A PUBLICATION OF THE INTERNATIONAL WOLF CENTER WINTERSPRING 20042003

Wolf Recovery in the Midwest: What’s Next? page 4 Our Neighbors in Gray Coats, page 8 The Last Irish Wolf, page 10 THE QUARTERLY PUBLICATION OF THE INTERNATIONAL WOLF CENTER VOLUME 14, NO. 1 SPRING 2004 Features Departments Should the Wolf Be Delisted? 2 As a Matter of Fact 4 The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service wants to ”delist” the wolf, or remove it from the endangered species list, except in the Southwest. 3 From the Executive Delisting would end federal protection for wolves in the delisted areas Director and return wolf management to individual states. Two articles by International Wolf veterans of the debate on how best to enhance recovery of wolf popu- 14 Center Notes From lations present important opposing viewpoints on this important issue. Home Why I Support Federal Wolf Delisting, L.David Mech

?????????????????????????? Wolves Are Still in Need of Federal Protection, 16 Tracking the Pack Rick Duncan and Anne Mahle The Return of the Wolf to Idaho: 18 Wolves of the World 8 A Cultural Triumph 21 News and Notes A wildlife biologist and member of the Nez Perce Tribe describes her first encounter with wolves and what they mean to the tribe. 22 Personal Encounter Marcie Carter 25 Book Review From Fourteen: A Beginning 26 Wild Kids 10 By 1980, the red wolf was declared extinct in the wild. Today the red wolf is reproducing and surviving, made possible by the efforts of dedicated professionals and the last 28 A Look Beyond 14 red wolves known to exist. David R. Rabon Jr. On The Cover ???????????????????? In the Wake of Hurricane Isabel: The 12 Red Wolves of Eastern North Carolina Zeus, the most filmed and photographed wolf in the Red Wolf Recovery Program, died when a tree uprooted during Hurricane Isabel destroyed his den box. But public outreach and education will continue as biologists and others work to ensure the long-term survival of red wolves. Neil Hutt Issac Babcock INTERNATIONAL From the Executive Director WOLF CENTER

BOARD OF DIRECTORS Nancy jo Tubbs Chair Publications Director How efficient is a wolf ’s digestive system? Dr. L. David Mech Mary Ortiz To Delist or Not to Delist . . . Vice Chair Magazine Coordinator Dr. Rolf O. Peterson Carissa L.W. Knaack ike the swing of a pendulum, our relationship with wolves is never at one point Secretary Consulting Editor in the arc. Under national policy, we have gone from “shoot em all” to the strict Paul B. Anderson Mary Keirstead Treasurer protections under the federal Endangered Species Act. The point of the arc will Technical Editor L Dr. Larry D. Anderson L. David Mech change once again with the federal proposal to delist most gray wolves. We are espe- Julie Potts Close Graphic Designer cially pleased to share with you in this issue of International Wolf two distinctive and Tricia Hull Thomas T. Dwight important viewpoints from seasoned veterans of the debate on how best to protect wolf Nancy Gibson International Wolf (1089-683X) is populations. Pioneer wolf scientist Dave Mech speaks from his decades- Hélène Grimaud published quarterly and copyrighted, 2004, by the International Wolf Center, long research perspective as a government biologist, and Rick Duncan Cree Holtz 12615 Co. Road 9, #200, Minneapolis, MN and Anne Mahle, prominent environmental attorneys, speak on behalf Cornelia Hutt 55441, USA. e-mail: [email protected]. Dean Johnson All rights reserved. of groups who seek to halt the government’s current delisting proposal. Dr. Robert Laud Publications agreement no. 1536338 These two articles will take you behind the headlines you have undoubt- Mike Phillips Membership in the International Wolf edly seen and bring you close to the issues that will likely be argued in Dr. Robert Ream Center includes a subscription to International Wolf magazine, free admission the courtroom. They may also challenge your own thinking about what Jeff Rennicke to the Center, and discounts on programs Deborah Reynolds and merchandise. • Lone Wolf member- is the right approach to a national policy on wolf recovery for today and Lynn and Donna Rogers/www.bearstudy.org Lynn Jerry Sanders ships are U.S. $30 • Wolf Pack $50 • Walter Medwid future generations. Regardless of the ultimate decision on how and when Wolf Associate $100 • Wolf Sponsor $500 A wolf’s digestive system is 95 percent efficient, producing only Paul Schurke wolves will be delisted, the court’s judgment will set off a new round of debate as the • Alpha Wolf $1000. Canada and other 1 pound of scat for every 15 pounds of meat consumed. Teri Williams countries, add U.S. $15 per year for inevitable transition to state management of wolf populations continues. airmail postage, $7 for surface postage. Contact the International Wolf Center, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR 1396 Highway 169, Ely, MN 55731-8129, Walter M. Medwid In the last issue I wrote briefly about our having just reached an agreement for USA; e-mail: [email protected]; Who published the first phone: 1-800-ELY-WOLF an exciting new home for our outreach and administrative offices in the Twin Cities. New Question scientific article about MISSION International Wolf is a forum for airing What makes this new home special is that it will provide staff with a working location facts, ideas and attitudes about wolf- wolves in North America? The International Wolf related issues. Articles and materials that is connected to the environment through the surrounding woods, fields and waters Center advances the survival printed in International Wolf do not of wolf populations by necessarily reflect the viewpoint of the of French Regional Park—one of the jewels of the Three Rivers Park District’s network teaching about wolves, their International Wolf Center or its board of parks in the Twin Cities metropolitan region. Equally important, the new home of directors. relationship to wild lands and offers us a classroom, an exhibit area, space for a resource center for educators inter- the human role in their future. International Wolf welcomes submissions of personal adventures with wolves and ested in using the wolf in their curricula, and a diverse habitat that can supplement wolf photographs (especially black and Educational services and white). Prior to submission of other the learning experience for on-site programs we plan to offer once we get settled. You informational resources types of manuscripts, address queries can get a taste of our new home by going to www.threeriversparkdistrict.org/parks and are available at: to Mary Ortiz, publications director. clicking on French Regional Park. We are pleased to have our flagship education center International Wolf is printed entirely 1396 Highway 169 with soy ink on recycled and recyclable West Gate in the heart of wolf country in northern Minnesota, and we are especially pleased to Ely, MN 55731-8129, USA paper (text pages contain 20% post- 1-800-ELY-WOLF consumer waste, cover paper contains put the International Wolf Center welcome mat out to the heart of the human popula- 1-218-365-4695 10% post-consumer waste). We encourage tion in Minnesota through this new facility. e-mail address: you to recycle this magazine. [email protected] PHOTOS: Unless otherwise noted, or Web site: http://www.wolf.org obvious from the caption or article text, photos are of captive wolves.

