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4 Courtesy of Wildlands Network 8 National Park Service/Jim Peaco 13 Sherry Jokinen Seeking Wildlands, Large Do Wolves Cause Wolf Population Status and Small, for Carnivores Trophic Cascades? in Western United States: A Summary of State Reports On the 50th anniversary of the Ever since wolves were Wilderness Act, the attention of reintroduced into Yellowstone The wolf population in the western many is turned toward ensuring National Park, scientific studies United States is stabilizing and adequate wildlands for future have claimed that wolves were expanding its range. By 2012 generations of animals and humans. improving the ecosystem through wolves had been deemed recovered John Davis, co-founder of the “trophic cascades.” A trophic and delisted from the federal Wildlands Network, formerly the cascade is a set of reactions down endangered species list in Montana, Wildlands Project, explains why through a food pyramid starting Idaho, eastern Washington, eastern this is an important goal, what with an animal like the wolf at the Oregon, north-central Utah and is being done and what still top, elk in the middle and plants at Wyoming. This article takes an needs to happen. the base. Wolf expert Dr. L. David in-depth look at wolf populations Mech addresses this issue in a in these states. By Tracy O’Connell Q&A with International Wolf. By Norman A. Bishop By Dr. L. David Mech

On the Cover Departments Shadow 3 From the Photo: International Wolf Center Executive Director Did you know... 18 Tribute to Shadow One easy way for you to help us 21 Wolves of the World conserve natural resources is to make 24 Personal Encounter sure we have your email address. Simply email your address to 26 Wild Kids [email protected]. 28 A Look Beyond International Wolf Center International Wolf PASSION LEGACY Your passion for wolves can have a lasting impact beyond your lifetime.

Publications Director By choosing to leave a planned gift to Tom Myrick the International Wolf Center, you will help secure their future and become a Graphics Coordinator member of the Alpha Legacy Society with Carissa L. Winter all its benefits. Consulting Editor If you have already included the Center Fran Howard in your estate planning, we thank you Technical Editor and ask that you let us know about your Dr. L. David Mech commitment.

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Luna—Photo by Darcy Berus International Wolf (1089-683X) is published quarterly and copyrighted, 2014, by the International Wolf Center, 3410 Winnetka Ave. N., Minneapolis, MN 55427, USA. email: [email protected]. All rights reserved. Publications agreement no. 1536338 wolves and polar bears... Membership in the International Wolf Center includes wHo Is CHasIng wHoM? a subscription to International Wolf magazine, free admission to the Center and discounts on programs and merchandise. LEARNINGPredator ARCTIC climate changeecosystem science Membership Levels: (in U.S. dollars) biodiversity technology BIOLOGY • Wolf Pup $25 (students • Wolf Associate $125 Cubs tundra YEARLINGs HARSH dynamics DENS PACK age 21 and under) • Wolf Tracker $250 FROZEN MoveMents SEALS • Lone Wolf $40 • Wolf Sponsor $500 PREY WOLVES BEAR (individual) • Alpha Wolf $1,000 • Wolf Pack $70 (family at same address) For those outside the United States, please add an additional $15 to Wolf Pup, Lone Wolf, Wolf Pack and Wolf Associate memberships. Polar bear chasing wolf near Hudson Bay, Canada. © Manitoba Conservation photo. Please mail membership payment to: International Wolf Center Administrative Office, Attn: Membership, 3410 Winnetka Ave. N., Minneapolis, MN 55427, USA. YoUr sCHool CoUld Help Us FInd oUT! Please contact the membership department with University researchers in conjunction with Manitoba questions: 763-560-7374 ext. 227 or [email protected]. government want to learn how two predator species interact International Wolf is a forum for airing perspectives, at the edge of the Arctic. Do wolves predate on bear cubs science-based information and personal experiences as they come off the sea ice in July? Are mother polar bears about wolves. Articles and materials printed in Inter- national Wolf do not necessarily reflect the viewpoint of affected? Is climate change and early melting ice a factor? the International Wolf Center or its board of directors. These questions may be answered from some fascinat- International Wolf welcomes submissions of personal ing research in an unstudied ecosystem. A few schools in adventures with wolves and wolf photo graphs. Prior North America can participate by sponsoring a GPS collar to submission of other types of manuscripts, address to track “their” wolf for a $400 contribution. Students can queries to Tom Myrick, magazine coordinator. learn about ecosystems, predators, biodiversity, GPS tracking, PHOTOS: Unless otherwise noted, or obvious from the and link to participating schools. Deadline is Oct. 18, 2014. caption or article text, photos are of captive wolves. Research begins in 2015. International Wolf is printed entirely with soy ink Participation is limited. Contact us for details ASAP: on FSC® certified paper. We encour- Volker Beckmann, Project Director, Spirit Way Inc. FSC logo here age you to recycle [email protected] • 204-778-7434 this magazine. www.thompsonspiritway.ca

2 Fall 2014 www.wolf.org From the Executive Director

INTERNATIONAL WOLF CENTER Engaging the Next Generation Board of Directors Nancy jo Tubbs s a new school year begins we are preparing to launch an outreach initiative unlike Chair anything we have done before. Dr. L. David Mech Funded by a Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund grant Vice Chair from the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources, this new pro- Cree Bradley Secretary Agram, known as The Wolf at Our Door, is aimed at helping children understand the complex Paul B. Anderson issues and public attitudes that surround state management of wolves in Minnesota. Treasurer Following the removal of wolves from protected status in the Great Lakes region, public Rick Duncan opinion has been sharply divided in states like Minnesota where wolf-hunting seasons have been Nancy Gibson implemented. Chasms divide people on all sides of the issue—rural, urban and Debbie Hinchcliffe suburban communities, hunters and non-hunters, trappers and non-trappers, Judy Hunter and residents and non-residents of areas with wolf populations. And our chil- Deborah Wold Lewis dren, who will be our future decision makers, have become confused by the Dr. Rolf O. Peterson polarizing debates they hear about wolf hunting in the media. This new program Mike Phillips was created to bring clarity and facts to these young, impressionable minds. Debbie Reynolds Why are wolves important in some ecosystems? How will the loss of Jerry Sanders wildlands affect wolves and other animal populations? What role can Paul Schurke Rob Schultz children play in protecting the environment for future generations? These Dick Thiel topics and more will be the core of an aggressive effort to educate our next generation Ray Wells Teri Williams of citizens about the challenges faced by wildlife in a rapidly changing world. Educating the

public—especially young people—is more critical than ever. Executive Director The Wolf at Our Door will focus on delivering free outreach programs in 460 class- Rob Schultz rooms throughout the nine-county Minneapolis–St. Paul metro area over a two-year period. An International Wolf Center outreach specialist will present the in-person programs in Mission each classroom, using Turning Point survey technology to collect data on student attitudes The International Wolf Center advances the survival and knowledge about wolves and wolf management. This real-time feedback will provide of wolf populations by context for a facilitated discussion about important issues affecting Minnesota wilderness teaching about wolves, their and public opinions that impact the survival of wolves and their habitats. If successful, we hope relationship to wildlands and the human role in their future. that other states will provide funding to broaden the program to all areas where children are struggling to understand these issues. Educational services and informational resources We are excited to begin this initiative and look forward to getting an insight into the are available at: attitudes young people have in regard to protecting our natural resources. n 1396 Highway 169 Ely, MN 55731-8129, USA 800-ELY-WOLF 218-365-4695 email address: [email protected] Web site: www.wolf.org Rob Schultz, executive director

