ALASKA DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME JUNEAU, ALASKA

STATE OF ALASKA William A. Egan, Governor

DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME James W. Brooks, Commissioner

DIVISION OF GAME Frank Jones, Director Donald McKnight, Research Chief

WOLF REPORT

by Robert O. Stephenson and Loyal J. Johnson

Volume XI Project Progress Report Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Project W-17-4, Jobs 14.3R, 14.4R, 14.5R, 14.6R and 14.7R Project W-17-5, Jobs 14.3R, 14.4R, 14.5R, 14.6R and 14.7R (1st half)

Persons are free to use material in these reports for educational or informational purposes. However, since most reports treat only part of continuing studies, persons intending to use this material in scientific publications should obtain prior permission from the Department of Fish and Game. In all cases, tentative conclusions should be identified as such in quotation, and due credit would be appreciated.

(Printed April 1973) JOB PROGRESS REPORT (RESEARCH)

State:

Cooperators: Robert O. Stephenson (Arctic) and Loyal Johnson (South­ central)

Project Nos. : W-17-4 & Project Title: Big Game Investigations W-17-5

Job No. : l4.3R Job Title: C~aracteristics of Exploited Wolf Populations

Job No. : 14.4R Job Title: The Spring and Summer Food Habits of Alaskan Wolves

Job No. : l4.5R Job Title: The Condition and Charac­ teristics of Ungulate Prey Taken by Wolves

Job No.: 14.6R Job Title: Characteristics of Wolf Den Sites

Job No.: :l;.4.7R Job Title: RadiO Telemetry of Wolves in Northern Alaska

Period Covered: July I, 1971 to December 31, 1972

SUMMARY

Estimates of wolf population density were made in the northcentral Brooks Range in the spring and fall of 1971 and in the fall of 1972. Our data suggest that density increased from 1 wolf/124 miles2 in the spring of 1971 to 1 wolf/SO miles 2 in the fall of 1971. In the fall of 1972 density was es timated at lwolf/65 miles2 • This density falls in the mid-range of wolfdensities reported elsewhere in North America (Mech, 1970) .

Data obtained during a helicopter reconnaissance in the spring and fall of 1972 suggested that a minimum of 15 active dens were located in an area of 30,000 miles 2• Assuming that the average spacing of known dens (25 miles apart) held for the entire area, a maximum of 35 active dens (1 active den per 857 miles 2) could have been present in the area.

Observations in Southcentral Alaska indicate that the wolf popula­ tion in the Nelchina Basin has undergone a significant reduction from its 1971 numbers.

The average weight of six 5-month-old pups taken in the fall of 1971 (from two litters) was 51.2 pounds compared to 61.4 pounds for nine pups taken in the fall of 1972 (from four litters). The pups from the 1972

i litters were taken from two weeks to one month earlier than those in 1971, yet showed markedly greater deposits of subcutaneous and visceral fat. This suggests that there was a greater availability of prey during the summer and fall of 1972 than there was the previous year.

Resightings of tagged wolves, the 1971-72 hunter take of wolves around Anaktuvuk Pass, summer wolf observations, behavioral and morpholo­ gical characteristics of wolves used by the Nanamuit Eskimo in ascertain­ ing the sex and age of free-roaming wolves, and studies of wolf blood serum are discussed.

Results of studies on the ungulate prey of wolves in Southcentral Alaska during this period indicate that, at least during a severe winter, prey species are taken in proportion to the sex and age composition of that population, with the exception of young of the year. There appeared to be no difference between the nutritional well-being of adult moose killed by wolves and those killed by accident or illegally.

Criteria are provided by which it is usually possible to determine whether or not a prey animal was killed by wolves. Miscellaneous obser­ vations of wolf feeding habits are also presented.

ii CONTENTS

Summary , . i Background, 1 Objectives, 2 Procedures, 2 Find (Arctic Studies) Estinllite of Population Dens ,Spring 1971. 4 Estimate of Population Dans Lt v , Fall 197L 7 Harvest of Wolves, Anaktuvuk Pass, 1971-72 12 Estimate of PopuLat Lon Density, Fall 1972, 12 Occurrence of Active Dens, 1972. 17 Fall Condition of Pups ...... 21 Resight of Tagged Wolves . . , 24 Summer \,;rolf Behavior Observations. 25 Release of Pen-reared Wolves . . . . 25 Sex and - Specific Characters of Wolves, 28 Summer Characteristics Used in Diagnosing Sex. 29