2 Spring 2004 www.wolf.org International Wolf Spring 2004 3 management to individual states. To Why I Support Federal Wolf ensure that state management would Delisting by L. DAVID MECH not reduce wolf populations below Should the the prescribed recovery levels, the large black wolf poked out of any doubt as to whether wolves USFWS examined the wolf manage- the conifers in Yellowstone would recover in the 48 states, the ment plans for each relevant state ANational Park’s Lamar Valley, numbers and distribution of these and asked several wolf biologists to followed single file by 16 pack- wolves should dispel that. In both the review them. For the first five years mates. They trod down an open hill- West and Midwest, wolf numbers far after delisting, the wolf populations side and crossed the road, in full exceed those prescribed for recovery will be closely monitored to make view of dozens of elated park visitors. by federal wolf recovery teams. sure they remain secure. Anytime a Wolf This Druid Peak pack is part of a Thus the U.S. Fish and Wildlife population dropped below recovery population of some 750 wolves that Service (USFWS) wants to ”delist” level during those five years or after, now inhabit the West, primarily in the wolf, or remove it from the the USFWS could quickly relist it and Wyoming, Montana and Idaho. endangered species list, except in the reimpose federal protection. Be To the south, a reintroduced and Southwest, where recovery efforts are Nevertheless, several wolf advo- growing population of 35 to 50 still underway. Delisting would end cacy organizations oppose federal wolves occupies Arizona and New federal protection for wolves in the delisting of the wolf. Although specific Mexico. Farther east, over 3,000 delisted areas and return wolf reasons vary, generally these organiza- wolves inhabit Minnesota, Wisconsin In both the West Delisted? and Michigan. All these wolves repre- and Midwest, wolf On April 1, 2003, the U.S. Fish and sent a vibrant and dramatic tribute to numbers far exceed the success of the Endangered those prescribed for Wildlife Service (USFWS) published recovery by federal Species Act (ESA). If there were ever wolf recovery a final rule on the status of the gray teams. wolf in the contiguous 48 states. This new rule, promulgated under Wolves Are Still in Othe Endangered Species Act, down- Need of Federal Protection listed the wolf from endangered to by RICK DUNCAN William E. Rideg/Kishenehn Wildlife Works threatened in most of the United and ANNE MAHLE States. That same day, the USFWS also published an advanced notice he U.S. Fish and Wildlife The wolf has done well under the economic benefits, and there is an Service’s April 1 rule on the protection of the ESA. Since passage ethical imperative to protect and of rule making indicating that it was Tstatus of the gray wolf sent of the act in 1973, the number of recover gray wolves. moving toward complete removal a clear message: the Bush admin- wolves in the lower 48 states has U.S. law mandates that the USFWS istration is done with wolves. The increased threefold from under a protect, conserve and recover species of all federal protection of the gray recovery of the gray wolf, for this thousand in Minnesota alone, to that are listed as either endangered wolf except in the Southwest. The administration, is complete. Seven- approximately 3,600 wolves in six or threatened under the ESA. In its teen conservation groups, however, states. The current wolf population 30-year existence, the protections following articles present important view the gray wolf’s status and the remains well below the estimated afforded by the act have slowed and viewpoints from two veterans of legal mandates of the Endangered presettlement population of up to in some instances radically reversed Species Act (ESA) differently. Led 400,000 animals continentwide. species’ path toward extinction. But the debate on how best to enhance by Defenders of Wildlife, they have Recovery is incomplete, and without the act not only prohibits certain recovery of wolf populations. sued the USFWS over the rule, federal oversight, it won’t happen. actions but also requires the federal seeking to have the agency return to Why continue with the active government to ensure that listed the drawing board. Their message is protection and recovery of gray species and the habitat on which they Editor’s Note: As is true with all International Wolf articles, the opin- equally clear: recovery is incomplete, wolves? Three reasons: the ESA depend are protected and to actively ions expressed in the following two articles are those of the authors and do not imply any endorsement by the International Wolf Center. and the obligation and need to requires recovery efforts to continue, recover species.

Monty Sloan We present them in the interest of stimulating informed thought. protect wolves persists. wolves provide ecological and

4 Spring 2004 www.wolf.org International Wolf Spring 2004 5 tions prefer the stricter protection of longer in danger. Thus the govern- where wolves were never exterminated teams of wolf experts and conserva- should be delisted. Anti-wolf folks, act. And it could foster a backlash the ESA, they want to see the wolf ment has an ethical, if not a legal, and the public is used to dealing with tion administrators and charging however, long ago claimed that wolf against the restored wolf populations. restored to an even larger area of the obligation to delist the species. them, about half the citizens want the them with devising wolf recovery advocates would never let the govern- Thus it is time now to celebrate 48 states than at present, and they do There is also a strong political wolf restricted to the wilderness and plans for the West, Midwest and ment delist the wolf. the success of the ESA in recovering not think that will happen if the wolf need to delist the wolf or any species not allowed throughout the state. Southwest (as well as for the red wolf To oppose wolf delisting now that the wolf, not for overreaching and is delisted. Regarding the areas to when it has recovered. The ESA is When the USFWS planned the in the Southeast). Wolf advocacy wolves have recovered would play jeopardizing not only the great gains which the wolf should be restored, I highly controversial in Congress, and wolf’s recovery in the 48 states, it did groups and the rest of the public were straight into the hands of the ESA that have been made through this act sympathize. It would be great to know its detractors regularly claim that it is so through appointing recovery allowed to review these plans and detractors and those opposing wolf but also the act itself. that wolves inhabit all of the United too socially and financially expensive offer suggestions for improving them. recovery. It would fuel the animosity States’ wilderness areas and wherever and fails to work. One contingent lies No one disputed the proposed toward the ESA and toward the Dave Mech is a senior research scientist else they do not conflict too much in wait to gut the ESA, saying that With the wolf’s numbers or distribution of the wolves listing of new controversial species. for the U.S. Geological Survey and founder and vice chair of the International Wolf with human interests. because too many species are placed in the recovery goals. No peer- When Congress next considers current numbers Center. He has studied wolves for 45 years However, the ESA is for saving on the endangered species list but reviewed scientific articles criticized reauthorizing the ESA, this opposi- and published several books and many species from extinction. With the none ever taken off, the act is useless. and distribution, as the plans. No group claimed that tion could help weaken or kill the articles about them. wolf’s current numbers and distribu- The wolf is one of the most restoring the wolf to Wyoming, Idaho, tion, as well as the states’ manage- controversial of all animals, so society well as the states’ Montana, Minnesota, Wisconsin and ment plans, the wolf clearly is no may never allow the species to live Michigan was insufficient to recover everywhere management the wolf from endangerment. In effect, or in every this general accord with the USFWS’s wilderness. plans, the wolf wolf recovery plans amounted to a Even in clearly is no tacit agreement between wolf advo- Minnesota, cates and the USFWS that if wolves longer in danger. reached recovery goals, the animal

Through systematic Scientific research poisoning, bounty demonstrates that hunting and persistent the restoration of persecution by humans, wolves helps restore wolves were removed balance within from the American entire ecosystems.

Milt Stenlund Milt West and nearly all of Mexico.

It is through this recovery park’s elk population, moving them Recovery is primary cause of the gray wolf’s near Robert Koenke mandate that the USFWS undertook away from creek and river basins, extinction was the direct acts of the successful reintroduction of which in turn allows streambed incomplete, and federal and state governments. wolves to the Yellowstone ecoregion habitat to thrive, resulting in without federal Acting through the USFWS and its and central Idaho. Formal recovery healthier trout streams, and more predecessor, the Bureau of Biological In the 21st century, there is still a for a landscape with wolves—is in programs also aided the natural habitat for beavers and songbirds. oversight, it Survey, we engaged in a total assault need for wolf protection because, how we withhold ourselves in order recolonization of Wisconsin and Other animals such as badgers, bears on wolves. Pervasive societal fear of regrettably, we have not made the to make room for it.” We aren’t yet the Upper Peninsula of Michigan by and eagles benefit from the “left- won’t happen. wolves, stoked by government agen- societal commitment to the treatment at the point where we dare trust wolves. These successes do not overs” of wolf kills, which provide a cies, created an ecological nightmare of the wolf as a nongame animal that ourselves to live with wolves without equate to recovery of the gray wolf on more reliable year-round food base. for the gray wolf. Through systematic is required before “downlisting” or the federal protection that has a national level. Throughout the country, there communities. For example, Ely, poisoning, bounty hunting and “delisting” of the wolf can be justi- brought the species back from the In addition to a legal obligation to remain many geographic regions, Minnesota, located at the edge of persistent persecution by humans, fied. Bounty statutes still exist, ready brink of extinction. recover the gray wolf, scientific including Colorado, Oregon, northern the Boundary Waters Canoe Area wolves were removed from the to spring back to life in many states if research demonstrates that the Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Wilderness and in the heart of wolf American West and nearly all of ESA protections are removed, and Rick Duncan and Anne Mahle are attorneys restoration of wolves helps restore northern New York, northern country in northern Minnesota, Mexico. Wolves, regardless of their punitive state management plans are at Faegre & Benson in Minneapolis, balance within entire ecosystems. California, Washington and Utah, receives between $18 million and resiliency, stood no chance against waiting in the wings for federal Minnesota. They are representing Defenders Nowhere has this been more evident where the recovery of wolves is of Wildlife and the 16 other conservation $27 million tourism dollars a year. strychnine. This history of inten- protection to be removed. As Verlyn groups in Defenders of Wildlife, et al. v. than in the Yellowstone ecoregion. ecologically appropriate. In addition, Finally, there is an ethical impera- tional destruction of wolves by Klinkenborg observed recently in a Norton, the case challenging the U.S. Fish There, the reintroduction of wolves the presence of wolves brings tive to continue protection and government agencies places an New York Times editorial on wolves, and Wildlife Service’s April 1, 2003, rule has changed the behavior of the economic benefits to the surrounding recovery of the gray wolf. The ethical imperative on wolf recovery. “The only possibility for wildness— regarding the status of the gray wolf.

