saysoftly, “Hey wolf.” She withdrawsfrom her assertive stance, as if now ahand-shy dog. Tail flops down, earsrelax. Even a swooping raven, which

makes a timely aerialentrance, spooks hernow. As casually as she

can muster, she walks away, tradingglances with me and her familymembers that are watching the inter-action. The world is but a stage andall the animals merely players.

This sounds like exciting work,you’re thinking. I’m thinking howlucky I am to finally see theseanimals close up. Our research teamhas surveyed a rugged coastal land-scape greater than 30,000 squarekilometers (11,700 square miles) this summer (2000) and havecollected a small mountain of wolfscats. These fecal encounters haveoutnumbered observations of theirdepositors some 100 to 1. Glamorousour task is not most of the time.

Feces and other wildlife goodies,however, are full of interestingstories. The remains of the creatureswithin scats are informing us abouthow coastal wolves make their living.And the DNA in wolf scats is grantingus information about their evolu-tionary history, population size andhow they use this archipelago land-scape. Fur from wolves and their preycan be assayed using stable isotopeanalysis, a chemical tool that allowsus to reconstruct food web dynamicsand ask evolutionary questions aboutwolf predation on deer.

I n t e r n a t i o n a l W o l f S u m m e r 2 0 0 4 5

their North American range was lost.The rainforest wolves I have come tomeet this evening have been sparedthis fate. They still occupy a land-scape not the domain of humans.They are truly vestiges of the past,but their future is far from secure.

Wolves are fed by their feet, so aRussian proverb proclaims, and ourresearch tells us that wolf feet on thecoast almost invariably lead them toSitka black-tailed deer, the smallest ofthe ungulates in North America. Thesedeer require old-growth forests, a land-scape with which they have evolvedover millennia. Timber companies are now starting to efficiently convertthis heritage to dark, closed-canopyforests that offer much less forage tosupport deer, which provide food forwolves and local subsistence deerhunters. Roads, a legacy of logging,grant easy access into previouslyuntouched wilderness to those whochoose (and are permitted by theBritish Columbian government) to killcarnivores for “sport.”

I have waited an hour in my hidingspot, when out the wolves trot. Thereare four pups and three adults — data

4 S u m m e r 2 0 0 4 w w w . w o l f . o r g

with the eponymous creature itselfbut with one even more elusive,magnificent and emotive—the graywolf, the area’s apex carnivore.

We still don’t have a pup count for this pack. We know they use this estuary as a meeting area, orrendezvous site, during late summerand early fall. Here, this family ofwolves gorges on spawning salmon,often staying for a month or more.

I am part of a team that hasembarked on the area’s first study of these animals we so associate withwilderness. But unlike most investi-gations of this intensively researchedbeast, our study encompasses an area of true wilderness — tens ofthousands of square kilometersalmost completely devoid of indus-trial scars. I roam this landscape witha robust and dedicated team of

colleagues, including Paul Paquet, anintellectual and philosophical mentorto many an aspiring conservationbiologist. We are guided by ourcolleagues and friends of the HeiltsukFirst Nation, who share the secrets of their traditional territory with us.

Wolves were thought to havearrived in North America from Asiaalmost 750,000 years ago androamed every place where ungulates,or hoofed animals, were found.During the past few centuries,however, my ancestors and maybeyours relentlessly persecuted themwith guns, traps and poisons.Humans also placed cities and farmland over much of the habitatfavored by wolves and their prey. Thewolf population declined an order of magnitude, and over 40 percent of

The sun is waning, warming theestuarine grasses and providingthe necessary ambience for

the meeting. I shatter the silence as Istumble out of my boat, tiptoeingbarefoot through the intertidal muck.But it is my smell, not too obscene by human standards, which willexpose my clandestine attendance.

I am in the heart of the “GreatBear Rainforest,” a nearly pristine,but largely unprotected, temperaterainforest on British Columbia’smainland coast. This forest type, rarenaturally and from loss at humanhands, has more living matter persquare meter than tropical rain-forests. We refer to this Canadiancoast as “the last of the best,” flankedby the tree farms, roads and otherhuman footprints that dominatemuch of Washington and southeastAlaska. This evening’s meeting is not

Rendezvousin a Rainforest

T e x t a n d p h o t o s b y C H R I S D A R I M O N T

RuresecoaSitkungreqwitmil

tanarodessentoo

Above and left: The rainforest wolves use estuaries asmeeting areas, or rendezvous sites, during late summer and early fall, gorging on spawning salmon.

Right: When something interesting is in the air, wolves raise their heads to sniff.

Recently I was invited to visitthe central Asian republic ofKyrgyzstan to appraise the

problem of wolves and jackalspreying on domestic livestock. Ijumped at the chance. My friendsthought I was crazy to travel so closeto Afghanistan, and they made plans to divide up my belongings inthe event I disappeared. But to me,the trip sounded like an adventure.

I have spent the past three years as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s wolf recovery coordinator for Idaho,and before that I was a wolf specialistand trapper for U.S. Department of

Agriculture Wildlife Services inMontana for more than 25 years.Apparently my reputation precededme, and Winrock International andAmerican researcher C. J. Hazell keptafter me to make the trip to Kyrgyzstan.I finally did it in November 2003. Iarrived in the capital city of Bishkek at 4 a.m., slept for four hours, was given business cards printed inRussian, and began planning my workby 10 o’clock that morning.

The country looks and feelsremarkably like Idaho, except thatthere’s no heat, little running water,in most cases no indoor plumbing

and sometimes no electricity in thevillages (depending on what day itis). The mutton and poultry arechewy, and the vodka plentiful. Whatmore could a guy ask for?

The first thing I discovered aboutKyrgyzstan was that I needed to returnagain someday, not just because I found the simple, hardscrabble lifestyleappealing, but because I couldn’t accurately assess the impacts predatorswere having on livestock in a merethree-week visit. I never did see anywolves or jackals. The wolves were stillhigh in the mountains when I wasthere. The group I traveled with tried to


coastal life. “Save the GreatBear Rainforest!” we hear inthe media and the streets. Asconservation biologists, we are trying to figure out how topreserve this ecological legacy.

The breeding female nowjoins the rest of her familysome 100 meters (109 yards)

away. She slowly spins two revolu-tions and flops down to curl up in the grasses. Perhaps she knows I’mnot an imminent threat. She cannotpossibly know, however, that othermembers of my species are drawingup plans to divvy up her territoryinto logging cut blocks.

The pups continue to be pups—noses sniffing, tails wagging andtongues hanging. They play hide-and-seek around a wind-felled westernred cedar. I tread softly back to myboat as the sun disappears behind theold-growth horizon. �

The Raincoast Conservation Society(www.raincoast.org) first recognizedthe need for this project and searchedfor the funds to make it a reality. Thegovernment and timber companiesthat are rushing to “develop” this landscape have invested little to learnabout its creatures. Raincoast steps in so these gaps can be filled.

The information we collect isimportant; the wolf is an ideal focalspecies around which land-use plansare being designed. If these wide-ranging and sensitive animals can beprotected, so too can (most) other


Crying Wolf in Central Asia

B Y C A R T E R N I E M E Y E R

As a big, blonde American, Niemeyer contrasted greatlywith the dark-haired, olive-skinned people of Kyrgyzstan.

Kyrgyzstan is about the size of Minnesota and contains 4.5 million goats and sheep.Herders usually ward off predators by accompanying livestock on foot or horsebackor by wagon.

