We assumed that wolves found at fresh kills (fig. 33) had made them unless there was evidence to the contrary as with 1053, the scavenger. When a wolf was found at one location for several consecutive days but could not be observed, we assumed it was feeding on a kill, since whenever wolves were observed remaining in the same location for several days they were seen feeding. Thus a range of possible number of kills per wolf was determined, with the lower limit being the known minimum and the upper limit the possible maximum. When more than one wolf fed on a kill, as with the pack, the figures were calculated on a per-wolf basis. [Illustration: _Figure 33.--Radiotagged wolf (upper left) found at kill (lower right). (Photo courtesy of L. D. Frenzel.)_] In this way we obtained data on a total of 468 wolf-days and found a total kill of 35 to 48 deer (table 7). This averages out to a kill rate of one deer per 10 to 14 days per wolf. The figure varied considerably among individuals--1051 had the highest rate of one kill per 6.3 to 7.2 days, and each wolf in 1059's pack had the lowest rate (except for 1053, the scavenger) of one deer per 14.0 to 18.0 days. It is significant that the pack of five wolves had a lower kill rate per wolf than did single wolves and pairs. This is explainable because the ability of wolves to kill deer during early 1969 was much greater than usual (see Mech _et al._, p. 51). Thus single wolves probably could kill deer just as easily as could packs, but they did not need to share them. This differs markedly from the situation on Isle Royale, where lone wolves usually feed only on moose remains left by packs (Mech 1966a, Jordan _et al._ 1967). That lone wolves had more of a food surplus than those in the pack is confirmed by the figures on the average number of days that the various wolves fed on kills (table 7). Wolf 1051 spent an average of only 2.2 to 2.4 days feeding at each of his kills, whereas 1059's pack of five spent an average of 5.8 to 7.5 wolf-days at each kill. Further confirmation is found in the fact that even when most wolves were leaving their kills partly uneaten, a pack of 8 to 10 wolves (probably that to which 1057 belonged) was seen completely devouring a kill. _Table 7.--Kill rate of deer by radiotagged wolves and their associates_ #: _Number_ -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Wolf-days Wolf Wolf-days Wolf-days Wolf-days feeding # Wolves Dates of data Kills per kill[14] feeding per kill -------------------------------------------------------------------------- # # # Mean # # Mean # 1051 1 Nov. 26 to 101 14-16 6.3-7.2 33-40 2.2-2.4 Apr. 3 1053[15] 1 Dec. 14 to 75 2-3 25.0-37.5 9-18 4.5-6.0 Mar. 27