6 Spring 2004 www.wolf.org International Wolf Spring 2004 7 Traditional Nez Perce

understood that the animals

of this world were teachers,

and we as Nez Perce people The wolf pups played in the meadow, and then as fast as they had appeared, they were gone. could learn much from them. Isaac Babcock

The wolf is a good teacher.

The wolves in a pack each help THETHE Today, over 350 wolves inhabit Idaho. foster and raise the pups, and they have They have recovered biologically. demonstrated order in their groups. The Nez Will they ever recover socially? Perce saw this, and they learned from the wolf. Isaac Babcock Isaac Babcock Isaac Babcock Isaac Babcock RETURNRETURN Our patience finally paid off. Just as the sun was going As we put up our tents that night, the howling started. and it shares his food with its family. The wolves in a pack down, four small wolf puppies emerged from the tree line. First one wolf, then another, and finally the whole pack each help foster and raise the pups, and they have demon- OFOF THETHE They reminded me of a litter of domestic puppies. They sang. It was an eerie feeling being that close to wolves and strated order in their groups. The Nez Perce saw this, and chased each other, tackled each other, played keep away, hearing their voices bounce off the hillsides of the moun- they learned from the wolf. and chewed on sticks. They played for about 20 minutes tains and the trees in the valley. It is a feeling that still, to The return of the wolf represents a cultural triumph to WOLFWOLF TOTO in that meadow, and then as fast as they had appeared, this day, gives me shivers. the Nez Perce people. The gray wolf suffered the same fate they were gone. They returned to the tree line as if they I had never thought much about wolves before I started that the Nez Perce did some 127 years ago. Both the wolf were being called in for supper by their mother. It was that work on the wolf project. My cousin Howard was working and Indian people across the country were considered IDAHO:IDAHO: deliberate. We waited for several minutes, hoping they on the project as the technician when I first learned that obstacles for European settlers. Both of us are struggling would return, and then climbed off the hillside and the Nez Perce Tribe was involved with wolf recovery. There to reclaim our place. headed back down the trail to set up camp. were only 35 wolves then. I was still a wildlife student and Today, over 350 wolves inhabit Idaho. They have recov- A Cultural Triumph On our way back, we stopped several times to look at was quite aware of the issues surrounding wolves and their ered biologically. Will they ever recover socially? Will they our map and to ascertain our location. We had just prey as well as their position in the ecosystem. I was not be able to live out their lives and raise their families as their by MARCIE CARTER crossed a creek when we decided to stop again and look aware of the social issues that loomed over the tribe or ancestors did before civilization came to their world? This at the map. It was then I heard something that made me over me as a tribal member working to recover wolves in is a question that will remain unanswered until time fades he first time that I sat and watched wolves play shine my flashlight away from us, and there in the dark- the Northern Rocky Mountains. The Nez Perce Tribe was away. There will always be people who are not in favor of was the first time I had seen wolves in the wild. It ness were two pairs of green eyes shining back. Then entering into the arena of endangered species recovery at the return of the wolf as there are those who do not favor T was also my first time in the field and my first another set of green eyes came into the light. They were the state level, an area that no other tribe has ever entered. the presence and power of Indian people. It is something time in the Idaho backcountry. We were looking for the standing broadside to us, with heads cocked to one side as The Nez Perce word for wolf is hímiin (himeen). This that we both have to face and overcome. Our fates will be Landmark pack, a pair of wolves and their pups. The my Siberian husky would do if she were listening to my word is believed to be derived from the Nez Perce word different this time. The Nez Perce people will triumph. The adults had paired after being released in winter 1995. commands. They seemed curious, listening to us argue hím, which is the word for mouth. The wolf got its wolf will also, if we let it. After a day of hiking, we climbed a hillside to get a better about which way to go. They were young adults. Had they name because it can talk. The wolf communicates with its view of a large meadow that we hoped was a likely place ever seen a human being before? What did they want? I family group as well as with other wolves. Traditional Nez Marcie Carter, an enrolled member of the Nez Perce Tribe, is currently for wolf pups to play. We watched that meadow for hours, wondered this as we stood there, frozen in astonishment Perce understood that the animals of this world were the tribe’s biologist for reservation issues, focusing on forest songbirds. She worked as a biologist for the tribe’s wolf project for five years. hoping they would come. at the beauty of these animals, and yet with fear flooding teachers, and we as Nez Perce people could learn much into my mind. Then they were gone. from them. The wolf is a good teacher. It is a good hunter,

8 Spring 2004 www.wolf.org International Wolf Spring 2004 9 FROM by DAVID R. FOUR RABON JR. TEEN : A BEGINNING

the standards developed to define hope for the survival of the red wolf. the red wolf. These standards Unfortunately, most animals in included minimal morphological the breeding program produced measurements such as shoulder offspring that left their status as height, total length, hind foot length pure red wolves improbable. At least Greg Koch and skull features that distinguish four animals never reproduced, so Today, the red wolf is reproducing and surviving in the wild. the red wolf from coyotes, feral dogs their verification as red wolves could and wolf-coyote hybrids. From the not be made. Margie, Judy, Buddy more than 400 canids trapped, just and nameless others were removed throughout the United States, and Red wolf left the mountains, drifting west and 43 animals met the minimal stan- from the captive breeding program. more than 100 wolves, living in 20 south, watched itself vanish from a vanishing Just a few individuals world until there was almost nowhere to howl made up the founding dards. Those animals were placed The future of the red wolf now relied packs or pairs, inhabit the country- in a breeding program at the Point on just 14 animals that reproduced side of northeastern North Carolina. and the last vivid forms of its pure spirit population of red wolves— prepared themselves to leave this earth. the parents, grandparents, Defiance Zoo and Aquarium in and were verified as pure red wolves. This was all made possible by the and great-grandparents Tacoma, Washington. Their final Over the years the breeding tireless efforts of many dedicated Just before red wolf leapt into nonexistence, it of all red wolves known to exist today. identification as red wolves would program has had its share of ups and professionals and the last 14 red was trapped out of the wild, taken in cages from be based on the resulting offspring downs. Two wolves— Crain Female wolves known to exist. the thickets of coastal southeast Texas where it from breeding studies. So began the and Pines Inholding Male — are no The next time you see a red wolf had been driven by history, left to prowl at night, captive breeding program. longer represented with living descen- in a zoo or hear a red wolf howl, or scavenging mesquite beans and cactus fruits. By 1980, the red wolf was declared dants in the current population. This if you’re lucky enough to see a wolf For generations there was no far traveling. extinct in the wild. The fate of the has reduced the genetic diversity in in the wild, think about John and Ms. The unseen walls of lost habitat became the Greg Koch species now depended on the the existing population of red wolves Wessie. Take a moment to consider chain link of breeding pens. The great skills ave you ever heard of Mr. and After the bleak future of the red successful reproduction of those to only 12 founding animals. But Mr. and Mrs. Sabine, and Happy Face went unused. Sharp sight, keen hearing, Mrs. Sabine from Jefferson wolf was revealed, the U.S. Fish and individuals that met the minimal applications in reproductive tech- and Mrs. McBride, Louisiana Radio shape-changing stealth. Great endurance, County, Texas? How about Wildlife Service decided to make standards. Some, like Buddy, Margie, nology, intensive management, persis- Male and Fortenberry Female. Take a silent speed over forest litter, tolerance of the H deepest cold... Generations without a hunt... Ms. Wessie, also from Texas? Or John every effort to save the species. This Judy and John, were known only tence and a little luck have assisted in moment to think about the contribu- from Calcasieu Parish in Louisiana? consisted of capturing as many red by first name. Others were given the conservation of the red wolf. And tion 14 red wolves made to the future Generations without a proper den. The young Maybe you would recognize them by wolves from the wild as possible and fictitious surnames, like Ms. Wessie, in 1987 the red wolf was reintroduced of the species. And think about the knew nothing of the world. Had no wildness in their hearts, no weather in their fur. After their Studbook Numbers—6, 12, 13, placing them in a captive breeding Mrs. McBride and Mr. and Mrs. Sabine. into the Alligator River National contribution you can make. three generations, all the old ones were dead and 26. Whether known by name or program with the hope of one day A few had descriptive names, such Wildlife Refuge, North Carolina. Once and there was not a wild red wolf in the world. David R. Rabon Jr. is an endangered number, they are red wolves. But not releasing the species back into the as Happy Face and Gulf Oil Split again the red wolf was free in the wild. Only shadows of wolves. Pale flames of species biologist with the U.S. Fish just any red wolves. These are the wild. This daunting task began in the Lip, and others were simply named Today, due in part to an aggressive red wolf spirit licked the cages. names of a few individuals that made early 1970s. More than 400 canids and Wildlife Service in Raleigh, North after the place they were trapped, Adaptive Management Program to Carolina. He is a Ph.D. student at up the founding population of red (Canis is the genus that includes like Fortenberry Female and Pines prevent hybridization with coyotes, Then the red wolf was returned to the North Carolina State University, where old places, freed. wolves—the parents, grandparents, wolves, coyotes and dogs) were Inholding Male, Crain Female and the red wolf is reproducing and he is studying social and reproductive and great-grandparents of all red trapped and evaluated. Only a small Sabine Ranch Male. By any name, surviving. More than 150 wolves behaviors of red wolves. Christopher Camuto, wolves known to exist today. fraction of the animals caught met these animals represented the last live in captive breeding facilities Journeying Toward the Cherokee Mountains