The gray wolf is the apex carnivore of the “Great Bear Rainforest,” a nearly pristine, but largely unprotected, temperate rainforest onBritish Columbia’s mainland coast.

Humans developed much of thehabitat favored by wolves andtheir prey, but the rainforestwolves still occupy a landscapenot the domain of humans.

A L L P H O T O S B Y C A R T E R N I E M E Y E R

Chris Darimont is a Ph.D. student at theUniversity of Victoria, Canada. He studieswolf-deer-salmon systems. He hopes thatrainforest wolves can continue to live asthey have for millennia—fishing for abun-dant salmon in clear rivers and huntingdeer through stands of giant cedar trees.

Further reading (early products of theRainforest Wolf Project):

Darimont, C. T., and P. C. Paquet. 2000.The Rainforest Wolves of Coastal BritishColumbia: Findings from Year 2000 PilotStudy and Conservation Assessment.Technical Report prepared for the RaincoastConservation Foundation, Victoria B.C. 37 pp. Available at www.raincoast.org.

Darimont, C. T., and P. C. Paquet. 2002.“The Gray Wolves, Canis lupus, of BritishColumbia’s Central and North Coast:Distribution and Conservation Assessment.”Canadian Field-Naturalist 116: 416–22.

Darimont, C. T., and T. E. Reimchen. 2002.“Intra-hair Stable Isotope Analysis ImpliesSeasonal Shift to Salmon in Gray WolfDiet.” Canadian Journal of Zoology 80:1638–42.

Darimont, C. T., T. E. Reimchen, and P. C. Paquet. 2003. “Foraging Behaviourby Gray Wolves on Salmon Streams inCoastal British Columbia.” CanadianJournal of Zoology 81: 349–53.

(twine with red ribbon thatwe have been testing as abarrier around herds andflocks in Idaho). Theyseemed intrigued by all ofthis but got straight to thepoint: “Can you get usguns?” they asked throughmy interpreter. America’sreputation as a country witheasy access to everythingfollowed me everywhere.

Farmers in Kyrgyzstanare on the verge of buildinga new agricultural infra-structure, and wolf andjackal depredations need tobe quantified. But withoutthe basics—access to four-wheel-drive vehicles andfuel—assessing predatorpopulations and depreda-tion problems is nearlyimpossible. The most real-istic way to prevent depre-dation is not a govern-ment-sponsoredpredator-killing program but for shep-herds to stay with their flocks andpossibly use the nonlethal techniques Ishowed them.

Before I left Kyrgyzstan, I wasinterviewed in Bishkek by reportersfrom a newspaper, a magazine and atelevision station, and I expressed myopinions about livestock depreda-tions in America and gave them myobservations about Kyrgyzstan’spredator situation. Much of my


would make anyone appreciate thefacilities we have in America!

I traveled for three weeks in a tinycar with my knees practically undermy chin as C. J., Chyngyz and mydriver, Kalyk, made our way overpotholed pavement and muddy roads.In the villages we asked shepherds andfarmers to tell us about their predatorproblems. The villagers’ stories ofmarauding wolves seemed exagger-ated, but in a country where there areso many sheep and goats, there isbound to be some depredation. I sawsimilarities between ranchers in thisremote country and those in theUnited States. Both face a battle tryingto produce and market a commoditywhile the costs of labor and manage-ment, supply and demand, disease,predators and a host of other problemschip away at their livelihoods.

Kyrgyzstan is about the size ofMinnesota and contains 4.5 milliongoats and sheep and about 6,000wolves, according to governmentfigures, although that estimate seemshigh to me. The country becameindependent of the Soviet Union in1991. In the past, large flocks of sheep

and herds of cattle and horses weremanaged on collective farms. Thegovernment used to hire professionalhunters mostly to control wolves, butwith the collapse of the Soviet Unionwent the big livestock operations aswell as the predator control programs.Now, most Kyrgyz people who ownlivestock have only a few animals andlittle experience protecting theirherds. The average person makesabout $125 a year, which means thatlosing even a few animals can beeconomically devastating.

Wolves in Kyrgyzstan are notprotected under any laws and have asignificant advantage over ranchersbecause of the rugged terrain theanimals choose to occupy. Also, thecountry is so impoverished that itcannot do much to control predators.Herders usually ward off predators byaccompanying livestock on foot orhorseback or by wagon. Owningfirearms is illegal for the most part, andbounties are offered for dead wolvesbut are not always paid. Wolf fur is of little value. In a series of villagemeetings I introduced herders to a fewnonlethal techniques to discouragepredators, including using guard dogs,Chinese fireworks (cheap and readily available) and fladry

locate jackals by spotlighting at nightand using predator calls but managedto bring only hunters, trappers andsometimes poachers out of the woods.

The Kyrgyz people speak pri-marily Kyrgyz and Russian, so thatwas something of an obstacle, eventhough I was provided with an inter-preter, Chyngyz. My being a big,blonde American caused a stir wher-ever I went. I am six feet six, andcontrast greatly with the dark-haired,olive-skinned people there. Theystared and whispered wherever Iwent. At mealtimes, however, peopleare seated according to age, and I wasalways seated in the position ofhonor, so being older is a positivetrait in Kyrgyz culture. Some of themen even talked about trying to findme a wife while I was there. I laughedand quickly changed the subject. Onthe downside, using their outhousesin the dark armed only with a flash-light and toilet paper from home


message was lost in translation, but Iemphasized that documenting andtrying to prevent predator damagefrom occurring in the first place wasthe most realistic way of getting ahandle on the problem. An officialwith the Hunting and ForestryService in Kyrgyzstan had the lastword in one story when he said, “It istime to clean the guns.” He encour-aged a bounty system for wolves andwanted to help the few shepherdswho own guns register their firearms.

Where have I heard all this before?If nothing else, I tried to be a good

ambassador for the United States.Kyrgyzstan’s “wolf problem,”however, is much like wolf problemsin the United States: lots of perceptionpeppered with a little bit of reality.The wolf’s reputation worldwide hasnot changed with the times. �

Carter Niemeyer is the Idaho WolfRecovery Coordinator for the U.S. Fishand Wildlife Service.

Kyrgyzstan looks and feels remarkably like Idaho.

Comments about Wolvesfrom Kyrgyz Shepherdsand Herdsmen

Wolves will play withhorses, and when the

horses come close out ofcuriosity, the wolves

grab them.

In winter, when sheep,cattle and donkeys are

kept together, the wolveswill kill the donkeys first.

When herders kill wolfpups in their den in thespring, the adult wolves

will “revenge kill” their flocks.

Wolves will often travelgreat distance to kill livestock away from

their den sites.

Only certain wolves kill sheep, while other

wolves kill only horses.

White wolves are bad killers.

Old wolves are very smart.

Some farmers think thathunters should not kill thewild game so the wolves

have natural food and donot depend on livestock.

Wolves wait until theherders sleep to kill their sheep.

In summer, wolves kill and eat marmots.

When horses are“hobbled,” they are very

vulnerable to attack by wolves.

Wolf teeth are hungaround a baby’s crib

for protection.

Wolf depredations occurfrom midnight

until 5 a.m.

Wolf tendons have medicinal values and are

used for good luck when gambling.

If people steal yourmoney, you can take

a wolf tendon to a“medium” and they willcast a spell on the thief.

Wolf fur is prestigious and worn as a vest

or coat, often by Kyrgyz leaders.

Wolves can smell shepherds when they

are around. (Farmers had a good

laugh at this comment.)