Serology Studies . , . e • , 31 Recommendations (Arctic Studies) .. 32 Find (Southcentral Studies) . . 32 Physical Condition of Ungulate Prey. 32 Miscellaneous Observations 43

Wolf Abundance . 0 •, 44

Food HabLt s , e e " • , 44 Utilization by Humans. 49 \;]01£ Coloration" , , . 49 Recommendations (Southcentral Studies)" 49 Acknowledgements. 51 Literature C:!.ted .. " , , , , 51

BACKGROUND

The background for wolf (Cawis lupus) studies in Alaska has been discussed extensively in previous reports (cf: Rausch. 1966, 1967, 1969; St and Johnson, 1972) and will not be repeated here. The wolf is, by v:Lrtue of its intelligence, mobility, and low population density, one of the most difficult large mammals to study using classical methods. itative datB reflecting the long-term interrelationships between wolves and their ungulate prey, and the precise mechanisms through which wolf populations ad j us t to prey availability are only now being gathered, and it 'Nil1 be some time before we can understand the natural which wolf ations are controlled, and the effects that have on wolf population dynamics,

Indications of a very low population of woIves on the North SLone in 70 ed the initiation of ion monitoring and other studies of wo~ves in this area. Since that time the population has increased to a. moderate level (about I wolf per 90 square miles) and in the next year asis in studies will be shifted to the Interior.

1 of the wo Lf possessed trlE' Nunanrlu t Eskimo es

an \-vealth of det.afLed Lnfo'rmat.fon on t.h Ls specf.es 9 and efforts to rec.over more of t.h Ls Lnf'ormat Lon and to e Nunamiut 8S aides in future field invest ions will be continued.

Pr asis of wolf studies in t.hcan t r al Alaaka 11£18 been directed t owa'rd wo Lf-eprey r e l.atLonsh

OBJECTTVES

To assess wo l f t i on levels and det ermfne t.he charact e r ts tics of ted wolf ccuu.LatLons in Arctic and Sout.hcerrtr a I Alaska.

-s determine the food h ab i t s of \,;j'OJ.. vee the and summer in Arctic Southcentral Alaska.

To determine th..~ LcaL condition and characte r ts Lcs of ate prey taken woLves in Arctic and So ut.hcerrtr a'l Alaska.

To aract e rLze the of wolf den s I tes an Lc and SOUtl:1~ c entral Alas k a ,

PROCEDURES

The ectIves of \~ork in the Arctic have bC'len modified somewhat

the past year~ The s pecLf Lc effort to characterLz e den sites has b aen discontinued (as an isolated object dua the number of dens visited in 1970 ( enson and Johnson 1972)" These dens, as related in the 1972 report were located Nunamiut Eskimos now in Anakt uvuk Pass ~

In e of that work, and to Anaktuvuk, it that the Nunamiut c I r cums t.ances , had and of the woLf c This led e Nunamtu t 8

to learn their of the wolf 0 This was objective work involved on-·the··· t and ob s er'vat Lon, Aircraft v,\7e:re in the to locate. act.Lve of wolf kills ,>·,ere examfned and Lf t t Le further progress has been made Ln of th e s

and aerial enumeration of area around Ariakt.uvuk Pass were lila-de in Carc~~ses tr~~n~rl and f a.lL and are LncLuded in thLs of wolves by Nunamiut wes:e collected and into the sex and age eompos tion of the wolf food habI t s Lnformat Lon , meas uremen t.udLes of sexual and meaaurement s of nutritional tatus. Seasonal estimates of the wolf population in the of An akt.uvuk Pass were made using track and wolf made by Stephenson and about 15 Nunamtut hunters during travels tvith anowmachLnes . vIoU 8i6"~.LUe,O made by r eLtab I.e pilots were also used.

In the Sf) of 1972 known de.n sites were checked h t e r for actLvl and attempts "Jere made to locate newly occupied sites, This was done between 9 and 12 May , a period about one week earlier than desired since parturition usually occurs after 15 at this latitude. Howeve r , wolves, and pregnant females, often visit prospective dens late April and tend to remain progress LveIy closer to the chosen den as urition nears, Thus it is possible to obtain some idea of whether the den will be used by observing tracks, fresh diggings, and/or woLves •