10 Spring 2004 www.wolf.org International Wolf Spring 2004 11 n an enclosure sheltered by tall pacing along the fences, heads Now the facility with its 18 enclo- Sandy Ridge, where his regal beauty roamed throughout the southeastern pines and hardwoods lived the lowered, ears pricked forward to sures is a maze of mangled wire and and adolescent antics endeared him forests and marshes. Iwolves of Sandy Ridge. This listen, topaz eyes alert and wary. splintered kennel boxes. Everywhere to the interns who lived in the cabin Zeus’s opportunity to be an captive breeding facility, located on The Sandy Ridge wolves were not are uprooted trees, their branches at the facility. He regularly got extra ambassador for red wolf recovery the Alligator River National Wildlife on public view. But “howlings” spon- entwined in dense tangles. Three portions of deer, habitually leaving ended in the fury of Hurricane Isabel. Refuge in eastern North Carolina, sored by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife wolves remain in the enclosures that the remains of a leg on top of his den But public outreach and education was equipped to house as many as 30 Service (USFWS) and the Red Wolf escaped the storm’s lashing winds. box. Aubrey Remige, biologist and will continue in partnership with the The spaces between the mountains, empty for a hundred years, are now occupied by endangered red wolves. Shy and Coalition were popular events. But the favorite resident wolf, affec- currently executive director of the work of USFWS biologists as they the howling of wolves. secretive by nature, these sleek, Crowds gathered at night to listen to tionately called Zeus, is dead. The Red Wolf Coalition, remembers a refine the Red Wolf Adaptive tawny animals flitted like shadows the chorus from Sandy Ridge and to ruined tree lying beside his den box game Zeus often played with her Management Plan. The red wolves Not the chesty baying of gray wolves or through the underbrush, pausing learn about the red wolf, clan animal bears witness to what happened. when she lived at Sandy Ridge. While have proven their resilience in the the throaty singing of coyotes, but a high- often in the midst of their ritual of the Cherokee, who, in the old Officially designated wolf 520, Zeus she was working inside the enclo- face of near extinction. It is now up pitched, two-note riff that has just enough time, believed it was the wolf that was the most filmed and sure, he would approach her on silent to humans to honor the legacy of timbre to echo well. taught man to hunt. photographed wolf in the Red Wolf feet as though daring himself to come wolf 520 by working to ensure the Christopher Camuto, Until Hurricane Isabel. Recovery Program. Born at Sandy close. When she would turn at last to long-term survival of these tenacious Another Country: Journeying Ridge in 1992, he was released into the look at him, he would leap away, animals. Toward the Cherokee Mountains Great Smoky Mountains as part of a darting into the trees. reintroduction program that ultimately Although he was nearly 12 years For information about the Red Wolf failed. But 520 never got the hang of old, Zeus had been chosen as one of Center, please visit the Red Wolf Coalition being wild. Tolerant of humans, he was the resident wolves for the proposed Web site at www.redwolves.org. The seen crossing roads near houses and Red Wolf Center near Columbia, author thanks Aubrey White Remige for In the stealing shoes off porches. North Carolina. The center will be her help in preparing this story. The USFWS biologists finally gave built in an effort to bring attention to up and brought the big wolf back to an animal that is, on the one hand, Neil Hutt is an educator and of International Wolf Center board member despised and feared by some local who lives in Purcellville, Virginia.

??????????????????? After Hurricane Isabel, the captive wolf breeding residents and, on the other, often facility at Sandy Ridge, located in the Alligator overlooked by the general public. Wake River National Wildlife Refuge in eastern North Many people who revere Canis lupus Carolina, is a maze of mangled wire and splin- tered kennel boxes. as the symbol of wilderness have never heard of Canis rufus, Zeus, the most filmed and Hurricane photographed wolf in the the wolf that once Red Wolf Recovery Program, died when a tree uprooted during Hurricane Isabel Isabel: destroyed his den box. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