Most depredations are near the farms

(kasharas) in winter.

The number one cause ofdeath of livestock in

Kyrgyzstan is disease.

The farmers lack materialto put window covers on

their farm buildings tokeep predators out.

Farmers do not use lightsto deter predators,

because most lack electricity.

Some farmers don’trespect the wolf because

they think God put the wolf on earth to

kill livestock.

In the Muslim religion it is wrong to eat livestockthat is killed by a wolf.

When you refer to someone as a “wolf”

in Kyrgyzstan, what does that mean?

A man steals like a wolf.A strong man is

called a wolf.

At mealtime, Niemeyer was always seated in the position of honor.


friendship thatwould blossominto a wonderfulrelationship.

Kevin and Ihope to return to

the Center someday. Fornow, we visit the Center’sWeb site and in particularthe Wolf Watch Cam. Weknow that wolves need help if they are to survive,and we plan to give a dona-tion to the Center in honorof our wedding, which will take place on August14, 2004, in the CatskillMountains in New YorkState. If we listen closelythat day, we may even hear a wolf howling in thedistance—even if the howlcomes from one of ourcrazy relatives.

B e t h M c C a f f e r t y

What is the Wolf Information Alert Team? It’s a way formembers to alert the International Wolf Center about

misleading information in the media about wolves (see“Notes from Home,” spring 2004). When you send us arti-cles that have incorrect information, we can respond andeducate the intended audience.

One of our members has already joined the team. A lifemember of the National Rifle Association (NRA), he wasreading their journal, American Hunter, and came across anarticle called “The Wolf Trap.” He felt the article was nega-tive and misinforming. Drawing on what he had learnedfrom the Center, he diplomatically challenged what waswritten and directed the association to the Center’s Web sitefor correct information for future articles. If he had notalerted the Center, we would not have known about thearticle. We applaud his efforts to educate others about wolvesand to clarify what is fact and what is emotional fiction.

If you come across inaccurate published informationabout wolves, send it to our information experts [email protected], or fax it to 218-365-3318. If possible,send a copy of the article, the name of the publication orprogram and/or the address of the Web site that contains thesuspect information. We may then be able to send out ahelpful correction. For wolves, please become part of ourWolf Information Alert Team.

How Kevin and I met isnot the typical boy-

meets-girl story. We met on a wolf research course at theInternational Wolf Centeroffered by the communityc o l l e g e i nParamus, NewJersey, where I was takingclasses. Thecourse soundedlike the trip of alifetime. I regis-tered and beganpreparing forthe course.

After I signedup, however, Idecided not togo. Then some-thing happenedto change my mind. InMarch 2002, my literatureprofessor, age 47, diedsuddenly. His passing wasevidence that life is tooshort. I decided to go toMinnesota—the credit cardbills could wait, but the trip could not.

During the bus ride fromDuluth to Ely, I began to get to know my pack,talking with almost every-one. I noticed a quiet personin the back of the bus. Kevinwas definitely the lone wolfof the group. Little did Iknow that by the end of our trip, the lone wolf and I would be starting a new

INTERNATIONAL WOLF CENTER

Notes From Home

Learning about WolvesLeads to a Wedding

Wolf Information Alert Team

Beth McCafferty and Kevin Porro, who will be married in August2004, met while attending a wolf research course at theInternational Wolf Center. Credit:

Beth and Kevin met while attending a wolf researchcourse at the International Wolf Center. In back (left to right), Beth McCafferty, James Steel, KevinPorro, Marek Kowaczyk, Doug Miller and AndreGueldner; in front, Jaime Henderson, KristenTheriault, Diana Caban and Marie Martin.

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Jim Williams HeadsInternational Wolf Center Staff in Ely

From Yel lowstone

National Park to Ely,

Minnesota, Jim Williams

is helping educate people

about wolves. Williams,

34, replaced Gretchen

Diessner to become the

Center’s assistant director

for education in early

January. He will oversee

the organization’s Ely

educational f lagship

facility and Twin Cities

and national outreach

education staff.

“Jim comes to us from the Yellowstone Association in

Wyoming, where he managed educational programs for

more than 3,500 students a year, taught backcountry field

courses and worked in partnership with national, state and

local agencies,” said Center Executive Director Walter

Medwid. “We’re delighted to have someone of his caliber to

work with our terrific Ely staff and the community.”

Williams earned his B.S. in psychology from Yale

University and continued his education at Rutgers

University until he became director of sales and oper-

ations for Out West Global Adventures.

“I have long admired the International Wolf

Center as a model of educational excellence

and professional integrity,” said Williams.

“The Center’s museum and live wolf exhibit,

educational programs, and publications stand

among the best in the country and make a

real difference for the survival of wolves

throughout the world.”

Williams said, “Ely has the warmth of a small

town, the cultural life of a small city and the wilderness

opportunities of a national park. Plus, my dog Pea loves it.

What more could I want?” �

New Center Office WillWelcome Pups to Minnesota


friendship thatwould blossominto a wonderfulrelationship.

Kevin and Ihope to return to

the Center someday. Fornow, we visit the Center’sWeb site and in particularthe Wolf Watch Cam. Weknow that wolves need help if they are to survive,and we plan to give a dona-tion to the Center in honorof our wedding, which will take place on August14, 2004, in the CatskillMountains in New YorkState. If we listen closelythat day, we may even hear a wolf howling in thedistance—even if the howlcomes from one of ourcrazy relatives.

B e t h M c C a f f e r t y

After many years in anurban office building,

the International WolfCenter office pack moved to a new den site with lotsof trees, large and small wild critters and even apond. Translocated staffmembers affectionately callit “Heaven.” Our adminis-tration and outreach educa-tion office is now in asuburb of Minneapolis atFrench Regional Park onMedicine Lake.

“Our goal in moving to a new office is to providemore outreach program-ming in a large metropolitanarea. The new site isuniquely placed in awooded setting with much

What is the Wolf Information Alert Team? It’s a way formembers to alert the International Wolf Center about

misleading information in the media about wolves (see“Notes from Home,” spring 2004). When you send us arti-cles that have incorrect information, we can respond andeducate the intended audience.

One of our members has already joined the team. A lifemember of the National Rifle Association (NRA), he wasreading their journal, American Hunter, and came across anarticle called “The Wolf Trap.” He felt the article was nega-tive and misinforming. Drawing on what he had learnedfrom the Center, he diplomatically challenged what waswritten and directed the association to the Center’s Web sitefor correct information for future articles. If he had notalerted the Center, we would not have known about thearticle. We applaud his efforts to educate others about wolvesand to clarify what is fact and what is emotional fiction.

If you come across inaccurate published informationabout wolves, send it to our information experts [email protected], or fax it to 218-365-3318. If possible,send a copy of the article, the name of the publication orprogram and/or the address of the Web site that contains thesuspect information. We may then be able to send out ahelpful correction. For wolves, please become part of ourWolf Information Alert Team.

How Kevin and I met isnot the typical boy-

meets-girl story. We met on a wolf research course at theInternational Wolf Centeroffered by the communityc o l l e g e i nParamus, NewJersey, where I was takingclasses. Thecourse soundedlike the trip of alifetime. I regis-tered and beganpreparing forthe course.

After I signedup, however, Idecided not togo. Then some-thing happenedto change my mind. InMarch 2002, my literatureprofessor, age 47, diedsuddenly. His passing wasevidence that life is tooshort. I decided to go toMinnesota—the credit cardbills could wait, but the trip could not.

