An Experimental Translocation of the Eastern Timber WolfWeise, Thomas F.
Science
An Experimental Translocation of the Eastern Timber Wolf
Weise, Thomas F.
Gray wolf -- Reintroduction -- Michigan
When approached by humans, all the wolves would urinate and defecate;
No. 11 and 12 would pace, No. 10 (when out of the shelter box) and No.
13 would lie in the far corner of the pen and remain motionless (Fig.
14). No. 11 limped on her right front foot throughout the penned period,
but this limp did not appear to have a significant effect on her
activities or movements.
Blood samples taken on March 5, 1974 were analyzed and interpreted by
Dr. U. S. Seal of the Veterans Administration Hospital in Minneapolis.
The assays performed included hematology, 16 blood chemistries,
thryoxine, and cortisol (Seal et al., 1975), plus estrogen and
progesterone. According to Seal (personal communication), all blood
values for wolves No. 10, 12, and 13 were similar and indicative of good
health and minimal stress, as indicated by very low levels of the
enzymes LDH, CPK, and SGOT. Such levels are typical of animals in a
state of good nutrition that have been in captivity for several weeks
and have accepted their captive circumstances. The MCV's were normal,
indicating no vitamin deficiency, and the MCHC showed full hemoglobin
content in the red cells, indicating no lack of iron. The white blood
cell counts were much lower than usually seen in newly trapped wolves.
All the remaining chemistry values from these three wolves were in the
normal range for the season.
[Illustration: _Fig. 14.--The Minnesota wolves in their Michigan pen
(Photo by Tom Weise)_]
Wolf No. 11, however, differed in that she had a much higher hemoglobin
level, higher blood glucose and white cell count, and higher levels of
LDH, CPK, and SGOT, indicating that she was significantly stressed. This
is corroborated by a low thyroxine level of 0.6 micrograms percent,
which is hypothyroid for wolves.
The fibrinogen levels of all four animals were normal, indicating that
there was no acute or chronic inflammation in progress.
The wolves ate well in captivity but still lost from 11% to 20% of their
capture weight (Table 2). Himes estimated that they consumed an average
of 8 lb. (3.6 kg) of food per wolf per day, while penned in Minnesota.
In Michigan the wolves consumed about a deer and a half, or an estimated
5.5 lb. (2.5 kg) per wolf per day. These estimates fall within the range
of food consumption figures estimated for wolves in the wild (Mech and
Frenzel 1971). After the wolves began feeding on the first carcass, they
completely consumed it before starting a second one, even though four
carcasses were available; they ate nothing from the other two carcasses.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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