The Red Wolves of Eastern North Carolina by NEIL HUTT

12 Spring 2004 www.wolf.org International Wolf Spring 2004 13 INTERNATIONAL WOLF CENTER INTERNATIONAL WOLF CENTER Notes From Home Contributors nk Yo Tha u! Alpha Weekend 2003: Moose, rocks. The pictographs were quite indignant that we were clear even after exposure to shining the light on it. As it Major Donors Honorary In Memory of Joyce Holz: Wolves and the Boundary Waters the elements for 900 to ambled into the brush, it John & Sandra In honor of Todd & Baylor College of 1,200 years. gave us a baleful look and Anderson Kelly Bialon’s wedding: he weather in Ely was Saturday dawned crisp Medicine After dinner, we attended disappeared. David & Cathy Brenner and clear — just perfect for Jim Anderson Tperfect for this year’s “What’s for Dinner” with the On Sunday morning we Jimmy & Shirley the day’s events. After an Tom Dwight Chandler Alpha members’ apprecia- Center’s ambassador wolves all assembled at the Center In honor of Jack overview of the activities Mark Eisner Jr. Lencioni’s retirement Thomas & Terese tion weekend — sunny, not Malik and Shadow. The for “Breakfast with Wolves.” offered at the Center and Kristine & Michael Elias Conway too warm and no rain. We meal was road-killed deer, After an introduction by Ronald Shlifka met at the International future goals, we had the Mimi Gowen Peter & Sherry Dana and both wolves dived right Lori Schmidt, wolf curator, In honor of choice of a hike to an aban- Helen & Dick Furlong Wolf Center for greetings in. Later our options were to we greeted Malik and F. B. Hubachek Jr. Walter Medwid: and dinner and to get to doned wolf den, a paddle Barry Haack try to observe moose or to Shadow. Both were animated Neil Hutt Larry Anderson know one another. Some into Hegman Lake to Troy Kimmel Jr. visit the Kawishiwi lab wolf and seemed glad to see John Maronde Paul Anderson view pictographs (ancient familiar faces were there, research station and have us. MacKenzie, Lucas and Abraham Marcus Indian rock paintings) or to Marshall Field’s Tom Dwight and some new ones. s’mores around the campfire Lakota from the Retired Renee Mayer Listening Point to go Join Our Wolf Patty Miller Nancy Gibson Friday night we visited and tell stories. This Alpha Pack also approached the Alice R. McPherson Dr. Lynn Roger’s bear birding, or a tour of down- William & Sandra Cree Holtz chose to go moose hunting, fence for greetings. They Information Alert Team Sandy Owings research facility, and we town Ely. I opted to go to Pintaric Neil Hutt as I had never seen a moose looked fit and in good very member of the pack has a role to play. were not disappointed. A Hegman Lake. The scenery Dennis Sutliff Dean Johnson In Memory of up close before. Anne, our health. Hats off to the Center So here is one for you. We need our young, collared black bear there was breathtaking— E John & Donna Virr Dave Mech Dan Jurkovski: guide, was very good at staff for their continued members to watch for misinformation about made a visit and was dense woods, a steep, rocky Rolf Peterson Automotive Information spotting the large mammals, excellent care of the retirees. wolves that shows up in print and on TV. Matching Gifts Systems photographed by all. shoreline and lichen-covered Debbie Reynolds and we saw four. One was Last we made a fasci- One of the biggest problems that wolves Janet Andersen & Altria Sharon & Gary nating visit to Center board face is the myths and misinformation about Jerry Sanders Habedank Tom Dwight & US Bank member Paul Schurke’s sled them that get passed off as fact in the popular Paul Schurke Jerome Hokanson Dorene Eklund & Nancy jo Tubbs dog kennel. Paul has trekked media. Popular magazines do it. Radio programs General Mills David & Marian Martin to the North Pole with his do it. Even well-meaning publications make Foundation In honor of Kent & Sharon dogs, all of which came from mistakes that continue to cause confusion Sherry Green & Debbie Reynolds: Muenchow Inuit stock and are quite about wolves and their relationships to Microsoft Susan Maxwell Jeffrey & Barbara different from the sled dogs people, other animals and the wilderness. So Richard Kandiko & Sweet we are familiar with. if you come across stories about wolves that Kimberly Clark In honor of Marilyn & In Memory of Foundation Kelly Weber’s Wedding: Finally, some last good- don’t sound just right, send them to our infor- Jerry Moore: byes and another Alpha mation experts at [email protected], or fax Kirsten Langohr & Roger & Beatrice Deppe Coral Berge weekend was over. I’m them to 218-365-3318. If possible, send a General Mills Foundation B. J. Garlick already looking forward to copy of the article, the name of the publication In honor of next year’s time together! or program and/or the address of the Web site Kevin Oliver & Orange Melody Wilk: James & Mary Jane Moore that contains the suspect information. We may County United Way Debra Alger Pam Dolajeck, Cynthia Wong & Alpha member then be able to send out a helpful correction. In Memory of Rambo: Gerson Bakar Memorials The more often we correct myths and Foundation David Kinscherf misinformation about wolves, the more we In Memory of Royalties In Memory of Therese Paul Schurke, Center board Hazel Engel: can help eliminate this problem. The more “Pidge” Slobodnik member and Arctic explorer, MBNA America Ann Bosch hosted Alpha Weekend participants accurate information people have about John Hodowanic wolves, the more they will come to under- Rykodisc Inc. at his sled dog kennel. (Left to In Memory of right: Ellen Dietz, Henry Crosby, stand and appreciate them. Voyageur Press, Inc. Jerry & Chief: Lori Schmidt, Pamela Dolajeck, Please become part of our Wolf Jen Westlund, Neil Hutt, Anne Rosemary Herman Koenke, Bruce Weeks, Paul Information Alert Team. Send inaccurate wolf

George Knotek, International Wolf Center George Knotek, International Wolf Schurke and Vickie Severn) news to us at [email protected].

14 Spring 2004 www.wolf.org International Wolf Spring 2004 15 Why Did the programs at the Center or Tracking the Pack Center Select via a Web cam in the pup Three Pups? nursery and enclosure. After the introduction, the In 2000, when exhibit Web cams should Shadow and Malik display some of the action were raised and • Dave Mech, the 1993 litter and hope to of the Exhibit Pack. It’s Time for Pups Again . . . added to the Exhibit The Center will offer a Center board member and have a similar experience in Pack, the alpha wolf biologist 2004. Three pups will be nanny program as a fund- by Lori Schmidt, Wolf Curator, female, MacKenzie, raiser to help cover the International Wolf Center • Nancy Gibson, purchased, preferably two was extremely friendly cost of adding the pups to Center board member and females and one male, to and protective of the exhibit. Nannies will t seems like just yesterday Lucas and Lakota aged and naturalist possibly with a black color the young wolves. In that Center staff, members, retired. Well, it’s been four phase similar to MacKenzie, assist in caring for the I • Gretchen Diessner, 2004, the new pups visitors and nannies were years, and it’s time once but this is dependent on wolves, recording behavioral assistant director will be meeting two anxiously awaiting the again to add life to an aging the litter whelped. The pups observations, and conducting • Walter Medwid, males. Our thinking educational programs. Beha- arrival of Shadow and Malik, exhibit. This article is are expected to be born Monty Sloan is that the males may arctic wolf pups who were dedicated to the Wolf Pup executive director sometime between April 24 vioral observation team be care-giving but members will also be about to add a little life Plan for summer 2004. The pups will be and May 6. They will be bottle-feeding before heading likely mean more play with less intensity than the needed to provide 24-hour to our aging wolf exhibit— acquired from Bear County removed from their wolf back to Minnesota. The Basic Pup Plan behavior as the pups develop female was. So, the basis of monitoring during the week and add a little life they USA in Rapid City, South parents and introduced to Socializing wolf pups to their social skills and find this plan is that the three of the introduction. Check did. Thousands of visitors The key players in devel- Dakota, the same place that the wolf care staff around 10 humans involves spending their place in the pack. Pups pups will help reinforce our Web site www.wolf.org to the exhibit and the Web oping and approving the provided MacKenzie, Lucas, days of age to begin the much time with them early also tend to bring out play each other in the presence for details and an applica- site watched the changing Wolf Pup Plan were Lakota and Kiana in 1993. socialization process. The in the socialization period, behavior in adults. As the of the two adults. We plan tion for both programs. dynamics of our wolf exhibit • Lori Schmidt, wolf curator We were happy with the staff will spend 3 to 4 days and then gradually less as pups mature, pack dynamics to encourage an extremely This is an exciting time as Shadow and Malik • Chip Hanson, behavior, pelage, physical at Bear Country USA to the pups grow older. may change, offering the strong bond among litter- for the International Wolf matured, and MacKenzie, veterinarian, Ely Vet Clinic condition and longevity of transition the pups to Socialized wolf pups gener- public an opportunity to mates and have them visit Center, and many people ally display more relaxed • Larry Anderson, appreciate the world of a daily with the arctic wolves are needed to make this behavior and can be Center board member social pack animal. The through the fence. The pups introduction of new pups handled for veterinary care and veterinarian arctics will be strong, six- will be introduced to Malik successful. Please check the and facility maintenance. year-old wolves when the and Shadow by early August Web site to get involved as a new pups reach sexual through a structured process Why Add Pups Now? nanny, behavioral observa- maturity and will likely of controlled and monitored tion team member, visitor to Aren’t the Arctics make a strong show of interactions. Throughout the Center or observer on Only Four Years Old? dominance to maintain a summer, the pups can the Web site. After the 1993 litter was rank order. be viewed during daily retired from the exhibit in fall 2002, only Shadow and Malik remained. The Center’s mission is to teach the world about wolves with captive ambassadors representing wild wolves. Two males are not very representative of a wild wolf pack structure. The addition of pups will

Socializing wolf pups to humans involves spending Arctic wolves Malik and Shadow were intro- much time with them early in the socialization period, duced as pups to the Exhibit Pack in 2000. Nancy Gibson

Nancy Gibson Nancy then gradually less as the pups grow older.

