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
All four translocated wolves were killed by humans (Table 8). The alpha
male (No. 12) was the first victim. He was found from the air in the
same location on July 6 and 10. A ground check on July 11 showed him
already decomposed. He lay about 60 feet (18.3 m) from paved highway US
141 north of Amasa (Fig. 22). The articular processes on the right side
of his fifth and sixth cervical vertebrae were broken and inverted. Part
of the process of the sixth cervical vertebra was lodged in the neural
canal between the fifth and sixth cervical vertebrae and would have
exerted pressure on his spinal cord. His acrylic radio collar was also
cracked on the right side in three places. We concluded that he had been
struck and killed by an automobile. A scat found beneath the remains
contained deer hair, so apparently the animal had been feeding not long
before his death.
[Illustration: _Fig. 22.--The remains of Wolf No. 12 were found near a
highway, and broken bones indicated he had been hit by a vehicle (Photo
by Richard P. Smith)_]
Wolf No. 13 was killed next. He had been located south of Sagola in
Dickinson County on July 20, the first time he was found since June 27.
He was still there on July 27, so a ground check was made. It revealed
that the wolf had been dead for perhaps 2 or 3 weeks. His flesh had
decomposed, and only hair, bones and the transmitting collar remained
(Fig. 23). His leg bones and ribs were mostly disarticulated, his skull
was separated from the vertebral column, and his mandible had separated.
A small caliber bullet had passed through the ramus of the left mandible
and had entered the base of the cranium. The hole through the mandible
was 0.26 inch × 0.34 inch (6.6 mm. × 8.6 mm.) and that through the
cranium was 0.34 inch × 1.30 inch (8.6 mm. × 33.0 mm.). Three small lead
fragments were removed from the cranium.
[Illustration: _Fig. 23.--Wolf No. 13 had been shot, as the hole in the
jawbone indicates (Photo by Tom Weise)_]
The remains of Wolf No. 13 were sent to the Michigan Department of
Natural Resources Wildlife Research Center at Rose Lake and examined by
staff pathologists Dr. L. D. Fay and Mr. John Stuht. No fractures or
other signs were found that might indicate that he had been trapped.
However, some of the smaller foot bones were missing and a complete
examination was not possible. Notches were found in both shoulder
blades, and one rib was broken, suggesting that the animal had been shot
twice by a small caliber firearm in addition to the head shot. The hole
in the left scapula indicated a deep penetrating wound. The notch in the
right scapula indicated a bullet traveling more parallel to the body.
_Table 8. Details of Deaths of Translocated Wolves_
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