the effort to locate natal dens, ground-based observations near Anaktuvuk "Jere begun, The objectives of this work we r e to obtain observations of undisturbed wolves during the summer denning , and provide a common basis of observed wolf behavioral phenomena, Viewed both by an experienced Nunamf.u t hunter and by a trained biola t and thus further our un.ders of the behavioral and environmental parameters used by the Nunamiuthunter to evaluate and ct the activities of wolves, The approach consisted simply of at to find a wolf den wi.rh the method used by the Nunamiut during t he wo Lf bounty years ~ ob s e rvLng the activities of wolves at the den. and the commentary of the Nun.ami.ut regarding the behavioral events observed, One Nun anrlut , Bob Ahgook, wor ked full time in this e ffort and another, Justis Mekiana, helped for a of one week, For mos t of this wo rk a base camp was a Coot ATV and established at an elevation a few hundred feet above floors at the best poss Lb I.e field of view, Sting scopes and Lno c ul.ar's were used to locate and observe wol ves , Observations w ere recorded with a cassette recorder and later transcribed, This aspect of wo r k on 22 May and continued until 13 July.

In the latter part of the summer Stephenson participated in an release of laboratory-reared wolves at Umiat. The woLves were released on 11 t after being transported from Barrow in a DC--3 air craf t , The release site "las on the south bank of the Colville River opposite Umiat lvIountain, ~Nhich was used as a vantage point for obs erva- t Lons the ten days f oLLowLng the release, The results of this s pub Ltshe d ,

The months of ember, October and the first half of November, 1972 \;Jere spent in the Village of Anaktuvuk autopsying the carcasses of by the Nunamiut, ob 'wolf blood samples, accompany-- on their tines to t and obtain- data on the occupancy of wolf dens and anecdotal information diverse aspects of wolf ecology based on Nunamiut experience. An es t Lmat.e of wo Lf population dens for this is included in this report,

3 Cer t.ai.n Nunaml ut; hunt.ers h ava a r ema rkab Le ab i Lt [) as c e r t a Ln the ex and to estimate the age of wolves observed at considerable d Ls t anc e $ us correlated b ehavi.or aI and character ts t t cs as indicators, or in future studies of wol.ves 0

Other as of the Nunamiut hunters' and criteria are t in this Most of these are dif Lcu.lt to describe Ln exact terms and are set d01A7n. here as t.entatLve r.:onclus:tons,.,

One as s exual ~ t.h at of lias been part elucidated Lcoeur (1959) ~ who found Ln 39 8 kul.Ls that the skulls of male wo Lves averaged l, lin.ear dimension than, the skulls of f emaLes ~ difference, in skull mo !Sf st A. Rausch, Alaak.a of Fish and Game, in the late 1960 "JRMS initiated 0 1'1r, Sverr e Pedersen, Q student in vrU.d1ife the Untvers f Alaska, is in the process of so the 4000 skulls ~ of wh:1.. ch 1861 have e t e data inc1ud- as determined cementum (Klevezal and Initial the 81C1]J.18 of 200 numbers of each sex and agE: class) and 50 pups ,,7111 be measured, Heasurements of total , width at molar. ic width, interorbital wldth and UC'O.Li'SHL efLect the size of each basis for skulls"

The "JOlt Ln was the same as was used BasL or river systems at .,.' in f for kills 0 "- \~701f a. fresh trail crud a ktLl. site was located 0 Kill sites were then visited if If fixed- aircraft couLd kills we r'e as soon. as possible \;i1t11 snowmach Lrie Th e Latter met.hod to be useful.

bo-nes, femurs were collected from skeletal ren~ins to me.as ure nutr t t Lona.l we.l.Lv-b of t.he anLmaL, the des c r fb e d det.ernrlnat.Lons of prey we r'e based on. axamfnat.Lon of

\rJhenever ki l.L sites were examf.ned in, an a ttemp t to det e rmf.ne the e of deat.h (; 'I'racks at the s c ene of t.h e 1

F IN~O Ir-TGS STUDIE

'fhe UUilHLLa,_ion on rne

4 1969--70, caused by substantial aerial hunting, both legal and illegal. Thu8 data gathered the of 1971 are meager. Nonduplicated s of wolves are summarLz e d in Table 1, and the f o l Low'l ng con- stitutes a brief revi.ew of observations and inent eommen Observations are numbered as in Table 1.

1. A of three wolves was seen in March Bouthwest of Anaktuvuk Pass in EkI akpuk River One, a dark gray female weighing 90 , was trapped on 8 Harch and appeared to be in excellent condition. Her upper canine was broken; only 1/2 inch protruded from the gum. Ihe uterus indicated she was in oestrus and exhibited f Ive tal scars, The remaining two woLves of this pack were observed on 13 March sleeping at the 4000 foot level on a mountain north of Masu Creek. remained at this spot, resting, from 1:00 p.m. until 4:30 p .m, at 1>7hich time rose and left. On 29 March they were observed as a 5000 foot peak north of Ekiakpuk. One animal was black and the other very dark gray. The second animal limped not and examination of tracks revealed that its left hind foot had been lost, presumably in a trap.