16 Spring 2004 www.wolf.org International Wolf Spring 2004 17 rabies seems to strike when the pop- ulation density rises above one animal per square kilometer, it might be better not to allow wolf density to reach its maximum. “As a manager, I would rather have a lower stable state,” Sillero said. WOLVES OF ETHIOPIA n August 2003, a thin, weak Park in the hope of reducing the risk Meanwhile, the EWCP is female wolf, thought to be a of rabies, distemper and other canine Another Setback for searching for options to contain the disperser, was sighted in the Web diseases. No feral dogs live in the I area, but farmers routinely enter wolf outbreak. With the cooperation of the Imperiled Valley of the Bale Mountains, home other groups and agencies, authorities to 300 of the critically endangered territory in late summer to graze their Ethiopian Wolf are working to trace the transmission Ethiopian wolves. Suspicion that the livestock. Even though 80 percent of route and the spread of the current wolf may have been sick arose when the dogs in surrounding communi- by Neil Hutt epidemic. They are searching rigor- four wolf deaths were reported on ties have been vaccinated, an infected ously for sick or dead animals, doing October 9, 2003. animal has started an outbreak that Dwight Andrews postmortems, inoculating all unvacci- The Ethiopian Wolf Conservation could result in a drastic reduction of Supporters of reintroducing wolves nated dogs in the region and soliciting WOLVES IN SCOTLAND Rabies – An acute fatal viral Programme (EWCP) began scouring the fragile wolf population. to Scotland are convinced that the help of local communities for biologically and ecologically, there inflammation of the brain. the Bale Mountains, searching for “We should be moving to vaccinate information about the health of A Howl in the Highlands: is no reason why wolves cannot Center for Disease Control, Atlanta, Georgia sick and dead animals. Their tenta- the wolves,” said Stuart Williams, adapt to the environment where domestic animals. Williams insists tive diagnosis of rabies has been British conservationist and coordi- A British Yellowstone? they once lived. the solution is vaccinating wolves not recently confirmed by the Center for nator of the EWCP in Addis Ababa. yet infected by the disease. However, by Neil Hutt Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta. Otherwise, a disaster similar to the the Ethiopian government has been Twenty wolves died of rabies as of one in 1991 could occur. During that hesitant to undertake such a program. ttention all fans of bagpipes aficionados to his vast 81,000-acre October 28, 2003, and more will rabies epidemic, the wolf population Authorities are wary of a genetically and castles and monsters Letterwe estate. Secondly, his record surely succumb. dropped from 450 to 120. Referring modified vaccine. Additionally, they lurking in the depths of in conservation is solid. He has been Since 1996, the EWCP has been to the recovery of the wolf population, A Dr. Claudio Sillero of the University are reluctant because of adverse Loch Ness! If wealthy Dutch busi- influential in pioneering greater Ethiopian wolves once inhabited most of the vaccinating domestic dogs within 10 of Oxford said, “Six months ago, we publicity surrounding a vaccination nessman Paul van Vlissingen has public access to private estates, and mountainous regions of northern Ethiopia, but miles of the Bale Mountains National his way, Nessie may have to settle the encroachment of humans and the introduc- were complimenting ourselves.” Since program in the Serengeti where wild he helped bring sea eagles back tion of rabies have reduced their numbers dogs receiving rabies inoculations for second billing as Scotland’s to Scotland 80 years after they dramatically in recent decades. later died of distemper. number one wildlife attraction. Van disappeared. Ethiopian wolves are small, Vlissingen wants to reintroduce Van Vlissingen publicly laments weighing about 50 pounds. They live wolves, extinct for 250 years, to the the fact that “Scotland has become in packs, but they forage and hunt Highland heaths where foxes and the centre for sheeplife, not wildlife,” alone. They once inhabited most of a burgeoning population of deer and his vision includes the notion of the mountainous regions of northern roam the timeless landscape. lynxes and perhaps even brown bears Ethiopia, but the encroachment of Those inclined to dismiss van and bison inhabiting the wilds of humans and the introduction of rabies Vlissingen as an eccentric entrepre- Scotland. That may seem far-fetched Martin Harvey have reduced their numbers dramati- neur with a romantic reverence for until one considers the fact that in cally in recent decades. Scientists still big predators should take another the past five years, van Vlissingen has disagree on whether Ethiopian wolves look. First of all, he is one of Britain’s taken over the management of six are true wolves or jackals. wealthiest men, a laird who welcomes large game reserves in southern hill walkers and other outdoor Africa. Detractors insist that business The author acknowledges the following interests and profits must surely sources of information: weigh into van Vlissingen’s motives. Scotland has to create more But the controversial landowner has John Whitfield, “Rabies Threatens World’s rejected offers to exploit mining and Rarest Dog,” Nature, October 28, 2003; excitement than a monster in http://www.nature.com/nsu/031027/ Loch Ness. . . . There is enormous 031027-2.html. eco-tourism building in the world, and Scotland is losing out. Wolves aren’t on our agenda at all! Claudio Sillero, e-mail to “Canids-L,” received by L. David Mech, Paul van Vlissingen, owner of an Scottish Natural October 23, 2003. 81,000-acre estate in the Western Highlands Heritage

18 Spring 2004 www.wolf.org International Wolf Spring 2004 19 hydroelectric development on his estate. “I never bought Letterwe with any idea that I would make one penny out of it,” he said. Van Vlissingen’s ideas have the support of several conservation groups in Scotland who insist that OLVES EAT HUNTING oriented presents or suggest that they program would allow ranchers to the absence of natural predators WDOGS. Wolves consumed six consider such gifts when asked by retire their allotments forever. along with other factors such as prize bear-hunting dogs belonging others what they want. Environmentalists have been progressively milder winters have to one family in Michigan during promoting this idea, and some caused an unprecedented rise in the summer 2003, according to a IGHTEEN MEXICAN WOLF ranchers have joined them. However, number of the three main species of Mining Journal article. Several of the EPUPS were confirmed surviving it could take years for Congress to act deer in Scotland: red, sika and dogs were being run in training. No in the wild as of late September. This on the bills. roe. The deer have caused wide- compensation is available in is no doubt a minimum number spread damage to habitat and are Michigan for the $5,000 dogs. because it is rarely possible to obtain ILD LAND CONSERVATION a major hazard on the roads. ?????????????????? complete counts in the wild. If these got a big boost in Canada re- cutline to come?? W But sheepherders and the Scottish OLF SIGHTINGS have been pups continue to survive, they would cently according to the Star Tribune. A Natural Heritage (SNH), Scotland’s cally and ecologically, there is no Proponents of wolf recovery Wmade for 1,000 consecutive replace the several adult wolves that coalition of energy, logging and paper government conservation agency, reason why wolves cannot adapt to in Scotland also cite the ethics days in Yellowstone National Park as have been shot in 2003. companies, tribes and environmental aren’t buying the Dutchman’s dream the environment where they once perspective. Britain has signed the of November 5. During many of those groups agreed to conserve at least half of major predators as boosters of lived. A proposed wolf center in Bern Convention agreeing to consider days, park biologists and naturalists OLF GENETICS research will of Canada’s subarctic boreal forests. Scotland’s flagging tourist industry. the Highlands, funded by private reintroduction. This means, the argu- along with multitudes of tourists have Wbe greatly enhanced by a draft This agreement covers one of the Van Vlissingen and his supporters enterprise, would serve the most ment goes, an admission that wolves seen the wolves. On other days, only map of the dog genome recently pro- world’s largest natural woodlands. are convinced, however, that biologi- important preliminary requirement have the right to exist and includes tourists have reported wolf sightings. duced. The DNA decoding of the dog’s for the successful reintro- a commitment to support research In all, some 130,000 people reported (and wolf’s) 2.4-billion-unit genome TATE WOLF PLANS for duction of major preda- into the feasibility of a reintroduction spotting wolves during that period. was performed by the same research SWyoming, Idaho and Montana tors: education. program. With van Vlissingen leading group that decoded the human received positive reviews by a Public support must the way, the splendor of the OLF DEPREDATION FUNDS genome. Three quarters of the dog consensus of 11 wolf biologists who include livestock inter- Highlands could someday be WGONE. As Wisconsin’s wolf genes are similar to those of humans. independently judged whether the ests, and that will be hard enhanced by the howl of the wolf. population continues to increase, so plans would help ensure recovery of OLF HABITAT to achieve. Compensation do wolf depredations on livestock was enhanced wolves in the West. The U.S. Fish and funds must be consid- The author acknowledges the following and dogs. The $36,000 per year tradi- Wjust a bit when two bipartisan Wildlife Service asked the biologists ered, and steps need to sources of information: tionally allocated to compensate citi- bills were introduced into Congress to assess the proposed management be undertaken to revise zens for these losses have not kept up in October to buy out grazing plans in preparation for a proposal to “Call for Wolves to Be Reintroduced,” with the losses, however, which permits on federal land. According to remove the wolf from the endangered a government subsidy BBC News, June 25, 2002; http:// recently have almost doubled. the Salt Lake Tribune, the voluntary species list. system heavily relied news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/ upon by sheep farmers. 2065794.stm. OLF RELEASED UNHARMED. Suggestions include “The New Nessie,” Sunday Herald; A father and son team of Idaho making subsidies avail- W http://www.sundayherald.com/36409. coyote trappers were praised by the able to farmers only if U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Nicholas Hellen, “Plan to Reintroduce they practice good October for releasing a wolf they had Wolves to the UK,” Herald Sun, April 14, husbandry, a requirement accidentally captured. They managed that would mean a change 2003; http://www.wolf.org/wolves/ news/news04_03/04_14_uk_reintro.asp. to restrain the wolf without drugs, in the present style of kennel it, allow Wildlife Service biolo- sheep management. Paul Gallagher, “Rich Laird with a gists to radio-tag it, and release it. Sherry Jsokinen Passion That’s Priceless,” Scotsman.com; www.news.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id= OLF CENTER MEMBER- 483042003. WSHIPS are being promoted, Neil Hutt is an educator and along with other conservation- International Wolf Center board member oriented gifts, on a new Web site,