During the bus ride fromDuluth to Ely, I began to get to know my pack,talking with almost every-one. I noticed a quiet personin the back of the bus. Kevinwas definitely the lone wolfof the group. Little did Iknow that by the end of our trip, the lone wolf and I would be starting a new


Notes From Home

more room for programpresen ta t ion , ” no tedExecutive Director WalterMedwid.

First on our programagenda is a “Welcome toMinnesota!” event for ournew pups in mid-May.Activities for all ages areplanned before the pupsmake the journey to theirnew home in Ely. Visit ourWeb site, www.wolf.org, formore details. Come join us!You are always welcome—in May or anytime. Call763-560-7374, ext. 221,and we’ll give you apersonal tour. Our addressis 12615 County Road 9.We’ll be the ones with thewolf exhibits on display.

Learning about WolvesLeads to a Wedding

Wolf Information Alert Team

Beth McCafferty and Kevin Porro, who will be married in August2004, met while attending a wolf research course at theInternational Wolf Center. Credit:

Beth and Kevin met while attending a wolf researchcourse at the International Wolf Center. In back (left to right), Beth McCafferty, James Steel, KevinPorro, Marek Kowaczyk, Doug Miller and AndreGueldner; in front, Jaime Henderson, KristenTheriault, Diana Caban and Marie Martin.

The International Wolf Center’s new TwinCities office is located at French RegionalPark near Medicine Lake.

Jim Williams became the InternationalWolf Center’s assistant director foreducation in early January.

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Raising wolf pups in aneducational facility like

the International WolfCenter takes a dedicated,trained wolf care team witha protocol in hand; pupnannies willing to spendtime, energy and resourcesto travel to Ely, Minnesota,and care for the pups; and a warm, dry nursery for the pups. Fortunately, theInternational Wolf Centerhas all of these.

As discussed in previous“Tracking the Pack” articles,

the pups that will be social-ized for the Center’s exhibitwill be removed from theirparents when they arebetween 10 and 14 days old,the critical bonding period.Research has shown thatearly socialization produceswolves that are moretolerant of human contactfor display and veterinarycare. During early socializa-tion the pups require specialcare in a nursery, as they areborn blind and are vulner-able to adverse tempera-tures. In a wild wolf den,the nursing female generallystays with the pups during

these early critical weeks.Wolf care staff and nannieswill attempt to simulate adenlike environment in theCenter’s new wolf lab.

The pup nursery shouldbe a quiet place with lowlight and soft beddingwhere the pups can cuddle,climb and become familiarwith their new human care-givers. Pups may attempt tosuckle but may be reluctantto bottle-feed from a rubbernipple that doesn’t feel,smell or taste like mom.Caregivers must be patient;

Tracking the Pack

It Takes a Pack to Raise Pupsb y L o r i S c h m i d t , W o l f C u r a t o r ,I n t e r n a t i o n a l W o l f C e n t e r


Contributors

Major DonorsElmer L. & Eleanor J.Andersen Foundation

John & SandraAnderson

Sheryl Bair

Catherine Brown

Kenichi Chiba

Celinda Claxton

Lammot Copeland, Jr.

Julie Corty & RichardErickson Family Fund of The MinneapolisFoundation

The Cosgrove Family

David & Vanessa Dayton

Mary Lee Dayton

Douglas Dooley

Mike & Connie Dowler

Tom Dwight

Dolores Gaska

Valerie Gates

Nancy Gibson & Ron Sternal

Frances Graham &Robert Gumnit

Joe Greenhalgh

Hélène Grimaud

Pamella Gronemeyer &Stephen Kriegh

Robert Halley

Teresa & Lonnie Hilkemeier

Neil Hutt

Allen Jacks

Gail Ann Jones

Jeanie & Murray Kilgour

Robert Kulus

James LeBlanc

Dianne Lewis

Bruce & Lynn Lutz

Beth McCafferty

Dave Mech

Patty Miller

Stephen & Rosa Monroe

Timothy Mulcahy

Edward Norton

Gail Olson

Casey Albert T. O’NeilFoundation

Rick & Suzanne Pepin

Rolf Peterson

John Ridenour

Charlotte Spak

Amber Tamblyn

Janice Thompson

Nancy jo Tubbs

Cynthia Wayburn

Joseph & Shirley Wolf

Matching GiftsLauren Coffman &GMAC Mortgage

Rosemary Fedt Hughes& American Express

Sherry Green &Microsoft

Kevin Oliver & UnitedWay of Orange County

James Smith & Pfizer Foundation

Ron Sternal & Nuveen Investments

RoyaltiesMBNA America

In-KindDonationsKampf & Associates, P.A.

Honorary

In Honor of Lynn &David Adelson:The Crowells

Lisanne Renner & Adam Grace

In Honor of Melanie Bensinger:Melody & Dennis Dellinger

In Honor of Kylee Brockman:Patty & Bob Thies

In Honor of Bunny Bucho:John Churchill

In Honor of Sarah Carver:Annalisa Carver

In Honor of Walter Medwid:Rolf Peterson

In Honor of Ron &Marlene Nauman:Brad, Trish and the Boys

In Honor of MaraRobezgruntnieus-Niels:Nancy jo Tubbs

Memorials

In Memory of Ruth & Brian Berry:Patti Cooper

In Memory of MaryMargaret Brackney:Spencer Fane Britt &Browne Attorneys &Counselors at Law

In Memory of Carrie:Gail Wolff

In Memory of Keana:Chick Steffes

In Memory of Kiana:Karla Jo Brockway

In Memory of Vernon McGonagle:Catherine Wood

In Memory of Catherine Peabody:Edward & Deborah Graves

In Memory of Linda Salzarula:Carolyn Pilagonia

In Memory of Sascha:Edith Kaspin

In Memory of Jeanie Schroeder:Karleen Christiansen

In Memory of Jane Thompson:Meridith Gartner

In Memory of Pete Traver:Linda Harris

In Memory of Jan Volkman:Marsha Penner

In Memory of Widgie & Dugan:Christine Englert

NOVEMBER 2003–JANUARY 2004

Thank You

The pup nursery should be a quiet place with low light and soft bedding where the pups can cuddle, climb and become familiar withtheir new human caregivers.

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puppies were officiallyweaned.

Another component ofthe wolf lab is a well-equipped kitchen with arefrigerator, freezer, micro-wave, food scale andcounter space to create freshformula (sometimes asoften as every two hours).Formulas vary based on thehandler’s personal prefer-ence, experience and avail-ability of ingredients. Yearsago, some facilities used atraditional dog replacementformula, but recent researchsuggests that the amount in the formula of a neces-sary amino acid called arginine, while sufficient for dogs, may be insufficientfor wolves. Arginine defi-ciency may cause cataractsin young wolves, but theaddition of Knox gelatin can avoid this ophthalmic

problem. The Centerchooses to create a home-made formula using freshgoat milk, plain yogurt(with fat), one large eggyolk, baby rice cereal, babystrained beef, vitamin andmineral complex (especiallyB vitamin) and Knox gelatin.

As any new parentknows, when food goes in, itmust come out. Pups mayneed to be burped duringand after feedings, especiallyif they nurse too quickly. A pup less than 12 days oldmay not have developedenough muscle control tostimulate urination and defecation on its own. Themother licks the anal regionto stimulate the pup andkeeps the den clean of waste.A human caregiver needs to gently swab the anus and genital region with a soft tissue. As the pups age,

it important to maintain aclean area for proper health.A well-equipped lab hasdisinfectant, lab gloves andplenty of paper towels alongwith daily garbage detail.