2. Two wolves, a white male and a gray female, were sighted 20 miles north",est of Anaktuvuk at the headwaters of Tiglupuk Creek at 7:00 p.m. on 20 March. Tue female was shot by a local hunter the following day; 21 hours later and 20 air miles north of the first observation. TIlls whLte male has frequented the area northwest of Anaktuvuk Pass s Lnce the of 1968 according to the Nunamiut. who have been able to him because of his distinctive pelage and evasive behavior. He "'as observed in April, 1968 with an adult female and five pups of the year, near Natvakruak Lake. Four and possibly all of these pups were taken by Nunamiut that winter. In September, 1968 three pups were observed in the company of the white male and two of these, one gray and one almost whI t e , were killed later that year. An adult female, ttiouzn t to be the mate of the white male, was also taken in the fall of 1968. the winter of 1968-69 and summer and fall of 1969 the wh He male was seen alone on several occasions. In the sp of 1970 he was s eerr wi, th a gray female whi.ch was killed by a hunter who stated that it contained six fetuses. Then in March, 1971 another female was killed as related above. I examf.ned this animal and found her to be pregnant (indicated by the color and tightness or her uterus) although the embryos we r e not as yet macroscopic. Her uterus also showed 10 placental scars from the year, indicating that she had bred, The apparent fact that a different gray female had mated with the whLt.e male in 1970 suggests that the female killed in 1971 associated with a wolf or wolves other than thetihite male in the previous year.

3. A of five woLves was observed at Chandler Lake on 23 March, 1971 and tracks observed at a later date indicated that as many as eight animals may have comprised this pack, which also frequented the Okokmilaga to the wes t of Chandler Lake.

4~ Also on 23 March the fresh tracks of two wolves were seen iIT~ediat north of Anaktuvuk Pass .

.5 Table 1, Summarv of ed sings of wo.Iv es in s 1971, within 3600 sauare mile area

around Anaktuvuk Pass 0 Observation numbers coincide ,

Obs. Total No. Date Location Number Black Grav Adults Remarks

L 9 March Ekiakpuk R. 3 2 1 o 3

2, 20 Harch Tiglupuk Ck. 2 1 1 o 2

3, 23 Harch Chandler L 8 2 3 Only five observed.

4, 23 Hardl Anaktuvuk Pass 2 Tracks

5, 23 March Inukpasugruk o- Creek 1 1

6 " 23 Harch Publituk Cr. 7 Tracks

7, 25 North Fork Koyukuk R. 6 Tracks onlv.

8. 25 March Sagwon Lf 4 0

9, 25 March Chandler R, 3 0 3 0

10, 25 Harch Chandler R, 3 0 3 0

·1 Totals .J" 5 15 s: Dens 1 wolf per Pack Size for 124 square mi Les 'Jq Anaktuvuk Pass area 1-.. J 5 5 1 average Dack size (exclud obs , 9 4.0 of 4. and 10) 5. A single black wolf was Been on three occasions; on 21 March south of the Anaktuvuk. River, on 23 Ha r ch at the mouth of Creek, and on 18 May near Anivik Creek.

6. The tracks of a pack of seven wolves were observed at Pub Lft uk Creek on 23 March.

7. The tracks of a pack of six wolves were observed on 25 March along Ernie Creek at the head of the North Fork of the Koyukuk River.

8. On 25 March, 1971 during aerial reconnaissance of the Sagavanirktok and Chandler river areas, 10 wol.ves were seen. Four of these, all gray, were observed at 8:00 a.m. 1 mile south of Sagwon. When first sighted the four wolves were scattered around a cow and calf moose. Judging from the area of t r ampled" snow around the moose they had been under s for onc-bal.f hour or more, but neither moose showed any sign of b tired, Ten minutes later we returned to find that the wolves had left and the moose had moved off a short distance,

9, [~ 10. Two groups of three woLves each were sighted on the lower ChandlerR:Lver on 25 Harch , All we re gray.

The data gathered during spring ground reconnaissance in the 3600 square mile area around Anaktuvuk Pass indicate that about 29 wolves (excludes observation numbers 8, 9 and 10) inhabited the area wLt.h an average pack size of four. The gray:black ratio from these limited data was 100 30. The density suggested by these figures is 1 wolf per 124 square miles.

sightings of wolves in the northcentral Brooks Range the fall of 1971 are summarized in Table 2. To avoid confusion the numb of ob s e r vat.fons has been continued from Table 1. These data suggested an increase in wolf numbers since the spring of 1971, probably the result of normal production of young. A brief review of observations with pertinent commentary follows.