International Wolf Fall 2014 3 4 Fall 2014

iStockPhoto/jameslee999 www.wolf.org ★ Seeking Wildlands Large and Small, for Carnivores

by TRACY O’CONNELL

Editor’s note: On this 50th anniversary of smaller species that share their space. In involve conserving existing areas rather the Wilderness Act, the attention of many is addition, as keystone species they also fit than restoration because the region is turned toward ensuring adequate wildlands into the cycle of many forms of life. In sparsely settled with much open area. for future generations of animals and humans. Yellowstone National Park, some claim Still, threats abound, mostly from energy John Davis, co-founder of the Wildlands Net- that elk no longer graze the trees down to extraction: the mining of tar sands, log- work, formerly the Wildlands Project, talked nubs allowing growth that protects water- ging and mining for minerals. “Much of with International Wolf to explain why this is an important goal, what is being done and ways from erosion and provides homes northern Alberta is an industrial waste- what still needs to happen. to other species. (See also “Do Wolves land now,” he said. Cause Trophic Cascades?” on page 8.) The Rockies, a second region of Davis said a similar function has taken importance to ensure migration, is about ohn Davis has been termed a cross place in the east, where deer no longer two-thirds of the way toward the envi- between a triathlete and pioneer con- browse the hardwood forests as severely sioned ideal of protection. The Atlantic Jservationist and naturalist John Muir. as they once did due to the re-emergence region, where in 2011 Davis traversed He has trekked across major swaths of of large predators in their range. 7,600 miles (12,231 kilometers) from the North America, alone and in the com- Additionally, open areas are important Florida Keys to Quebec in 10 months to pany of others, addressing the barriers to combat invasive species, which can much media attention in an adventure faced by wildlife seeking to migrate. Why be costly to live with and to eradicate. called TrekEast, is only about one-quarter is this important? We need big areas of Such species typically thrive in narrow of the way toward ensuring migration wilderness, he said, for many reasons. It strips of land along roadsides or under for the animals that live there. In 2013 is good for people, providing clean air. power lines but less often move into Davis authored Big, Wild and Protected, It stores carbon. And it is good for the wide areas of new land. a three-part electronic book published large carnivores that require a big range. The Wildlands Network shows four by Island Press, which recounts the trip Large carnivores like cougars, bears, regions on its Web site (wildlandsnet- and his vision for the necessary protec- wolverines and wolves are umbrella spe- work.org) in North America where ani- tion of the region. cies, important for all of nature. Areas mal movement patterns dictate the need The Pacific region is the fourth, where preserved for umbrella species tend to for preservation of land. Some, like in 2013 Davis covered 5,000 “human- also protect habitat for the physically the boreal area of Canada and Alaska, powered” miles (8,047 kilometers) in 10

International Wolf Fall 2014 5 months as part of TrekWest, beginning where, Davis noted, there is strong in Hermosillo, Mexico, and concluding support among many organizations in Fernie, British Columbia, Canada. working together to ensure that passage- This trip provided additional exposure ways remain open for wildlife. A major to the need for protected land. threat there is the border wall, separat- “Being out on a trek, you encounter ing Mexico from the United States. “It surprises, or else confirmation of what isn’t stopping drug runners, but it does you believe,” he said, making such forays stop wildlife,” Davis noted. vital for more than the media attention. Corridors aren’t new. This concept “I was accompanied by regional experts, of linking patches of land with pas- who taught me about the areas in which sageways to enable travel through areas we were traveling,” he adds. This experi- that might otherwise be unsafe due to ence strengthened his knowledge base, traffic or closed due to physical barriers which he uses to speak to groups. or highly built-up areas, has existed for What do these protected areas decades. National Geographic reported look like? They encompass every- in 2006 that more than 800 organiza- thing from entire mountain ranges to tions in the United States and Canada a culvert under a road that lets wild- were using corridors to create webs of life access wider areas without hav- protected habitat between Yellowstone ing to cross barriers such as highways. National Park and the Yukon. Protected corridors also make it safer Many more exist around the world. for people, and automobile insurance Conservationists in Chile’s Bío Bío region companies have reduced costs when have been working to connect three there are fewer traffic accidents involving established nature reserves with small major wildlife, Davis noted. Corridors of private properties. Paseo del Jaguar this type also benefit plants, which along (Path of the Jaguar) is a proposed sys- with animals will need to become estab- tem of refuges and conservation cor- lished farther north or at higher eleva- ridors running from the United States

Photos courtesy of Wildlands Network tions to deal with climate change, he said. into South America. Images captured on various over- and The envisioned Rocky Mountain and In India a 37-mile-long, 6-mile-wide underpass trail cameras assure observers Pacific corridors merge at the north, (60-kilometer-long, 10-kilometer-wide) that the paths are being used. moving into Canada together, where corridor connects important tiger habitats they then combine with the boreal region in the eastern Himalaya and the Western that, in turn, spans Canada, meeting in Ghats mountain ranges. Another, the the northeast with the Atlantic region. Siju-Rewak corridor located in the Garo The Rocky Mountain region extends Hills of India, protects approximately 20 south into Mexico, an important area percent of the elephants in the country, Wikimedia Commons/Qyd

6 Fall 2014 www.wolf.org joining the Siju Wildlife Sanctuary and the Rewak Reserve Forest in Meghalaya State, close to the India-Bangladesh border. It contains at least 139 other mammal species including the tiger, clouded leopard and the Himalayan black bear. The European Green Belt connects 24 countries. Almost 150 governmental The Wildlands Network and non-governmental organizations envisions four corridors came together for this initiative, born in North America where in 2003. Other corridors exist, such animal movement patterns dictate the need for as Ecologische Hoofdstructuur, a net- preservation of land. work of passages and habitats created for wildlife in the Netherlands. Critics have pointed to the cost of corridors and lack of solid proof that they work. That’s why excitement stirred when a team of scientists led by Ellen Damschen, an ecologist at the University of California, Santa Barbara, found a 20 percent increase in plant species occurred Map courtesy of Wildlands Network/ www.wildlandsnetwork.org over five years where vegetation was given access to corridors than when it was not. The findings came after scientists carved a South Carolina pine forest into six 5,382-square-foot (500-square- Network’s associated Web site, west- meter) experimental plots for the com- ernwildway.org, offers a case study in parison. The study ran from 2000 to Arizona, where three overpasses were 2005 and was reported in September constructed for bighorn sheep along 2006 in Science magazine. Highway 93, a major north-south route An earlier study in 2001 of wolves that is part of the Mexican/Canadian and their prey in Jasper National Park shipping lane as well as a road used by in northern Canada looked at what hap- Arizonans heading to Las Vegas. It was or swerving to avoid it. It was cheaper pened when fencing, which had been being widened from two to four lanes, to build highway underpasses and over- erected to keep elk off a golf course and considerable study went into the passes than to deal with the damage to in a part of the park heavily used by planning of these overpasses. people and vehicles encountering deer, visitors, was removed. It was found, Previously, approximately 10 sheep moose, elk, bear and other large wild according to an article written by the per year were killed in the route. By animals. And, of course, it was much Resilience Alliance and published in collaring animals with GPS units, sci- better for the wildlife. n the Encyclopedia of Earth, September entists were able to identify key places 23, 2008, that “wolves, elk and deer in to put the crossings. It was determined Sources: this study changed their distributions that overpasses for these animals were Duke, D., M. Hebblewhite, P. Paquet, within one year of corridor restoration.” more popular than underpasses and C. Callaghan, and M. Percy. 2001. This quick response was also observed also would be less costly to construct. “Restoring a large-carnivore corridor in in Banff National Park, the article con- Cameras enabled study of the animals Banff National Park.” Pages 261–275 tinued, where in a similar study wolves and assured observers that the paths in D. S. Maehr, R. F. Noss, and J. frequently used an area in which they were used. Fences funneled animals L. Larkin, editors. Large mammal had not been observed the previous eight toward the corridors, and escape hatches restoration: ecological and sociological years. Together, these studies suggest that provided places for animals trapped on challenges in the 21st century. Island “corridor restoration can improve habi- the highway side of the fence to get out. Press, Washington, D.C., USA. tat quality and reduce fragmentation.” The effort is being cited as a model of Tracy O’Connell is a retired associate It takes animals time to find corri- inter-agency cooperation. professor of marketing communications at dors once they are opened, Davis of the Another case study of efforts around the University of Wisconsin-River Falls Wildlands Network said, but then the Jackson Hole, Wyoming, points to the and serves on the International Wolf moms teach the young. The Problems/ high cost of damage when traffic acci- Center communications and magazine Solutions page of the Wildlands dents occur, either from hitting wildlife committees.