The best measure of apup’s health is its weightand condition. Any drop inbody weight or failure togain weight can be a sign ofa problem. A reliable scale is standard equipment in awolf lab. In addition, staffmay record the bodytemperature of a pup; anincrease in body tempera-ture may be indicative of a virus or infection. Quickintervention may mean thedifference between life anddeath for a young, vulner-able pup. Our nursery isequipped with a stainless-steel exam table that can besterilized, a complete first-aid kit and sufficientlighting for veterinaryexams.

The Center also has astrong interest in docu-menting the pups’ develop-ment. Through use of Webcams, digital photographsand data sheets, this infor-mation can be shared withthe public. Tune into theWeb site to see updates of the pups’ growth and aWeb cam image of thenannies in action, or stop by the Center to see them in person. �

it is important not to force apup to nurse from a bottle ifit is not ready. Negativeconditioning can affect apup even at this age.Generally, a healthy pup canwait a few hours to getaccustomed to the bottle.

A well-equipped wolf labalso needs a good supply ofrubber nipples. Flow ratesof different brands ofnipples may vary, causing apup to inhale the milk if theformula flows too fast, or to give up if the rate is too slow, missing necessarynutrition. Another reason tohave spare nipples relates tothe development of puppyteeth. During spring 2000,when the Center’s arcticmale Shadow was a 44-day-old pup, he bit off the topthird of the nipple. On day45, the nipple was found in the morning scat, and the


with modern genetic techniques andanalysis. In fact, genetic studies haveshown that all wolves and all dogbreeds of the world are closely

related. Dogs originated frommultiple wolf ancestors and started to diverge about 150,000 years ago. A group of species that share featuresinherited from a common ancestor is called a “clade.” All organismscontained in one clade—in this case,the wolf-dog clade— share a uniqueancestor.

In our latest study, conducted withDrs. R. Fleischer and J. Maldonadofrom the Smithsonian Institution, wecompared a certain kind of DNAmarker in more than 700 wolves anddogs from throughout the world with those of Indian wolves and nativedogs. Contrary to our expectations, ourresults indicate that the Indian sub-continent supports three distinct wolflineages, two of which are very ancientand unique to the subcontinent.

The first of these ancient wolves ofIndia is the peninsular Indian wolf(Canis lupus pallipes). This wolf isgenetically different from the rest ofthe wolves and dogs of the world

W O LV E S I N I N D I A

The Ancient Wolves of Indiab y Y a d v e n d r a d e v J h a l a a n d D i n e s h K u m a r S h a r m a

North AmericanEurasianNorth Kashmir Wolves

Indian Peninsuluar Wolf

Himalayan Wolf

and all Dogs

Coyote

Golden JackalSimien Jackal

Maned Wolf

1,000,000 B.P.

800,000 B.P.

150,000 B.P.

400,000 B.P.

Nancy Gibson (right) and Nan Vest bottle-feeding Malik and Shadow in spring 2000.

In today’s explored world, it isindeed a rare event to discover anew species of a mammal, espe-

cially that of a large carnivore. When this happens to be a wolf—themost well studied of the carnivores—the discovery is as thrilling as it is surprising. The Indian wolves,which were in plain sight, yet whoseorigins were elusive to scientists, arethe source of this surprise to wolfbiologists throughout the world.

Scientists recognize approximately13 subspecies (local geographicraces) of gray wolves (Canis lupus).These subspecies distinctions fallapart, however, when scrutinized

Evolutionary Relationships & Times of Divergenceof Wolves and Dogs Before Present (B.P.)

The peninsular Indian wolf (Canis lupus pallipes), above, and the Himalayan wolf (Canis lupus chanco), right, are genetically different from the rest of the wolves and dogs of the world (the wolf-dog clade).

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wiped out in the 1930s. More than300 wolves live in and around thepark today.

“Now none of the original onesare left,” says Yellowstone WolfProject chief Doug Smith of theNational Park Service. “And howthese died is indicative of how wolvesare typically killed—by other wolvesand by people.”

One sister, dubbed 42F butknown as “Cinderella,” was killedFebruary 2 by a rival wolf pack. Hersister, 41F, died 10 days later, ill with mange and limping from aninjured leg. Game officials shot herafter she killed a newborn calf.

Cinderella earned her nicknamefour years ago after helping kill athird sister, 40F, after suffering yearsof domination.

But rather than indicating disaster,the deaths point to success in the

program to bring wolves back toYellowstone, Smith says. Wolvesthere are expanding their domainsand getting into fights with greaterfrequency as things get crowded.

“It’s all about politics with wolvesnow; it’s not biology,” says longtimewolf watcher Ralph Maughan ofPocatello, Idaho. As territories shiftin the park, deaths such as 42F’s are“like something out of Shakespeare,”Maughan says.

Like Macbeth without his Lady,42F’s partner, the park-born male wolf dubbed 21M, is left to holdtogether his Druid Peak wolf pack


All the Indian dog samples as wellas dog breeds from the rest of theworld are genetically related to thewolf-dog clade and thus to Canislupus chanco, the wolf of north-western India. However, none of thedogs shared any of the geneticmarkers we checked with the twonovel Indian wolf lineages (thepeninsular Indian wolf and theHimalayan wolf), indicating thatthese two Indian wolf lineages playedno role in the domestication of dogsfrom wolves. The two novel Indianwolf lineages differ genetically andphysically to the extent that eachcould represent a distinct species.

We have published this study inthe Proceedings of the Royal Society,Biology Letters, and highlight theconservation importance of Indianwolves. The peninsular Indian wolvesas well as the Himalayan wolves areconsidered endangered, and both areprotected by law. The peninsularwolves are widespread and numbertwo to three thousand. We have

W O LV E S I N T H E U N I T E D S TAT E S

Wolf Pair’s DeathTurns a Chapter inYellowstoneb y D a n V e r g a n o

Copyright 2004, USA TODAY. Reprinted with permission.

The deaths this month of twowolf sisters, the last of theCanadian wolves transplanted

to Yellowstone National Park eightyears ago, closes an era in thesuccessful, and contentious, effort toreestablish wolves there, biologists say.

The pair were released in the 2.2-million-acre park, which spans partsof Wyoming, Idaho and Montana, in1995-96, joining 29 other wolves in an effort to reintroduce a predator

(the wolf-dog clade), fromwhich it likely diverged about400,000 years ago. No penin-sular Indian wolf we checkedshared any of our test markers withdogs; in other words, it is not part ofthe wolf-dog clade.

Even more interestingly, anotherwolf (Canis lupus chanco – HimalayanLineage), from the Himalayan regionof eastern Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh,parts of Tibet and eastern Nepal, alsobelongs to a very ancient, divergentand ancestral lineage of wolves—theHimalayan lineage. The “molecularclock,” which times the rate of changesobserved in DNA, dates divergence ofthis lineage to about 800,000 yearsago, when the Himalayan region wasgoing through a major geologic andclimatic upheaval. This wolf, too,shared none of our test markers withthe dog and is thus not a member ofthe wolf-dog clade.