who lives in Purcellville, Virginia. Sherry Jokinen cutline to come?? giftsforconservation.org. The site

International Wolf Center International Wolf asks that people give conservation-

20 Spring 2004 www.wolf.org International Wolf Spring 2004 21 Echoes from Thunder Hollow felt no urgency this day. Chevre had Out of a dense stand of aspen, pointed three birds already, of which next to a shallow pond, there by Gary Johnson I bagged two. Tired and damp, we appeared a blur of activity. Branches headed out for a last hunt, grateful snapped and water exploded. A for the season’s offerings. white-tailed doe charged into view, he encounter occurred during hours at a time. But this trip was solo This country is basically flat chased by two wolves. The wolves a lull in the grouse hunting for me. Nancy had business at home. with a few ridges and small ponds immediately dropped her at the Tseason. I was hunting near Chevre was my only partner. She’s a scattered throughout the area. I water’s edge. Chevre and I were posi- Walker, Minnesota. The rich colors dog who can pace herself well and approached a slight rise on the trail, tioned downwind, so the wolves had of autumn had disappeared. The run so close to me that I don’t need a Chevre at my side, when we were no way to smell us, and we were nonresident hunters had ceased beeper or bell to help me keep track startled by sounds coming from invisible behind a screen of dogwood showing up in the grouse woods. It of her in the dense cover. the west. I heard what I thought and hazel. was late October, when woodcock are There was a crisp edge to the air. was a buck chasing a doe. There was One wolf began tearing at the deer no longer in season and the white- Temperatures were in the low thir- a frantic splashing of water, and the while the other appeared to stand tailed deer rut dominates the woods. ties, and the mist that developed felt familiar squeals and snorts I have guard. Chevre, I was certain, could A hunter senses the silence of the hard, setting a glaze over everything. often heard from my deer stand. The see none of this, but it was obvious woods more acutely then. This would be my last grouse hunt commotion was magnified. Then the she needed no visual aids to make The grouse covert I was hunting this season, as we don’t venture into squeals became screams that ripped every silky setter hair on her body was large, taking two to three hours the woods during deer season, and I apart the woods. A few more chilling stand right on edge. Because I was to hunt. My wife, Nancy, and I try to prefer to leave the birds alone to screams filled the space around us, mesmerized by this rare sight, I rotate our four English setters, winter up after the heavy snows and with that I knew with certainty might have stood motionless to hunting each one from one to two begin. It had been a great year, so I that death was imminent. watch, but I felt curiously out of place, an intruder in an intimate and violent act of nature. After lingering a few seconds, Chevre and I stepped off the knoll and walked down the trail, both of us feeling deeply uneasy. This was my fifth wolf sighting. Our first encounter occurred in the mining country of northern Minnesota. Searching for new grouse coverts, Nancy and I and a friend were driving a narrow logging road when a grouse ran across the road. I stopped and stepped out to survey the area. The area was dotted with piles of mining tailings, one pile about five feet high, covered with sparse aspens and a low brushy understory. I froze in my tracks. Not eight feet away, at eye level, stood a Steve Grooms Gary Johnson has hunted many species of small and big game with guns huge wolf, staring me down (if you and archery equipment for forty-some years. can count three seconds as a stare- down). It spun around and bolted off. We all heard a sound that sounded Lynn and Donna Rogers/www.bearstudy.org Lynn Steve Grooms distinctly unnatural. As we investi-

22 Spring 2004 www.wolf.org International Wolf Spring 2004 23 gated the area, I found a leg-hold trap It was probably an illegal shot for I made a rare December grouse increase in the presence of wolves still clutching one wolf toe. We me but definitely a humane one. hunt in that same area later that year. because of fewer coyotes there. hoped “Three Toes” survived after I have hunted many species of small Curiosity drew me toward the kill Ravens. Interestingly, ravens, as losing that digit. and big game with guns and archery site. It was 37 paces from where scavengers, may interact more with The second sighting was brief. equipment for forty-some years. Chevre and I stood to where the doe wolves than any other animals. And While we were driving near the I struggle often with why I harvest fell. The pond was frozen hard. All ravens are, well, ravenous. In the Canadian border, a wolf—darker than wild animals, and I have developed that was left of the deer one month Yukon, ravens and other scavengers usual—dashed across the road. Our my own ethical position on this. later were tufts of hair locked into Getting Along with the Neighbors: ate up to 10 percent of the biomass of third sighting was equally fleeting. The mercy killing of that buck should the ice. They say the wolf wastes How Wolves Interact with Non-prey ungulate kills made by large packs, Nancy had stayed at the car to do not have affected me, but that day precious little. and 66 percent of the biomass of kills some letter writing while I hunted. I found myself digging deep into Jay Hutchinson made by unfortunate single wolves. She glimpsed a wolf that stepped out my conscience. I realized that the Gary and Nancy Johnson live in Willmar, Of all the species clustering at the herever wolves roam, they numbers and maintain the upper of the cover and walked down a trail, violent encounter of the wolves and Minnesota, with their five English setters. feasts provided by wolf kills, ravens are They enjoy their work but mostly live for are usually not far from hand. Of nine bear deaths studied passing out of sight over a ridge. deer I had seen earlier had triggered perhaps the most playful. On Isle the moments they can spend outdoors, many other types of meat due to wolves, six bears were killed On another occasion, our hunting my emotions. especially hunting upland birds. W Royale, Dave Mech once saw four or eaters. The carnivores most often in their dens. A bear killed one wolf plans were confused by bad compass five ravens diving at a wolf’s head or observed competing with wolves near its den. readings and the complications of tail while it ducked, then leaped at are brown (grizzly) bears, black bears Coyotes. Coyotes weigh roughly encountering unexpected beaver them. One raven .. . waddled to a and coyotes. To a lesser degree, one-third as much as wolves. Studies dams. After a long hunt we saw a resting wolf, pecked its tail, and wolves also contend with a host of suggest that the density of wolf and big, burly and beautiful creature jumped aside as the wolf snapped at it. other potential competitors—polar coyote populations are inversely step onto the trail just 50 yards Quoth that raven, “Never more!” bears, cougars, tigers, lynxes, bobcats, related. The quite common coyote away. We assumed it was a German wolverines, red and arctic foxes and killings by wolves often happen in shepherd and then realized it was Source: W. B. Ballard, L. N. Carbyn, and even ravens. winter, when coyotes are scavenging a wolf. It disappeared as quickly as D. W. Smith, “Wolf Interactions with Non- Brown Bears. Worldwide, most on ungulate carcasses. From 1995 it had appeared. prey,” in Wolves: Behavior, Ecology, and wolf–brown bear interactions happen to 2001, wolves killed at least 27 These encounters left me unpre- Conservation, edited by L. David Mech near wolf kills. In these clashes, coyotes in Yellowstone National pared for this fifth wolf sighting on and Luigi Boitani. Chicago: University of brown bears —though usually out- Park, and coyote numbers decreased that shattering day when I saw the Chicago Press, 2003. numbered—almost always win, by 50 percent for a few years in some pair of wolves take down that doe. Jay Hutchinson is a writer and editor, except near wolf dens, where wolves areas there. No cases of coyotes As silly as it might seem, I nervously retired from the U.S. Forest Service’s frequently prevail. Fatalities in these killing wolves are known. checked my back trail after leaving North Central Forest Experiment Station, situations are few though; in more Foxes. Wolf kills are an important in St. Paul, Minnesota. Between travels, them to return to my vehicle. The than a hundred cases recorded by source of food for red foxes. Wolves he enjoys writing about various natural mist had turned to rain by the time scientists, only two or three deaths of kill foxes but less often than they history subjects, including wolves. I got back, giving a gloomy cast to either species occurred. do coyotes. In some the ending of the day. Black Bears. Wolves usually take areas, red fox populations On the highway heading toward over kills from black bears by sheer are believed to actually home I had to slow as I approached two cars on the opposite shoulder. People gathered there waved as I passed, and I could see a dying deer in the headlights of their cars. It was a buck with no life in its body, although International Wolf Center International Wolf its head and neck moved. After I drove a mile, a sense of responsibility urged me to turn around. Center International Wolf Just a woman and her daughter were with the deer when I returned. We spoke briefly. Then I delivered the coup de grace to the largest