International Wolf Fall 2014 7

National Park Service/ Jim Peaco

National Park Service/ John Good

National Park Service/ R G Johnsson Do Wolves Cause Trophic Cascades? Garrey Faller

National Park Service/ J Schmidt National Park Service

8 Fall 2014 www.wolf.org Do Wolves Cause Trophic Cascades?

ver since wolves were reintroduced into Yellowstone National Park, scientific studies have claimed that the wolves were improving the ecosystem through “trophic cascades.” Popular Evideos and articles have now echoed, and perhaps exaggerated, those claims. “Trophic” refers to food; a trophic cascade is a set of reactions down through a food pyramid starting with an animal like the wolf at the top, elk in the middle and plants at the base. A Yellowstone trophic cascade, then, involves the changes in plants caused by changes in the elk population caused by actions of wolves. Wolves kill elk, which helps reduce their numbers. Wolves also might scare elk, making them change their behavior such as living in larger herds or in safer areas. Fewer elk and/ or elk living differently on the land could change how plants grow. Those changes could affect other creatures such as birds that nest in trees or shrubs. How much of this theoretical cascad- ing actually occurs in Yellowstone has been the subject of scientific controversy. To try to clarify the issue International Wolf interviewed Dr. L. David Mech, senior research scientist for the U.S. Geological Survey, who has written about the subject.

International Wolf Fall 2014 9 International Wolf: Do wolves International Wolf: Is there any behavior after wolves, but other studies cause trophic cascades? evidence this has happened? challenged those findings. Mech: Yes, they can. Science has long Mech: Not really. A few years after wolves known that after wolves and other car- were reintroduced, they did kill a lot International Wolf: Why do nivores were exterminated from many of coyotes and reduced their num- scientists disagree so much areas, their prey such as deer overpopu- bers. However, there was no evidence about these subjects? lated and overbrowsed plants. Researcher of an increase in foxes or other carni- Mech: Scientists disagree on many things. Rolf Peterson, Michigan Technological vores. And more recently coyotes have That is the way science works. Science University, also demonstrated that balsam increased again, although wolves still is self-correcting. One study concludes fir growth on Isle Royale was linked to keep killing them. something; then other scientists scruti- how many moose wolves killed. nize the study and sometimes see prob- International Wolf: What lems with the first study’s methods, International Wolf: Why is there a about improving the system analyses, results or interpretations. controversy, then, about trophic for scavengers? cascades in Yellowstone? Mech: With or without wolves, every- International Wolf: Can you give a specific example? Mech: Yellowstone is a much more com- thing dies, and scavengers feed on the plicated system. Not only do wolves prey dead. Many scavengers do feed on wolf Mech: One of the biggest flaws in some on elk, but so, too, do black and grizzly kills, but if wolves reduce elk numbers, of the Yellowstone studies has been bears, coyotes, cougars, and humans there would be fewer elk carcasses on some scientists concluding that because (when Yellowstone elk migrate out of which scavengers can feed, so that could a change in something occurred after the park). Thus scientists disagree on be detrimental to scavengers rather than wolves were reintroduced, therefore how much impact wolves have on the beneficial. Moreover, wolves usually eat wolves caused that change. In reality elk population. If wolves are not the almost all of a carcass, leaving far less there could have been any number of main factor reducing elk numbers, then food for scavengers than if the animal other causes. Soon after wolves were any effect that changes in elk numbers just died without wolves. reintroduced to Yellowstone, Doug might bring cannot be attributed solely Smith, who is project leader for the to wolves. International Wolf: Are there Yellowstone Gray Wolf Restoration other disagreements? Project in Yellowstone, put it this way: International Wolf: What are other Mech: Several others. Although some “The danger we perceive is that all changes in Yellowstone that some scientists seemed to show increased plant changes to the system, now and in the scientists have attributed to the wolf? growth after wolves were reintroduced, future, will be attributed solely to the Mech: The return of beavers; reduction other scientists dispute those findings. restoration of the wolf.” of coyotes and possible release of animals Also some studies showed changes in elk that coyotes kill and thus an increase in coyote competitors; improving the system for scavengers (ravens, eagles, coyotes, beetles) that feed on wolf kills; and others.

International Wolf: What does The number of grizzly bears has increased, “release of animals that coyotes kill” mean? Drought has also affected the Mech: Release means an increase in coyote prey such as mice and ground squirrels. With fewer coyotes, more In addition, bison numbers have doubled such prey could support an increase in other creatures that feed on them such as hawks, owls, foxes and weasels.

10 Fall 2014 www.wolf.org

National Park Service/ Jim Peaco National Park Service/ Paul Schullery National Park Service/ Jim Peaco National Park Service/Jim Peaco and bears are important predators on elk calves. Yellowstone area for many years, further plaguing elk populations. ...some bison carry brucellosis, which can spread to elk.

International Wolf Fall 2014 11 International Wolf: So many of the has also affected the Yellowstone area for these degraded ecosystems would be changes that people think happened many years, further plaguing elk popula- inconsequential. after wolf reintroduction included tions. In addition, bison numbers have increases in the height and number doubled, and they are distributed more International Wolf: Don’t wolves of aspen trees and willows. What widely in the park. Some bison carry sometimes help reduce deer herds? other types of causes besides wolves brucellosis, which can spread to elk. Mech: Wolves can reduce deer herds, and could bring major changes to plants? that can release plants that deer depend Mech: Changing weather patterns. For International Wolf: Is there good on. However, compared with the effect of example, since 1995 when the first evidence that wolves have caused human activities, the results make little wolves were reintroduced, the growing trophic cascades in any area other difference. This was recently shown in season has increased by about 27 days. than the one you mentioned on some Wisconsin studies. Thus if any great increases in Yellowstone Isle Royale? plant growth since 1995 are proven, Mech: Yes. There seems to be good evi- International Wolf: Are there any the longer growing season could have dence that wolves in Banff National other positive ecological effects of caused them. Park, Canada, have reduced elk num- wolves that are well documented bers, which increased willows and the wherever wolves live, national parks International Wolf: Have there been songbirds that depend on them. or elsewhere? any other major changes in Mech: For wolves to trigger a very effec- Yellowstone since 1995 besides International Wolf: Most wolves live tive trophic cascade they would have to wolves and growing season that outside national parks. What about live at a high density for a long period, might have caused changes that wolf effects there? which probably could only be the case some attribute to wolves? Mech: Unfortunately most areas outside in national parks. Wherever wolves live, Mech: The number of grizzly bears has national parks have been so comprised however, they tend to take prey that is increased, and bears are important pred- by human activities including agricul- more feeble or debilitated, for example ators on elk calves. Drought ture, logging, grazing, pollution, min- older animals, the very young and those ing, hunting and other development that are diseased, parasitized or abnor- that any effect wolves might have on mal. In the long run, that is beneficial to prey populations. Also in national parks, which generally are as close to pristine as any area these days, at least in the lower 48 states, wolves fill out the natural complement of creatures, and I and many others consider that fact positive regardless of whether science can document any trophic cascades they might cause. n

For a perfect example of the exaggerations that have been made about wolves and trophic cascades, see the YouTube video “How Wolves Change Rivers” at http://www.youtube. com/watch?v=ysa5OBhXz-Q.

Dr. L. David Mech is a senior research scientist for the U.S. Geological Survey and founder and vice chair of the International Wolf Center. He has studied wolves for more than 50 years and has published several books and many articles about them.