Only the third Indian wolf (Canislupus chanco – Wolf-Dog Lineage),from the northwestern Himalayanregion of Kashmir, shares our testmarkers with the wolf-dog clade thatstretches across the rest of Eurasiaand North America. Thus, the Indiansubcontinent includes three diverse,distinct wolf lineages. This factmakes the Indian region the likelycradle of modern wolf evolution.

extensively studied the ecology andbehavior of these wolves during thepast decade. In comparison, the statusof the Himalayan wolves is unknown,and no systematic scientific studies ofthese wolves have been done to date.

Wolves throughout India and theHimalayas are persecuted for attackson livestock. Additionally, they arethreatened by habitat loss to agricul-ture and a rapidly growing humanpopulation. The Himalayan wolvesmay be one of the most endangeredcanids in the world.

Yadvendradev Jhala is a faculty memberof the Wildlife Institute of India andheads the Department of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology. He is a member of the IUCN SSC Wolf Specialist Group, Canid SpecialistGroup and Hyaena Specialist Group and is a research associate of theSmithsonian Institution.

Dinesh Kumar Sharma is a researchassociate of the Wildlife Institute ofIndia. He received training in moleculargenetic techniques at the SmithsonianInstitution and manages the ConservationGenetics Laboratory facility at theWildlife Institute of India.

Distribution of the Three Wolf Lineagesand Their Sampling Localities

� C.l. chanco – Wolf-Dog Lineage

� C.l. chanco –Himalayan Lineage

Below: F42 and M21 were the breeding pair ofthe Druid Peak pack until F42’s death inFebruary 2004.

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against other packs. Female and malealpha wolves, such as 42F and 21M,typically dominate their pack, actingas the sole breeding pair and leading the others on hunts. “The femalealpha is usually the glue that holdsthe pack together,” Maughan says.

After spending several dayshowling for his mate, 21M picked anew alpha female. So far, the pack isholding together, Smith says.

The death of 41F illustrates asource of contention in human politicsover wolves. Wolves kill livestock—less often than was first predicted adecade ago, Smith says —but someranchers say they aren’t fairly compensated for such losses. “Wolvesplay an important role in the wilder-ness, but there are always going to be conflicts with people and those will have to be managed sensibly,” saysWalter Medwid of the InternationalWolf Center in Minneapolis.

In January, the U.S. Fish andWildlife Service announced plans to“delist” the wolf from endangered tothreatened status in Western states,citing the existence of more than 600wolves total in Wyoming, Idaho andMontana. The move would allowranchers to kill wolves caughtpreying on livestock without callingin federal officials.

With the death of the Yellowstonesisters, only one Canadian wolfnationwide remains from the 1995-96 reintroduction. A 14-year-old male wolf, B2, still lives in CentralIdaho, the last of 35 wolves trans-planted there at the same time as theYellowstone wolves. A Methuselahamong wolves, who typically live sixyears, B2 has taken up with a femaleand started a new pack, much to biologists’ surprise. �

WOLF HYSTERIA may resultfrom a recent statement issued

by Secretary of the Interior GaleNorton. Her statement issued March 3, 2004, seems to imply thatwolves are endangering childrenwhen she spoke of wolf managementplans in Montana and Idaho thatincluded “[wolf] management toolscritical to protect children, property,pets and livestock.” There is nodocumentation of wolves killing,injuring or threatening children inthe 48 contiguous states since theEndangered Species Act was passedin 1973 and wolf recovery began.

WOLF DELISTING SNAG.

The U.S. Fish and WildlifeService rejected Wyoming’s wolfmanagement plan, thus delaying aproposal for wolf delisting in theWestern Distinct Population Segment.Unknown at this time is whetherWyoming will try to resolve this issue by suing the USFWS or via newlegislation. USFWS Director SteveWilliams recently estimated that thesoonest wolves in the West could bedelisted was early 2006.

WOLF PUPS GALORE. Onceagain as spring comes, large

numbers of wolf pups will beproduced by populations every-where, helping to replace wolveskilled the previous year. Thus, forexample, in Wisconsin alone,conservatively some 400 to 600 pupswill be born.

WOLF DEPREDATIONS ON

LIVESTOCK in Minnesotawere down in 2003, reports U.S.Department of Agriculture WildlifeServices’ Bill Paul. Only 120 wolves

Ethology and Behavior ad

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WOLF RECOVERY has beengreatly facilitated by the

federal Endangered Species Act(ESA). However, as the ESA reachesits 30th birthday, the HouseCommittee on Resources in the U.S.Congress announced that it “is goingto start working on meaningfulreform” of the act.

WOLVES, the new book editedby Dave Mech and Luigi

Boitani was awarded “HonorableMention” in the Single VolumeScience Reference category by theAssociation of American Publishers. �

had to be killed, compared with 138in 2002. Depredations fluctuate as aresult of changes in natural preynumbers and wolf population size,along with other unknown factors.

WOLF ACTIVITY AND

SOCIALITY were the subjectof a new article published by SamMerrill and Dave Mech. “TheUsefulness of GPS Telemetry to StudyWolf Cicadian and Social Activity”appeared in the winter 2003 issue ofThe Wildlife Society Bulletin.

ISLE ROYALE WOLVES HAVE

increased again to 29, according to Dr. Rolf Peterson, project leader.On the other hand, moose havedecreased to 750, down from 900.Ticks and warm weather may have made more moose vulnerable to wolves.

MAMMOTH WOLVES.

Wolves killed at leastfour elk in the town ofMammoth, Yel lowstoneNational Park, in February,yielding a varied responsefrom local residents. It is onething to see a bloody carcassstrewn over the landscape inthe far reaches of the park, but 50 yards from the school is quite another. Park officials,however, advise local citizensto remain calm and take safetyprecautions like they wouldfor other large, potentiallydangerous park denizens: elk,moose, bears and bison. “Afterall, you live in a national park.” D

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previous three years, and she didnot appear interested in makingour search any easier.

We had the ATVs gassed up, readyfor a “chase,” so Mary took off [imme-diately], and I followed as soon as Icould hop into my various layers ofclothes. Mary skirted the small valleywe’d explored earlier on foot, and Itried to stay with the wolf. Couldn’tnegotiate the downslope, however, and watched helplessly as Mompopped over a ridge, out of sight. Wehad walkie-talkies, and Mary reported she couldn’t see the wolf at all. I hearda wolf howl to the east. . . in trying tohear it I momentarily lost my glassesas I tore off my face mask. . . . I stayedput, hoping Mom would reappear ona more distant ridge. . . . Within a fewminutes the wolf surfaced again about1/2 mile away. . . we had established adirection of travel and gotten a littlefurther along her route. . . .

Hoping to parallel her direction of travel, I went up as high as I couldon Blacktop [ridge] without hittingextensive snow, then went as fast as I could. . . . Mary continued in the

same direction at a lower elevation,but within 1 to 2 miles we were bothstopped by a huge chasm thatextended across our path and on into the snow on top of Blacktop. Not possible to continue, so I juststopped and scanned the hugeexpanse of land before me.

The landscape is treeless andvirtually all gravel, with almostno vegetation. NASA uses asimilar island south of Ellesmereto simulate the surface of Mars.A thin ground surface layerthaws each summer, when theJuly mean temperature rises to 0 degrees C, but below thateverything is frozen. Everythingalive is supported by the thinfilm of thawed ground and the water it contains.

Our fortunes turned suddenly asMom reappeared in my binoculars,which at the moment were trained ata light-colored ridge that was alongher direction of travel. We had noted

wolflike rocks earlier, but how manytimes had we said the same thingelsewhere, with no results.

