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
Early in July, Wolf No. 10 moved almost directly south from the Huron
Mountain area to the Silver Lake area, again expanding her range to the
west. From September 5 until October 10 she remained in the Silver Lake
area, and there was no apparent pattern to her movements then. After the
wolf was located on September 15 near a bait that bear hunters had put
out on the west edge of the Mulligan Plains, a ground check was made. No
evidence of the wolf was found at the bear bait, consisting mostly of
fish, and no signal was heard there. A signal was picked up in the
southwest corner of the Mulligan Plains, and the wolf was flushed from
her bed about 80 yards (75 m) away.
On October 10, this wolf began a westward move, and on October 22 she
was found south of Herman, 25 miles (40.2 km) west of Silver Lake. On
October 24 she was located 6.5 miles (10.4 km) to the northeast, near
Dirkman Lake. By October 26 she had moved 12 miles (19.3 km) southeast
to within a mile of the town of Michigamme. From there she gradually
moved northeastward. She was shot near Van Riper Lake during deer
hunting season, probably on the morning of November 16.
During the westward move, this wolf had increased the size of her range
by 87 square miles (222.7 km^2), about a 30% increase. She seemed to be
heading back to the Silver Lake area when she was killed.
Feeding Habits
What little information we could obtain on the wolves' feeding habits
indicated considerable variation (Table 4).
In the Skanee area, which the pack of three first visited after leaving
the release area, deer were abundant, and 7 to 10 were seen within a
quarter mile (0.4 km) of the pack on March 20. It is possible that the
wolves killed a deer there, for they remained in the area for a few
days. They did scavenge deer feet and head remains on the 22nd at Laws
Lake, 12 miles (19.3 km) southwest of Skanee. Deer were also sighted
within a quarter mile of the wolves on March 25, April 15, April 16, May
7, June 8, and June 14.
The first confirmed deer kill was made east of Otter Lake about April 1.
The deer was a 4½-year-old doe with a partly healed broken left front
leg (radius) and fat-depleted bone marrow (1%); a bullet was found in
the skin of the right front leg.
The pack also fed on a discarded deer carcass near Nisula, and then
killed a 5½-year-old doe near Kenton on April 15 (Fig. 21); this
animal also had bone marrow with a low fat content (6%).
The next day, lone Wolf No. 10, back in the Huron Mountain area, killed
a 4-5-year-old doe with fat-depleted marrow (5.6%).
No doubt not all of the deer killed or fed upon by the translocated
wolves were found, even when snow was present. However, it is clear from
the observations we did make, and from the fact that all 26 scats we
analyzed from this pack contained deer hair, that the wolves did adapt
to killing deer in their new environment and that it was their primary
food.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account