12 Fall 2014 www.wolf.org Wolf Population Status in Western United States: A Summary of State Reports

by NORMAN A. BISHOP

he wolf population in the western United States is stabilizing and Texpanding its range. By 2012 wolves had been deemed recovered and “delisted” or removed from the federal endangered species list in Montana, Idaho, eastern Washington, eastern Oregon, north-central Utah and Wyoming. That action transferred wolf- management responsibility to the states, and the Northern Rocky Mountain (NRM) wolf population now contains at least 1,691 wolves, 320 packs and 78 breeding pairs. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), the NRM wolf population has exceeded recovery goals since 2002: “By every biological measure the NRM wolf population is recovered and remains secure under State management. The Service expects the entire NRM population to maintain a long- term average of around 1,000 wolves. These wolves represent a 400-mile southern range extension of a vast contiguous wolf population that numbers more than 12,000 wolves in western Canada and about 65,000 wolves across all of Canada and Alaska.” Each year for five years after delist- ing the states must report on the status of their wolf populations. The summa- ries from the above-mentioned states and other states in the area follow. iStockPhoto/designwest

International Wolf Fall 2014 13 Idaho

n Idaho, the year-end wolf population Iincluded at least 107 packs with at least 659 wolves. In 2012 the estimate was a minimum of 683. Reproduction was confirmed for 49 packs that pro- duced at least 166 pups. Of 473 documented mortalities in 2013, humans caused 466. The average December 31 pack size of 5.4 animals was 32 percent lower than that of the three-year pre-hunt period’s average of 8.1 animals, probably due to harvest and increased control. The number of documented breeding pairs increased from 1995 through 2009 but has since dropped coincident with

iStockPhoto/designwest public harvest. A hunter/trapper was sent into the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness to kill two wolf packs. A Controlling Wolves Wildlife Services helicopter crew killed Below are a few examples of recent legislative attempts to control wolves in Idaho and 23 wolves in the Lolo Pass area on the Montana. Montana/Idaho border. The goal in these ■ Associated Press, March 22, 2014: “(Idaho) lawmakers pass wolf population control cases was to reduce wolf predation on bill.” House Bill 470 creates a $400,000 fund and establishes a five-member board elk. However, the major factor in elk whose job it is to authorize the killing of wolves that come into conflict with wildlife or decline has been habitat-quality changes livestock. Idaho Gov. Butch Otter said, “We are of one mind, that Idaho wants to manage due to forest maturation, which reduced our wolves, and we want to manage them to a reasonable number so that the species availability of shrubs and grasses central don’t [sic] get endangered again and the feds don’t come in and take it over again.” to the elk’s diet. Idaho’s statewide elk ■ Associated Press, March 26, 2014: Idaho’s governor signed the new law. It is part population of 107,000 has been grow- of a broader effort to reduce Idaho’s wolf population to 150 animals—the minimum to ing since 2010. keep the wolf off the federal endangered species list in Idaho. ■ In Montana, four bills were introduced in the first week of the 2013 legislative session that dealt with wolf management. Another 12 were in draft. Nearly every bill was intended to increase the killing of wolves. On the other hand, wolves are prolific, and harvesting many can be difficult. Wolf expert Dr. L. David Mech has written: “Within a few years after seasons are established, probably few people will have the motivation to trap, hunt or snare many wolves, although many hunters may persist enough to take a few.” So far this prediction has been borne out as states have increased the length of their seasons, individual quotas and methods of take to achieve the harvest results they desire. The states are also keenly aware that even if they succeed in reducing their wolf populations, they shouldn’t allow wolf numbers to drop too close to federal recovery minimums because the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will then declare them threatened.

14 Fall 2014 www.wolf.org Wyoming Montana

he Wyoming Game and Fish animals, wolves can be taken anytime n Montana, 95 wolves were harvested TDepartment reported at least 306 in any legal manner, and 39 were killed. Iduring the 2012-13 season and 136 wolves in 43 packs (including at least Documented wolf mortalities in during the 2013-14 season for a total 23 breeding pairs) inhabiting Wyoming Wyoming amounted to 109 in 2013 (101 of 231. Known wolf mortalities in 2013 as of December 31, 2013, compared outside Yellowstone, 7 in the park, and 1 totaled 335, 329 of them human-related. to at least 277 in at least 43 packs in in the Wind River Reservation). Causes According to Montana’s annual report, 2012, including at least 21 breeding included 99 (91 percent) human-related “The minimum count of Montana wolves pairs. Of those, 95 wolves in 11 packs (control, 33; hunting, 62; vehicles, 2; generally stayed stable from 2012 (625) (including 8 breeding pairs) resided in and illegal, 2); 8 (7 percent) natural; to 2013 (627 in 152 verified packs). Yellowstone, 12 wolves and 2 packs and 2 (2 percent) unknown. The 2013 Twenty-eight packs qualified by the fed- (0 breeding pairs) in the Wind River wolf mortality rate in Wyoming was at eral legal definition as breeding pairs (an Reservation, and 199 wolves and 30 least 26 percent. adult male and female with two surviv- packs (including 15 breeding pairs) In Yellowstone, the population ing pups on December 31).” elsewhere in the state. declined from 171 in 2007 to 83 in Fish, Wildlife and Parks director Wolves killed 41 cattle and 33 sheep 2012, probably the result of a decline Jeff Hagener said, “Overall, Montana’s in Wyoming in 2013. Thirty-three wolves in elk numbers. In 2012-13 hunts near wolf population continues a stabiliz- were removed to reduce livestock losses the park boundary, several radio-collared ing trend that’s likely a combination of on the 1.3 million cattle and 365,000 wolves were killed, five of which were suitable habitats being filled, smaller sheep in the state. Wyoming, with the important members of the nine park pack sizes, livestock-related removals third largest wolf population in the west- packs. Three wore expensive GPS col- by federal Wildlife Services and hunter ern United States, reported its three lars. In late 2013, 95 wolves survived and trapper harvests. When consid- largest elk harvests on record in the past in Yellowstone. ered as a whole, it appears those factors five years, including 45 percent success are continuing to curb wolf population in 2013. The 2013 harvest of 25,968 growth.” Confirmed 2013 livestock dep- elk compares to 17,695 taken in 1995. redations due to wolves included 50 In 2013, Wyoming instituted a public cattle, 24 sheep, 3 horses and 1 goat wolf-hunting season to provide recre- in 2013, down 27 percent from 2012 ational hunting and to reduce the wolf losses. Cattle losses were the lowest in population by about 5 percent in the the past seven years. Montana harbors northwestern corner of the state outside 2.5 million cattle and 225,000 sheep. Yellowstone. Harvest was focused there Meanwhile, the Montana elk popula- to reduce livestock damage and excessive tion numbers 148,648, and elk are at predation on ungulate herds. A quota of or above objectives in 81 percent of the 26 wolves was subdivided between 12 hunting districts. hunt areas, and the season was open from October through December. Some 23 wolves were harvested. Outside that area, where they are designated as predatory

International Wolf Fall 2014 15 Oregon Washington Elsewhere

regon’s wolf population contin- ashington’s known wolf popula- lthough a few wolves have appeared Oues to grow, tripling over the last Wtion, at least 52, remained about A(and disappeared) in Colorado and three years from at least 22 to at least the same in 2012 and 2013. Pack num- Utah, those states cannot be said to 64. Known packs also increased from bers increased from 10 to 13 because 1 have wolf “populations.” Utah is con- six to eight, although the number of of the 10 packs from the previous year sidering a shoot-on-sight policy and known breeding pairs decreased from split up to form 4 separate packs. The allocating public monies to groups that six to four. In March, tracks on the east Washington Department of Fish and target native carnivores with the aim of flank of Mount Hood were confirmed Wildlife transferred responsibility for increasing populations of game species. to be those of a wolf, only the second wolf management from its Endangered Colorado has a wolf management plan, known time a wolf had reached the Species Division to its Game Division the product of a stakeholder collaborative Oregon Cascades since world-famous in 2011 soon after its original wolf plan group, in anticipation of wolves natu- wolf OR-7 made his trek west. was adopted, and the agency, the Fish rally recolonizing the state. At least three Oregon’s wolf OR-7 became the and Wildlife Commission and the leg- wolves are known to have dispersed to first confirmed wolf in California in 87 islature have since amended the plan Colorado, but at least two of them were years when he crossed from Oregon to allow more liberal taking of wolves killed. Biologists believe that Colorado into California on December 28, 2011. in response to livestock depredations. and other parts of the southern Rockies He stayed in California for 15 months could support more than 1,000 wolves, and left in March 2013 but has returned 40 percent within protected areas and for short visits several times since. The 47 percent on unprotected public lands. California Department of Fish and All in all, we can be cautiously opti- Wildlife has convened a stakeholder mistic about the future for wolves in group that is working together to develop the western United States as wolves California’s state wolf management plan. continue to recolonize the Pacific The agency aims Northwest, where public sentiment is Editor’s note: to have a draft for generally favorable toward wolf recovery. In May 2014 public comment A recent poll showed that 80 percent of Oregon and late this year and Californians, 63 percent of Oregonians USFWS biologists to adopt it in early and 72 percent of Washingtonians favor confirmed that 2015. (http://www. wolf restoration in their states. OR-7 had a mate, dfg.ca.gov/wildlife/ For the full story on gray wolves in a black female. nongame/wolf/) the Northern Rocky Mountains includ- In early June 2014, two pups ing Oregon and Washington, go to: n were discovered. westerngraywolf.fws.gov.