Mom continued north on thisridge, now just over 3 miles away(we figured that out later). Shestopped at a small rock outcrop andnosed around, but I couldn’t seeclearly what she was doing at such along distance. Soon she dropped offthe ridge to the west and seemed tolie down, and my hopes began torise—she shouldn’t stop like that ifstill en route home. Still, if she faceda very long trip, maybe she wouldstop to eat the hare parts she’d beencarrying. A few minutes later sherose and headed back up onto theridge, and then I could make out atiny speck (pup??!!!) following her.Many times before, however, I’d seen tiny specks that seemed tomove, yet with binoculars theyturned into very immobile rocks.Mom nosed around the rock outcropon top of the ridge, and the speckwas lost in rocks of the same color.She soon started down the other side of the ridge, to the east across abroad green valley, and continued


squawked, the very bird that has beencleaning up arctic hare parts we leftup in the pass. Mom hit the hare trailquickly, seeking out each tidbit,which Mary had cut up to slow thewolf down if she did come by. Momhad nothing in her mouth when shearrived from the west, but she had alittle difficulty stuffing all four harelegs in her mouth at once forcarrying. Her stomach looked full,and she hardly glanced at us as shequickly resumed her easterly heading.

For 10 days Mary Maule and Ihad been searching the EllesmereIsland landscape, 600 miles fromthe North Pole, for a wolf den.Before that, Mary and DaveMech, director of the study, had spent three weeks doing thesame thing. Dave could identifyMom, the breeding female of theprevious three years, and fromthe appearance of her nipplesdeduced that she was nursingpups somewhere. But she was not using the traditional rockden of this pack, as in the

Iwas sound asleep when Maryyelled, “Rolf! A wolf!” I sat boltupright and fumbled around for

my eyeglasses and binocs. Fifty yardsin front of the tent was “Mom”! Maryhad had trouble staying awake andhad feared she might miss a wolfcoming through [the mountain pass].But she looked up when a jaeger

Ellesmere Island JournalT e x t a n d p h o t o s b y R o l f P e t e r s o n

Researchers searching large areas with ATVs were often stoppedby snow and the terrain.

The wolves of Ellesmere Island have been observedby Dave Mech and colleagues since 1986.

23 July 1989, a few

minutes after “midnight”


her tail to entice the pup to follow.When the pup got close, Whiteywould move further, always keepingthe “prize” just out of reach of thepup. They went out of view over the ridge, but they reappeared in fiveminutes, Whitey still holding thetrophy and the pup still following.

Later the same day . . .

Whitey was lying near two pups,also bedded. Whitey howled a fewtimes but remained bedded, and the two pups quickly sat up on theirhaunches and started in — they’re old enough to do more than yippingbut not much of a sustained howl.Tears welled up in my eyes when Iheard this first howl — must be atleast five years since I’ve heard pupshowl at Isle Royale, and I sure miss it. This must be a preparatory howl forWhitey — maybe she’s thinking of leaving again. �

Rolf O. Peterson is a professor of wildlifeecology at Michigan TechnologicalUniversity and serves on the board ofdirectors of the International WolfCenter. He has been involved in wolfresearch on Isle Royale since 1970 andhas directed long-term studies of wolf-moose ecology in this island nationalpark since 1975.


see better through the 10 x 40 binoculars, but I was at the limit of discrimination and still wasn’tabsolutely sure what I was seeing,except that it definitely was one wolf [Mom] walking around. Evenwith elbows resting firmly on thehandlebars, my heartbeat andwatering eyes from the slight breezecontinually blurred things. But if the tiny speck moved, then I felt Icould be sure this was indeed the den.

Mary called on the radio again,and we finally deduced where weboth were; when I again took a lookthrough the binocs, the little grayspeck was gone! It just had to be apup, so this had to be a den! I toldMary to try to get to my location andthat I thought I had spotted their den. I don’t know if she believed meor not. After all, several times before I’d hollered “wolf” and it turned outto be a hare, or a rock or somethingelse. At least by the time Maryarrived, Mom had reappeared on theridge, and it was clear to both of usthat it was indeed a wolf, and therocks sure looked good.

In another five hours we hadgathered up our gear and negoti-ated 5 miles of rough terrain onthe ATVs. As we neared ourdestination . . . we stopped and had a look at some low-lying rocks, and right within view, on agreen, velvety lawn of grass, was Mombedded next to a pile of pups!! Ourtravels were finally over, and the long-sought goal stared right back at us.

We enjoyed three glorious dayswatching the den site from a mileaway, afraid we might spook thewolves if we moved closer. Momand Whitey, her 2-year-olddaughter, were the only adults we saw, busy tending four pups.The two adults seemed tocompete for the attention of thepups, and Whitey was clearlydominant to her mother.

Whitey took a stringy piece ofmusk-ox and led a pup down theridge, doing play bows and wagging

for about 1/4 mile. Maybe the ridgewas just a stop after all, an old kill or something else of note. At least Icould hope to see her for somedistance (several more miles) if shekept heading toward a distant musk-ox herd [visible 5 to 10 miles away].

Then she stopped, stood still forhalf a minute or so, then reverseddirection, back up onto the ridge, and again nosed around the rocks for a short time before once againgoing down the west side of theridge, where her white coatcontrasted sharply with the darkbrown hummocks. This time a tinygray speck seemed clear behind her,and it seemed to follow her. Momdropped out of view, but the tinyspeck remained on the dark back-ground, and I could mentally plot its location next to a prominent rock.

By now I’d been out of radiocontact for over half an hour, andMary called to report no wolf in view.. . . I told her I could still see Mom butdidn’t dare mention the possibility of a den. With my glasses off I could

The vast landscape ofEllesmere Island is treelessand virtually all gravel, with almost no vegetation.

For further information about this wolf pack, see the following:

Mech, David L. “At Home with the Arctic Wolf.”National Geographic, May 1987.

Mech, David L. The Arctic Wolf: Ten Years withthe Pack. Stillwater, MN: Voyageur Press, 1997.

White Wolf. VHS. National Geographic Society, 1988; available from www.wolf.org.

Research onEllesmere Island

has revealedunique informa-

tion about thebehavior

of wolves andyoung pups near

their dens.

To some, the most precious legacy we can pass on

to the next generation is a world where nature

can still coexist with humans in a mutually beneficial

relationship. The International Wolf Center’s Alpha

Legacy Program recognizes

the generosity and foresight

of those individuals who

have included the Center in

their estate plans. Together

we’re working to secure the

survival of wolves. For infor-

mation on how you can be

a part of this program, please

contact Walter Medwid,

Executive Director, International Wolf Center,

12615 County Road 9, #200, Minneapolis, MN 55441.

(763) 560-7374. Or e-mail [email protected].

LEAVE YOUR KIDS

SOMETHING A LITTLE

MORE IMPRESSIVE

THAN SILVERWARE.

INTERNATIONAL WOLF CENTERPhoto by Lynn Rogers


26 to September 21 and crossed stateand interstate highways (not countingcounty roads) at least 215 times.

A male wolf from Camp Ripley in Minnesota, also satellite-collared,traveled south away from the mainwolf breeding range. He traveled 653miles, crossed major highways at least33 times, and reached a straight-line distance of 73 miles from homebefore being killed by a coyote hunter.