trophy buck I hope ever to see under Center International Wolf such sad circumstances. The woman Ravens, as scavengers, may interact more thanked me, and I left. Kolk Rabe with wolves than any other animals.

24 Spring 2004 www.wolf.org International Wolf Spring 2004 25 Help Us Welcome Our Pups Here’s how: 1. Color the sheet on page 27. If you don’t want to tear the page out of the magazine, go to ave you heard? The International www.wolf.org/______and download a PDF of this page. Wolf Center is expecting puppies! 2. Fill out the form on the side of the coloring page. After Three newborn pups will arrive in you send it to us, we will detach the form before displaying your picture. Ely sometime in May. We hope you’ll help us 3. If you prefer, you can also create your own picture of welcome the new little ones with a special wolf pups on the theme of “At Home in the Wild.” You may use crayons, pens, charcoal, pastels or paints to “Hello!” by entering our coloring contest. make your picture. Your entry may not be larger than an 8.5 ¥ 11 inch sheet of paper. Be sure to fill out the form on page __ and send it in with your artwork.

Mail your artistic creation to us at: Coloring Contest Travel the protected waters of International Wolf Center SE Alaska’s inside passage. 1396 Highway 169 This remote area of Ely, MN 55731 mountainous islands, old growth timber and Prizes: tidal estuaries is home of the One winner in each category will have their picture Wo l f Wa t c h Alexander Archipelago Wolf. published in the Winter 2004 issue of International Wolf Illustration by Joan Ouelette magazine. Additional winners will have their Aboard the 6 day, 5 night trips, meals, names listed in that issue. As many lodging, daily shore excursions entries as possible will be Coloring Contest Entry Information MV HYAK into the best wolf habitat. displayed at the FOR A BROCHURE CONTACT: International Wolf Artist name: Artist’s Parent Contact Information Center in Ely during Riptide Outfitters Artist age: (check one) summer 2004. Parent name: 8654 View Court North age 6 and younger age 7–9 Ketchikan, AK 99901 Phone number: www.hyakalaskacharters.com Submission age 10–12 age 13–17 Address: 907-225-1548 deadline: What city, state/province, and country do you live in? June 1, 2004 Parent e-mail:

I understand the by submitting this entry for the International Wolf Center’s 2004 “At Home in the wild” coloring contest I give my permission for this artwork and my child's name to be published in a future issue of International Wolf Magazine and on our Web site, www.wolf.org. The decision about which entries, if any, will be published is solely that of the contest judges.

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26 Spring 2004 www.wolf.org International Wolf Spring 2004 27 Global Voices for Wolf Conservation that often occur through lack of knowledge. Both consumptive and by Steve Wadlow nonconsumptive users of wolves have a common fundamental interest panning many countries across industry have developed an economic that benefits all: a healthy environ- the globe, wolf conservation is interest in wolves. Even people ment. This common interest is an Sa diverse issue and, perhaps without such an economic interest excellent starting point for dialogue. more fitting, one of great complexity. raise a powerful voice. All of these Meeting regularly to have open Wherever wolves are present, they voices must be involved in decision and honest dialogue enhances affect people, often in profound ways. making about wolves. These socio- information sharing and under- Despite the overwhelming shift economic, ethical and political com- standing among stakeholders, thus in public attitudes toward wolves in ponents exemplify the multifaceted reducing polarization. The recent the past few decades, and despite and challenging nature of conserving conference (World Wolf Congress the wealth of scientific investigations wolves in human-dominated systems. 2003; www.worldwolfcongress.ca) of wolves, controversy continues Managing or conserving wolves hosted by the Central Rockies Wolf over wolf management issues. In the on the landscape requires much more Project, in Banff, Canada, is one public arena where wildlife manage- than simply ensuring that adequate example of an effort to bridge the gap ment issues play out, protectionist prey exists or that scientific investiga- among stakeholders and to facilitate attitudes toward wolves are pitted tions of wolves are done. How does discussion of divergent viewpoints. against utilitarian values. This polar- one reconcile all of these competing This type of event brings together a ization has served to fuel the philosophical discussion of whether humans and wolves can coexist. It has been said that our ability to coexist with wolves is the ultimate challenge for us humans in determining

whether we can live with ???????????? The World Wolf Congress 2003, hosted by the Central Rockies Wolf Project, in Banff, Canada, is one example Nature. Wolves are the of an effort to facilitate discussion of divergent viewpoints. measuring stick, perhaps because they affect us in diverse ways. interests and beliefs about the way diverse group of individuals and orga- Consumptive users of wolves such wolves should be managed, protected nizations and stimulates discussion as trappers and hunters have a special and conserved across the globe? The and debate. Constructive discussion economic interest in wolf manage- broader community of people that facilitates understanding and fosters ment. Wolf pelts are sold commercially hold various values toward wolves, respect and tolerance among people. in many regions, and wolf trapping and their ability to work together Dialogue is an important tool in the constitutes an ongoing source of and solve the complex issues often work to ensure that wolves continue to income for some communities. Some surrounding wolves are important howl in the wilderness, and that sectors of the hunting community kill to ensuring that wolves and wolf humans gain more tolerance for one wolves to reduce their impact on prey habitat are maintained in perpetuity another and, ultimately, for wolves. populations. Livestock producers in throughout the northern hemisphere. wolf range also have a special interest Open dialogue is one tool to facil- Steve Wadlow is the Education Director in wolf management because wolf itate a greater understanding among for the Central Rockies Wolf Project, based in Canmore, Alberta, Canada. depredation can affect their livelihood. parties with differing viewpoints, He can be reached at [email protected]. More recently, people in the tourism thereby reducing misconceptions

28 Spring 2004 www.wolf.org