Norman A. Bishop was a national park ranger for 36 years and the principal interpreter of wolf restoration at Yellowstone National Park from 1985 to 1997, when he retired. He was a reviewer and compiler of “Wolves for Yellowstone?” and for the 1994 wolf Environmental Impact Statement. He led field courses on wolves for the Yellowstone Association Institute until 2005 and has received numerous awards for his work with wolves. The author would like to thank Amaroq Weiss of the Center for Biological Diversity for Washington, Oregon and California updates.

16 Fall 2014 www.wolf.org INTERNATIONAL WOLF CENTER Major Contributors and Special Gifts

MARCH 2014 – MAY 2014

Major Donors Memorials Matching Gifts Sustaining

Michael Briselli and In memory of In honor of Boltz’s and Foundations Members/ Jeannee Sacken Patricia Gillespie: and Luna’s birthdays: ACE Charitable Foundation Monthly Donors Sky Brooks Vickie and John Duke Marcia Mummau on behalf of: Bob Akerley Catherine Brown Richard J. Pikikero In memory of In honor of James Brown: David Albert MaryAnn Canning Harold Griffiths: Marisa Edwards Ameriprise on behalf of: Mara Arico Robert Carlson Kathy Griffiths Erik Johnson In honor of Rebecca Becker Melanie Donaghy In memory of Debbie Hinchcliffe: Christopher Lamere Robyn and John Bonson Stephanie Howell: Todd Duyvejonck Erica Hinchcliffe Brian Ogren James Brady Henry Howell Paul Trevizo Dorene Eklund In honor of Pam Churn: Michael Byrnes and Jan Skovran In memory of Lorianne Churn Corning on behalf of: Linda Dougherty Walter Hripak: Nancy Gibson and Wayne J. Cadden Ron Sternal Sandy Martin In honor of Matthew Dresnick Nancy Gibson: Mark Jay Gittler Hospira on behalf of: Martina Fehlhaber In memory of Keila: Julie Steiner Stanley S. Lipinski Jr. Jennifer Herstein Nancy Harman Susan Myers and Terry Bryant In honor of Judy Hunter: Caterpillar on behalf of: Carol Hodges In memory of Malik: Risa Brandon David Hartwell Brian and Karen Hodsdon Robert Cohen Melinda Doerfler Carla Hess In honor of Catherine Kling Joyce Eisold Christine Mikalson: Jewish Federation Medtronic on behalf of: Johanna Goering Debbie Kowalski of Cleveland Amanda Mikalson Linda Brennecke Kenneth Housey Michael Pastorelli William Kelly In honor of retired wolves Marcia Mummau The Harold W. Sweatt Dana Pond Jeanie and Murray Kilgour Shadow and Grizzer: Foundation Susan Myers Charlene Vasilievas Nancy Powers Virginia Kluwin Dana Pond The Tantay Ventures Fund Bette Jean Rua In honor of Alexandra of the Minnesota Martin Kraimer Phyllis Price Runnels’ birthday: Community Foundation S. Schade Dr. L. David Mech Alexandra’s family Pierre Schlemel In memory of Wyld Spirit: Thrivent on behalf of: Barbara Müller and friends Susan Myers Tim Meehan Rob Schultz and Thomas and In honor of Lori Schmidt: Andrew Engelhart Victoria O’Connell In memory of Greg Zaffke Sr.: Partricia D’Antoni In-Kind Catherine Shepard Ben and Lynn Oehler Rebecca and Maria Baratti In honor of Donations Penny Pickard Ronald Sinclair Ela Soccer Club Lori Schmidt’s birthday: Sylvia Bard Dana Pond Paul Smith Susan Valentino Gail S. Ramee Helen Gulick Debbie Reynolds Peter Smith In honor of Judy Hunter Michael and Elaine Ross Honorary Patti and Bob Sobecke Ron Sternal’s retirement: Dana Lee Pond Lucy Rogers Tory Stempf Carol Lynn and In honor of the ambassador Jen Wagner Walter and wolves’ birthdays: Ronald Sokoloff In honor of Kim Wheeler Mardene Schuiling Betty Magnuson Amber Tamblyn: Lynn Streadwick Nan Snyder In honor of all wolves Jeanne Gehrman Estates Walt Stump Karen Sternal everywhere: Leslie Teuber and In honor of Joyce Wells: Jeanne M. Turtzo Donna Duran David Albert Ms. Sweeney’s biology Robert Cohen students at Trinity High Nancy Vanderwerft School, Pennsylvania Manuel Vazquez Leslye Teuber and Sandra Weiner David Albert Steffanie Wiggins Nancy jo Tubbs Linda Williams Audrey Wolf Thank You! Jessie Wisdom

International Wolf Fall 2014 17 Tracking the Pack In Memory of Shadow

Shadow, a male resident arctic wolf at the International Wolf Center, was euthanized on Wednesday, July 2, after a significant physical decline in his overall condition. The 14-year-old wolf joined the Center’s resident pack in 2000 with his brother Malik. He was euthanized in March after a similar decline in health. Shadow was the dominant pack leader in the Exhibit Pack from the fall of 2002 until his retirement in July 2010. The following are a few remembrances of Shadow from those who helped raise and care for him.

AFTER 14 YEARS, the memories are Countless other memories remind us plentiful and are often accompanied by how honored we are to work with these a smile; but to honor Shadow, where do complex, social predators. Shadow, you we start? Because we study behavior, we trusted our team. Every time you placed will use the behavioral terms that most your head on one of our shoulders or represent Shadow. gently rested your head against one of our heads, it reinforced that trust and Direct eye stare and avert gaze: Shadow our commitment to provide our wolves could control any wolf with just one with the best care possible. Our great- look, and he knew when to avoid engag- est respect and heartfelt appreciation, ing in confrontations between juvenile Shadow, RIP our dear friend. or lower-ranking pack members. International Wolf Center International Wolf —Core Wolf Care staff in Ely, Minnesota Greeting: There has been no other wolf in the history of the Center’s opera- SITTING AS THOUGH he was gazing tion that could clean a face better than from his promontory, Shadow was a born Shadow with his daily greetings (even if leader. Although his rock happened to they did include a low-throated growl). be a lawn chair at a few weeks of age, his assertive attitude was evolving. His Invite chase: Pushing up from a playbow into a full run away from another weight was slightly less than his brother wolf, Shadow would invite him or her to Malik’s, but that never got in the way of chase. He even displayed this behavior Shadow’s being the first to eat and first in retirement; the chase was diminished, to howl. He even thought my Labrador but the playbow was alive and well. needed a growl when it came to food. Shadow eased into his leadership role

Chin rest: Who could forget the power Center International Wolf within the Center’s Exhibit Pack and held of one chin on another wolf’s back? Wolf onto that position longer than many Care staff borrowed this technique from others that preceded him. His retirement Shadow and now use it to control young pups with a hand on top of the muzzle, neck or back.