Wolves, if not exactly adapting,seem to be making forays well into a human landscape dominated byagriculture and roadways — a changedlandscape from that which they onceknew well. �

Jay Hutchinson is a writer and editor,retired from the U.S. Forest Service’sNorth Central Research Station, in St.Paul, Minnesota. Between travels, heenjoys writing about various naturalhistory subjects, including wolves.


northern wolf range southward intoagricultural areas, crossing interstatehighways and many smaller roads.Some examples:

An ear-tagged Wisconsin wolf trav-eled to east-central Indiana, 407 airlinemiles, where it was road-killed (June2003). How did it get around Chicago?

A wolf from the Great Lakes states(according to DNA analysis) traveledto Marshall County, Illinois, 100 milessouth of Wisconsin. Mistaken for acoyote, it was shot (December 2002).

A radio-collared male wolf fromUpper Michigantraveled to north-central Missouri,450 airline miles.Thought to be acoyote, it waskilled by an arrow(October 2001).(See InternationalWolf, Spring 2002,16–17.)

In the past, often the only informa-tion available was the starting point,based on where the wolf was origi-nally captured and marked, and theendpoint, where it was either capturedagain, shot or road-killed. Sometimesthere was periodic radio-tracking by air. But recently, satellite tracking and Global Positioning Systems (GPS)have revealed the daily, hourly or periodic continuous movements ofwolves. This technology allows amuch more detailed look at a wolf’swanderings and a better estimate ofthe distance traversed, rather than justthe straight-line distance to thefarthest point reached.

One such study showed that asatellite-collared female wolf born in Camp Ripley in central Minnesotatraveled at least 2,636 miles andlooped back to her natal territorybefore being killed illegally just east of it. The farthest point she reachedwas in south-central Wisconsin, 306airline miles from her starting point.She traveled this distance from March

Wolf Wanderings: Where Next?b y J a y H u t c h i n s o n

Who publishedthe first full-lengthscientific articleabout wolves inNorth America?

Sigurd Olsonpublished the firstarticle in 1938, titled“A Study in PredatoryRelationship withParticular Referenceto the Wolf,” inScientific Monthly,April 1938, vol. XLVI. �

What are the two longest-running wolf/prey studies?

New Question

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Recently, wolves have increasinglytraveled from northern wolf rangesouthward into agricultural areas,crossing interstate highways andmany smaller roads.

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Wildlife researchers havedocumented for yearshow young gray wolves

disperse to find a mate and territorynot occupied by other wolves. Thefarthest documented distance that awolf has traveled from its home packis 548 miles, from northern Minnesotato Nipawin, Saskatchewan.

But that record distance, set morethan 30 years ago, was probablythrough thinly populated areas withrelatively few roads. Recently, wolveshave increasingly traveled from


Hint: Think logically—what skills or abilities does a wolf pup need in order to do each thing?


When wolf pups are born, they are nearly helpless.They can’t see or hear, and weigh only one pound. In

their first months of life they grow and learn a lot. Here is alist of events or changes that a wolf pup experiences in itsfirst year of life, but they are in the wrong order. Can youput them in the correct sequence? You may want to cut theboxes out so you can try rearranging them visually (an adultmay want to photocopy these pages for you first!). �

Wolf Pups: On the Way to Grown Up

Be sure to visit the “Just for Kids” section of our Web site, www.wolf.org, to read more about a pup’s early life.

Several articles there will help you arrange these events correctly!

Correct sequence: l, j c, h, d, i, m, f, b, o, k, a, e, n, g.

A.Pups leave den and move to the

rendezvous site with pack.

B.Pups begin to pounce on

grasshoppers and small insects.

C.Pups begin to see.

D.Pups begin to emerge

from the den.

E.Pups begin to accompany

adults on short hunting trips.

F.Pups begin dominance displays

with each other.

G.Pup skeletal growth ends—theyare now considered yearlings.

H.Pups begin to hear.

I.Pups begin to eat food

regurgitated by the adult wolves.

J.Pups begin nursing.

K.Pups are fully weaned of

mother’s milk.

L.Wolf pups are born, hairless,

unable to see or hear.

M.Pups begin to eat small portions of meat brought back by adults.

N.Pups leave the rendezvous siteand begin traveling with thepack over great distances.

O.Pups attempt to howl.

PERSON: Kay Winters

JOB T ITLE AND DESCRIPTION:Freelance writer who specializes in chil-dren’s books; author of Wolf Watch.

TRAINING REQUIRED: There are norules that make one a certified children’sbook writer. I was a classroom teacher foryears, which gave me a good backgroundin child development. Once I decided towrite full-time, I took a course in writingchildren’s books at the New School inNew York for three semesters. I attendedconferences to meet editors, and I read allthe picture books on the shelves from the

Kay Winters is a freelance writerwho specializes in children’s books.

past two years at the Children’s BookCouncil.

SKILLS NEEDED TO DO THE JOB:Storytelling ability, grasp of language,understanding of child development,willingness to revise and revise—persis-tence—the ability to keep trying when itseems hopeless.

ADVICE TO KIDS: To write children’sbooks that are both accurate and use beau-tiful language, the writer needs to read,read, read. Take careful notes. Then write,write, write. The work should be rewrittenand revised until every word sings. Andthe writer must care. It’s important to careabout what you are writing.

WOLFWORK

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under Oregon law. The Oregon planwill address this discrepancy in levelsof protection.

The committee will draft theplan’s framework and provide inputregarding the final product. A draftplan should be ready for review in fall 2004. After incorporating public comment, the Oregon Fishand Wildlife Commission expects toadopt a state plan by January 2005.

The plan may face hurdles in thestate legislature. In Minnesota, a wolf plan developed through monthsof roundtable discussions was alteredfollowing behind-the-scenes lobbyingof the legislature by some roundtablemembers. Oregon’s plan will beenacted by the commission through a rule-making process but could be short-circuited if the legislaturereduces or removes state protectionfor wolves. Given the frenzy of anti-wolf legislation introduced in 2003,this is not a far-fetched scenario.

In short, the Oregon wolf manage-ment plan will be only as good as the intentions of the parties involved and the protection that state lawmaintains to conserve the wolf. Will160 years make a difference in thisstate’s view of the wolf? Only time,and the plan, will tell. �

Amaroq Weiss is the Western Director ofSpecies Conservation for Defenders ofWildlife and an appointed representativeon the Oregon Wolf Advisory Committee.

1843 was a historic year for gray wolvesin Oregon. A series of “wolf meetings” in the Willamette Valley resulted in wolfbounties and a decision to create a provi-sional government and declare allegianceto the United States. In fact, the discussionof wolf bounties was used to draw atten-dance for the meeting’s real purpose—toestablish a regional government.

A Historic Wolf Plan for Oregonb y A m a r o q W e i s s

In 1999, wolves and history camecalling again. The dispersal ofwolves from Idaho into Oregon

spurred four workshops, 15 townhall meetings, extensive legal brief-ings by the state attorney general’soffice and, finally, the March 2003announcement that the state woulddevelop a wolf management plan.

In writing the plan, theOregon Department of Fishand Wildlife will be assisted

by a Wolf AdvisoryCommittee representingdiverse stakeholderinterests, with exper-

tise available fromwolf specialists

from the federalgovernment ,the Wisconsin

Department ofNatural Resources

and the Nez PerceTribe. The Oregonplan will likely

borrow from, but mirrornone, of the plans devel-

oped thus far by six otherstates, because Oregon does

not yet have a reproducingpopulation of packs with estab-

lished territories.Oregon state law lists the gray

wolf as “endangered” and is moreprotective of wolves than the currentfederal classification, which regardswolves in the region as “threatened,”subject to a rule that allows for somemanagement options prohibitedW

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