Parallel gate: Shadow was the master at pair bonding, and the image of Maya and Shadow will forever be in our minds.

Howls: Who could forget the pack leader’s howls and the bark howls that told us enough was enough? International Wolf Center International Wolf

18 Fall 2014 www.wolf.org Doug Kautz and separation from the pack was tough. He continued to lead the howls and seemed to even maintain order through the fence with the younger wolves. Shadow and Malik taught me a lot. I was fortunate enough to be there when they opened their eyes, and they opened my eyes to how those first weeks leave a strong impression. They never failed to leap and lick my face on my trips to the Center; admittedly, that was the reason for my visit. His exhibit may be empty, our emotions may ache, but those memories will also evoke many smiles long into the future. —Nancy Gibson, board member

ONE OF MY FAVORITE MEMORIES was the hide-and-seek game we played in the hostas one day. Shadow would get “lost” in the big leaves, and then Malik and I would try to find him, tumbling around together after the hiding place was discovered. I will miss those boys! —Debbie Reynolds, board member Sherry Jokinen

Wolf Curator Lori Schmidt (left), Shadow and

Sherry Jokinen, who worked as a nanny for Jonathan Chapman Shadow in 2000. Shadow with board member Nancy Gibson. Nancy Gibson International Wolf Center International Wolf Center International Wolf International Wolf Center International Wolf

International Wolf Fall 2014 19 INTERNATIONAL WOLF CENTER Member Profile

life, and I hope the experience helps Instilling in Students an Appreciation them understand what role they play of Wolves and Nature in maintaining a healthy environment on a worldwide basis.” by Darcy Berus, Development Director, Helping students understand and International Wolf Center appreciate the dynamics of nature, Sweeney also strives to foster environmental stewardship and critical-thinking usan Sweeney has taught high wolves, wildlands and ecology while skills in her classroom. “Making students school biology at Trinity High sharing with young people her passion scientifically literate is, I hope, my great- SSchool, in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania, for these top predators. Utilizing con- est contribution as a teacher,” she said. “I for 36 years. She also is a long-time pro- tent from the Center’s Gray Wolves, Gray want to help them learn to make scientific gram participant and member of the Matter curriculum, the Center’s Web site choices either personally or politically, so International Wolf Center. She attended (wolf.org), and International Wolf maga- that they know how to go about finding the 2013 International Wolf Symposium, zine, Sweeney’s students analyze data and evaluating information before they participated in the Center’s ethology provided on wolf.org to explore pack make those important choices.” course, and served on the 2008 wolf dynamics and changes, geographical Sweeney’s students not only have observation team when Aidan and Denali movements and government manage- gained increased knowledge about were introduced into the Center’s Exhibit ment techniques. wolves throughout regions, but they Pack (Sweeney tracked Malik’s behaviors “I think the Center’s resources are a also have developed connections with during the pup introduction). great way for teachers to include real- the Center’s ambassador wolves. Given Over the last decade, she has devel- life scientific investigation in their class. their teacher’s experience with Malik, oped a yearlong wolf-tracking project It’s not as if my kids could go out and the students were very saddened when for use in her classroom track wolves them- they learned of his passing in April 2014 to educate students about “After learning about wolves, selves, so these tools and made a class donation to support I discovered a new are useful to allow the Center’s ambassador Wolf Care pro- them to experience respect not just for gram in Malik’s memory. “After finishing the wolf-tracking how it’s done,” said All of us at the Center are delighted wolves but for all of project, I had a new respect for Sweeney. “I hope the that Sweeney and her students are find- wolves. They aren’t the blood-thirsty wildlife.” —Ben F. wolf-tracking projects ing meaningful ways to utilize resources killers I originally thought they were. give the students an offered by the Center in their biology Rest in peace, Malik.” —Payden M. appreciation and love class, and we are grateful to them for of nature and wild- their generous donation to Wolf Care. n

Pictured are Susan Sweeney’s biology students along with some of their thoughts on what they learned about wolves through their class projects.

20 Fall 2014 www.wolf.org International Wolf newes and Summer2010.)Followin canids. (See have reached outtohelpthestranded has shared stories of the way Iranians for manyyears,andinthepasthe Ebrahimi hasstudied wolves inIran (IUCN) CanidSpecialistGroup, ofNatureUnion forConservation wild. A member of the International then releasing thembackintothe helping injured wolves recover and Iraniansactually stories ofeveryday Ebrahimi from timetotim W Edwin Winkel by Tracy O’Connell to Wounded Wolves Iranians ShowCompassion t reports: the world,AmirMahdi i or otherwise, hile wolvesare hunted,legally International Wolf International n muchof Fall 2008 Fall 2008 e relates g are his

recovered inaboutei the the wolfandbringittoaveterinarianin (DOE), the Those Iransustainedabrokenin southern leg. A WOLF city Department seeing of prompting HIT Shiraz

the BY injured A for of CAR officials surgery. the ght weeks. in January 2012 2012 inJanuary animal Environment The to informed capture animal

Photo courtesy of Amir Mahdi

Ebrahimi be released into warmed up, regained strength and could they fedandcared forthewolfuntilit car andcovered itwithblankets;then the shivering,exhaustedcreature totheir attempt cold weatherandhunger, offered no weakened bydaysofbeingexposedto and mal, remarkably, wasingoodcondition their plight from local people. One ani rescued Trapped a deeppoolandwere unabletoescape. LAST ran NOVEMBER, off to by for get after DOE about away. thewild. it officials was three two wolves fell into twowolvesfellinto DOE freed. days, who officials Fall 2014 The they heard other, were took of

Photos courtesy of Amir Mahdi Ebrahimi -

21 LAST DECEMBER, two wolves were IN JULY 2013, a wolf attacked and killed feelings run differently among differ- injured in two separate auto accidents in six sheep in southern Iran. The rancher ent people and in different parts of the northeast Iran’s Qazvin province. After chased the animal, which fell into a pool country. But he hopes the attitudes of being notified by area residents, DOE trying to get away. The rancher took pity compassion reflected in these vignettes, officials twice came to take these wolves on the wolf and informed fire station especially among the rural people who to a local veterinarian for surgery. Both officials, who rescued it from the pool have lost animals to wolf predation, will were later returned to the wild. and returned it to the wild. spread throughout the world.

Elsewhere in the world . . .

FRANCE: Wolves are continuing to spread into new territory closer A WOLF FELL into a deep well in a vil- to Paris, France’s English- lage in western Iran’s Lorestan province language newspaper The Local this past February. Villagers informed reported. One wolf was captured on DOE officials of the need for help, but While Ebrahimi has heard other sto- camera in May within 250 kilometers perhaps fearing the help would arrive too ries of wolf rescues, he said they, unlike (155 miles) of the capital in the Meuse late, they rescued the animal themselves. the stories above, are not sufficiently department of northeastern France; When officials arrived, the exhausted documented to be sure of their accu- previously, another was killed only 160 animal was already freed, lying near racy. In addition, he said, the kindness kilometers (99 miles) from Paris in the a fire to warm up. It has since been shown to predators in Iran has extended Marne department. Since wolves crossed returned to nature. to the jungle cat (Felis chaus), also called the Alps 22 years ago and entered France the reed cat or swamp cat, a relative of for the first time since 1937, it is now the domestic cat found across Asia and estimated there are 300 animals in 20 as far west as the Nile River. Shot by a to 25 different packs in France. poacher in April of this year, an Iranian As the predictable war between wolf cat was found with injuries by a man conservationists and farmers who lose who took it to a veterinarian and paid livestock to the packs heats up (5,000 for its care with his own money. farm animals are estimated to be taken “Although still much work is needed annually by the canids), special hunts on wolf taxonomy in Iran,” Ebrahimi have been permitted in a nation where said, “I think there are three subspe- wolves are otherwise protected, as they cies in the country: the Caucasian wolf are throughout most of the European (Canis lupus cubanensis) in the north and Union. However, hunters have been northwest, the Eurasian wolf (Canis lupus unable to claim a single wolf in the lupus) in the northeast and the Indian or culls, The Local reported. One effort Iranian wolf (Canis lupus pallipes) in other brought 150 hunters to a region where parts of Iran.” Some believe all wolves in 80 percent of the predation has taken Iran are a single subspecies, C. lupus pal- place, with no success, leading to a call lipes, he noted, but he doubts that theory for hunters from the United States to be as wolves in Iran are highly variable in brought in for the job. size, weight and coat color. Without a However, Greenfudge, which census, there is no way of knowing the describes itself as a news portal dedi- number of wolves in the country. Past cated to covering environmental news estimates have been between 1,000 and from around the world from a European 6,000 animals. perspective, has different information on Ebrahimi isn’t sure what to make of the hunting success and the number of these stories as far as revealing a national wolves in France, claiming in May that trend toward compassion for the wolf two wolves were successfully shot. Photos this page courtesy of Amir Mahdi Ebrahimi and other predators, since, as he noted, Greenfudge reported: “The government has already launched a regulation plan for a four-year period to follow wolves, protect flocks, deal with the

22 Fall 2014 www.wolf.org compensation of farmers and manage Carpathians in Romania, addressed the increase dramatically. Hunters argue they wolf populations. However, certain farm- disputed population figures on the The should be the ones to keep ungulate lev- ers think the plan is insufficient: they Ecologist Web site, which defines itself els down, as is the model in much of the wish to increase the wolf hunt quota as “setting the environmental agenda rest of Europe. But Dale-Harris reported (which) has already doubled within one since 1970.” Dale-Harris found that the that a comparison study of the German year from 11 animals in 2012 to 24 in monitoring of wolf numbers is done by Alps and the Romanian Carpathians 2013. That is 10 percent of the national hunting associations; since hunting was shows that the influence of hunters on wolf population.” privatized in Romania, there are 1,000 ungulate behavior differs dramatically such organizations, which are concerned from the influenceof wolves. ROMANIA: with the survival of the prey animals Though both areas have similar num- Victoria Hillman, wildlife biolo- from which their revenue comes, rather bers of ungulates, Dale-Harris wrote gist and research director for than the wolf, which does not generate that the German forests are failing to the Transylvanian Wildlife income for the hunting groups. They regenerate naturally. He claims that the Project, in April reported the want to increase wolf culls, and therefore ungulates concentrate in a single area first glimpse of a wolf on one of her overreport numbers to the government, until all the food is gone then move on group’s camera traps. Her team is using whose man on the job, Ovidiu Ionescu, and repeat the process, a behavior con- the cameras for a 10-month research is aware of the practice of inflating totals siderably at odds with what is known project on carnivores and biodiversity in but is required to accept the data, which about ungulates in North America. In what is called Europe’s last great wilder- he then adjusts downward to a level he Romania, a concentration of ungulates ness, the Carpathian Mountains, which described as totally arbitrary. quickly attracts wolves and other large stretch across central and eastern Europe. Attila Kecskes of Milvus Group, carnivores, causing the grazing animals She reported that Romania, where more a wildlife conservation group in to move on before they deplete the for- than half the Carpathians are located, Transylvania, told Dale-Harris that the est resources. is the European stronghold for the gray overhunting of wolves results in changes Other wolf experts, in turn, argue wolf. However, she noted that there seem in their behavior, which includes increas- claims such as this in popular literature to be huge discrepancies in total popu- ing incidents of breeding with wild dogs can’t always be verified. n lation figures, which range from 2,000 and habitation closer to human settle- to 4,000, with the majority of animals ments. Concern with the status of wolves Tracy O’Connell is a retired associate living in the Carpathians. centers on many things including the professor of marketing communications at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls Meanwhile, freelance investiga- health of the forest, which would be overbrowsed should the prey population and serves on the International Wolf tive journalist Luke Dale-Harris, who Center communications and magazine lives in Transylvania, which is near the committees. B. and C. Promberger

International Wolf Fall 2014 23 the spotter plane found the breeding High Drama in Yellowstone male (nicknamed Puff) and his mate, and the helicopter came in. Puff evaded Smith By Kirsty Peake and his crew, but they were successful in capturing, collaring and releasing atching wolves in Yellowstone Events began on a clear day, which Puff’s beautiful mate, who then officially brings high drama, laughter meant that Yellowstone Wolf Project became 870F. Wand sorrow. When my hus- leader Doug Smith and his tech team For the next two days, we watched band and I left our Montana home on might radio-collar some wolves from the as Puff flirted with 870F. Finally she February 2, 2013, we had no idea that newly formed Junction Butte pack. The accepted his advances, and the pair the next few days would be a roller- team spotted the pack from Hellroaring remained tied after mating. The other coaster ride of emotions we had never Overlook, a vantage point with a pan- wolves, watching from uphill, ran down before experienced. oramic view of a valley with steep hills and jumped on the tied pair, which and rocky outcroppings beyond. Soon disappeared, buried under the pack. The tie was broken during the melee, and 870F moved away and lay down, flat out. Puff settled down next to her, licking her face. Eventually the rest of the pack gathered around and bedded. As light was falling, we called it a day. The next day, we arrived at Hell- roaring, and I soon had my scope up. I immediately realized that Puff and a black female were standing over something. It was 870F, and she had hardly moved from the day before. Puff was pawing at her but getting no reaction. The pack began to move off toward the east, but Puff was reluctant to leave 870F. He repeatedly pawed at her in an effort to get her to move. Then he began to move away, glancing back at her. Two other females approached and sniffed her and then left, too. She remained still as Puff returned one more time, pawing her so hard that she rolled over and slid down the hill, where she lay unmoving. By this time tears were streaming down my face. I thought she was dead. All the while, ravens and magpies were on the ground near 870F. As the other wolves left, the birds moved in toward her. The first raven landed on her side, but her head lifted and the raven flew off. Our tears turned into smiles. Then, with her drive to survive, 870F staggered

Ray Laible to her feet and took a few shaky steps

Suddenly she was startled. Her head came up, and she jumped to her feet and looked behind her. Nothing was there, but just to see her able to move like that was a joy.

24 Fall 2014 www.wolf.org before collapsing again. Puff had noticed, The days passed, and finally in March and he returned with the black female we discovered 870F up and moving. She accompanying him. Then 870F tried to was still stopping and resting regularly, get up, at which time Puff tried to breed but she was moving at a trot! She was with her again, but she collapsed. Bit by with two other wolves that must have bit she would get up, move a few feet been helping her, perhaps bringing her and then fall, head and chest hitting the scavenged food. She was thin but not ground first. She would lie there for a few emaciated. As we watched, 870F gnawed minutes and then try again, her head low- a bone that she was determined to break. ered as she tried to walk. As she made a Suddenly she was startled. Her head great effort to climb a short incline, Puff came up, and she jumped to her feet mounted her again. She averted her tail, and looked behind her. Nothing was and this time they tied for 18 minutes. there, but just to see her able to move Within the first two minutes, 870F col- like that was a joy. From then on until lapsed on her back and tried to get up, we left, we had occasional sightings of only to fall once more. Eventually both her and heard her howling. wolves, still tied, lay down. After they She has since mated with 890M and Photo courtesy of Kirsty Peake broke apart, 870F remained motionless. denned in an area called The Trough. Kirsty Peake is a qualified Animal We thought she would not get up again. I am now anxiously waiting for news Behaviorist working in the field of But as the pack picked up the pace and of her pups. If they have inherited her companion animals, and in particular, moved off to the east, 870F rose to her character, they will be noticed during with problem dogs. Her fascination with feet and started to follow. Collapsing, she their lives in Yellowstone. She has shown wolves and their behavior has stemmed would lie still for several minutes before true grit to overcome the horrendous from a lifetime of living and working with dogs. She is a specialist advisor with the trying again to catch up with her fam- injuries that she suffered and has shown UK Wolf Conservation Trust. ily. Every now and then, a pack member the incredible strength of a wolf’s desire would return to check on her. After trav- to survive. n eling perhaps 2 miles (3.2 kilometers), the pack disappeared among the rocks. We followed 870F with our scopes until we could see her no more. Our feeling was that she had suffered some sort of traumatic spinal or neck injury when the pack had jumped on her. Gerry, a friend of ours, and I looked at each other as the wolves vanished from view, and he said, “Well, I never thought that would be the outcome.” We were emotionally drained. After several anxious days, we saw 870F again. She was lying down, still badly injured. Finding her after that was difficult and sporadic. She appeared to be staying near the pack but not necessar- Doug McLaughlin ily with the others. Her injury excluded her from taking part in any hunting. Birth Announcement When we did see her, she was always In late June 2014, Yellowstone wolf watchers saw five lying down. Then we realized that she was no longer with the pack. “She’s out healthy pups, three grays and two blacks, playing at the there on her own,” we thought, with no ability to hunt. When we did spot Junction Butte pack’s rendezvous site. What a happy her, she was on high ground—good for outcome to a story that almost ended tragically. safety—and she was resting. Survival was her focus now.

International Wolf Fall 2014 25 What Inspires You? olves often provide inspiration. Being inspired means that something or someone has influenced you in a way that makes you want makes Wyou want to take action. Heidi Pinkerton, a photographer from Babbitt, Minnesota, found her inspiration in a wolf named Maya. After hearing that Maya, a former ambassador wolf, had passed away in March 2011, Heidi decided to try to photograph the aurora borealis, or northern lights. As she was setting up her camera, a lone wolf howled in the night air. Later that evening Heidi was able to Pack A family of wolves capture pictures of the northern lights. Those pictures were the first of many north- whose members live and ern light photographs that Heidi is famous for today. work together, hunting for Just like wolves inspired Heidi to begin a career as a photographer of northern food and taking care of the lights and wildlife, wolves often inspire people to write stories or poems. Wolves pups. A pack usually consists also inspire people to advocate for wildlife. When you look at the photo of Luna, of a male and female parent think about the ways that wolves inspire you and what you can do to make a posi- and their offspring from one tive difference in the world. or more annual litters.

Den A shelter, often a small cave or hole dug out of the ground, to protect the mother wolf and her young pups from weather and other animals.

Habitat The natural environment of a species una came to the International Wolf (plant or animal) that provides Center in 2012. She is a Great Plains food, water, shelter, or cover, L subspecies of Canis lupus, the gray and the space required for it wolf. Luna is the only female in the Center’s to survive. Forests, deserts Exhibit Pack. The last time she was examined, Luna weighed 91 pounds (41.3 kilograms), and lakes are examples of but she was still shedding her thick habitats. undercoat. Being a black color phase wolf, Biologist A person who Luna enjoys lying in the shade on hot days, so she can stay cooler. studies living organisms, life Black hair tends to processes and/or the animal absorb more heat. and plant life of a particular Less than 5 percent ecosystem. Biologists also of Minnesota’s study the relationship of wolves have living things to one another. black coats.

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hat were once known as the alpha Wmale and alpha female are today 11 12 called the breeding male and breeding female. This change in terminology is 13 14 due to a shift in thinking about the 15 behaviors of wolves and how they live as a social group, or pack. The wolf pack consists of a breeding pair, a mature male and female, who have come together to mate and raise pups. The next year the breeding pair will raise another litter of pups. The older siblings dominate the younger pups. As the older siblings mature, they disperse, or go out on their own, to find a mate and begin Crossword Puzzle a new family. n Across 11. Wolves are related to 4. _____ lupus is the ____. scientific name for the 2. The ____wolf once gray wolf. ranged throughout 14. The ____ wolf (Canis Mexico and the rufus) used to range 7. A ____ animal is one that American Southwest. throughout the south- is hunted by a carnivore eastern United States. like the wolf. 5. The leader of a wolf pack was once known as 15. A ______is a lone 9. Wolf ______is the goal the _____. wolf that has left its of efforts to return Luna pack. wolves to their historic 6. One way wolves range. communicate is by Down ______. 12. The lowest ranking 1. Wolves are social member of a wolf pack 8. Flesh-eating animals, animals that usually live is called the _____. including wolves, cats in a family unit called a and bears, are called ____. 13. Both red wolves and ______. gray wolves were once 3. Throughout most of the native to the state of 10. A wolf pack estab- United States, the wolf _____. Kelly Godfrey lishes its own ______, was once protected by an area in which it lives law as an _____ species. 15. Moose, elk and ____ are and hunts, and in which among the prey animals other packs are not hunted by wolves. usually allowed.

International Wolf Fall 2014 27 reation and renewal. They are central 50 Years of Wilderness to tourism, local economies and our way of life. by Becky Rom Federal ownership itself does not always guarantee safe keeping. Many of ne of the most important and most motorized vehicles off-limits our public lands continue to be leased educational messages of the in these areas. Americans own red-rock for mineral, oil and gas, timber and OInternational Wolf Center is canyons, turquoise rivers, desert plains, other natural-resource extraction, and that the long-term survival of the wolf jagged mountain peaks, arctic tundra, opened to road building, motorized depends on the preservation of wild- southern wildflowers and cool north- recreation, grazing and development. lands. Fewer wolf-human conflicts occur ern forests. The Wilderness Act protects Although a balanced, multiple-use there. Thus wolves have a greater chance some of the wildest of these places in our approach to public lands management of survival in wildlands, making this country, including significant portions is appropriate in many places, some year’s 50th anniversary of the Wilderness of national parks like Yosemite, Grand places are just too wild and too special Act especially notable for anyone inter- Teton and Olympic. to be exploited. These places are pro- ested in wolves. Perhaps the most notable aspect of the tected by the Wilderness Act. The Wilderness Act provided a way Wilderness Act was the power it gave the Since the Wilderness Act was signed for Americans to have a say in protecting American people to protect their pub- into law, the American people have their nation’s wildlands for future genera- lic lands. The act made a fundamental written the history of wilderness in the tions. The 1964 law created the National change in how new wilderness areas were United States. Still, wilderness will never Wilderness Preservation System, which recommended and acted upon by shift- be fully guaranteed. It took popular protects nearly 110 million acres of ing the responsibility from federal land opinion to make it real in 1964, and wilderness areas in states throughout management agencies into the hands of the existence of wild places will only the nation. Today the Wilderness Act the American people and the legislative continue into the future with the same is considered one of America’s greatest process. From 1964 on, citizens could kind of public support. conservation achievements. develop their own wilderness proposals As the 1964 Wilderness Act states: Former Wilderness Society Executive and submit them directly to a member “A wilderness, in contrast with those Director Howard Zahniser drafted the bill of Congress. This has had a profound areas where man and his works domi- in 1956 to protect some of the nation’s impact on the history of wilderness in nate the landscape, is hereby recog- remaining wilderness. After eight years the United States. nized as an area where the earth and and 66 revisions, President Lyndon B. The U.S public lands base includes its community of life are untrammeled Johnson signed the Wilderness Act into 635 million acres (257 million hectares) by man, where man himself is a visitor law on September 3, 1964. The million- of national parks, national forests and who does not remain.” n acre (404,696-hectare) Boundary Waters other federal lands collectively owned Canoe Area of northern Minnesota was by all American citizens. These places Becky Rom is a member of the Governing among the 9.1 million acres (3.7 million are an essential part of our birthright Council of The Wilderness Society, hectares) of lands added to the National and heritage. Well-managed wildlands a leading conservation organization Wilderness Preservation System that day. purify the air we breathe and the water working to protect America’s wilderness The Wilderness Act was a landmark we drink. They give wildlife, especially and preserve our country’s rich wildlands law and the first in the world to perma- wolves, bears, cougars, lynxes, and wol- legacy. Staff of The Wilderness Society nently protect public land as wilderness, verines the habitat they need to survive, contributed to the content of this article. making logging, drilling, road building and they afford people places for rec- “I believe we have a profound fundamental need for areas of the earth where we stand without our mechanisms that make us immediate masters over our environment.” — Howard Zahniser

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