11. On 17 October, eight wolves were seen by a Nunamiut hunter as rested at the base of a mountain between the Ekiakpuk and John rivers. The hunter, Jack Ahgook howled three times from a distance of 2 miles and the woLves got up and headed toward him in single file, coming to within 1 mile before the hunt was spoiled by a low-flying aircraft. Mr. Ahgook stated two of the wolves were adults; one being a large black and the other a dark gray animal. He felt the remaining six we r e pups (3 gray, 3 On 18 October I saw this same pack of wolves 12 miles wes t on the Ek Lakpuk River but only seven were observed, one black animal miss This same "vas seen on 1 November near the h aadwat s rs of Kollutarak Creek, 10 air miles north of the previous sightings. The Nunamiut who made this sighting stalked to within about 300 yards of the wol ves , whi.ch were res , before being dis covered by what he said was the adult female in the group, a dark gray wolf exhibiting a pronounced her left hind leg. He stated that the other adult in

7 Table 2, Summarvof icated s of woLves in fall, 1971, northcentral Brooks Range. Observation numbers coincide wi th de.s c r LtrtLons of observations in text.

Obs, Total No. Date Location Number Black Grav VJhite Puns Adults Remarks

1L 17 October Ekiakpuk R, 8 Lf I." 0 6 2

12. 12 September Anaktuvuk R, 7 1 2 4 4 3

1 ') ~J • 20 October Gunsight Ht. John R, 11 5 6 0

14. 20 October Hunt Fork 10 Tracks only.

15. 18 October Ernie Ck. North. Fork 3 a 3 a 3 0 00 16. 25 October Graylime Ck, Anaktuvuk R. 6 0 6 0

17. 25 October Galbraith L. 9

18. 25 October 30 Hi. S. of Sagwon 5 o 5 o

19. 25 October 5 Hi. E. of Sagwon ILl

20. 9 October Kanayut R. Anaktuvuk R. 3 o 3 o

2L 14 October Okokmilaga R, 7 4 3 o

22, 14 October Colville R, 8 o 8 o

r 23, 0 November Suluak Ck. 6 o o Tab 1 e 2. ( cont ! d , )

Total Date Location Number Black: Gray White Pups Adults Remarks

241>, 6 November Okokmilaga R. 5 5 0 0 5?

25. 6 November Inukpasugruk River 2 2 0 0

26. 31 October Anaktuvuk R. 6 Tracks only.

Totals 104 21 46 4

Average Pack Size 6.5 thIs was a black male. His des ion fits the two wolves ob s erved in the on 29 Harch ~ 1971 above) . It appears that thi.s "rh n female bred and succeas SIX in. 1971~ She bred in 72 as wel.L but I was riot abLe deter- mine how many pups she had. other than one whLch was seen Ln The Nunamtut know of one other instance in whLch 11 female had successfully reared pups,

A den that had been cleaned out, for nQv-t-.,.,~·,; t Lon , ';v8S discovered on 17 May> 1971 in the and tracks of two woLves were seen in the A fE~vJ r to the discovery of the den two Nunanrtur hunters reported that t~NO wol.ves had how Led and barked at them for more than an hour as traveled on the river Lee The woIves were high on a mountain mile north of the den site and the Nunamiut stated that the presence of humans in the v:tc:ini of the pros ive den had been the Cause of t.he and b 'Ih e den was not used. perhaps because of interference. In v Lew of the observations noted above another den '!,vas ab used,

12" Also:tn 1971, an active den was p robab present s o mewhe r e near the h aadwate.rs of the Anaktuvuk River. since two adul. t s and at lea8t five pups were seen on three occasions in t and ember at a rendezvous site in the Anaktuvuk River north of Rumbling Mountain, TIlis group consisted of at least seven wolves four vrtlite animals (one of which was an adult • at least one wolf. and two gray wolves (one of which was an adult f October in both the Anaktuvuk and The able area of the den lies from 20 to 30 mi.Les east of Kollutarak Creek where the previously mentioned pack was thought to have denned.

13, A wolves (5 black. 6 was seen on 20 October at H car-Ibou tarandv~) kill on the John River at Guns Nountain, 70 mlLes south of Anaktuvuk,

'Tracks observed the same of time showed that a about ten frequented the between the River and Guns Lgh t Hount afn ,

15, On 18 October 9 three gray wolves, all pups 9 we re seen tV'6St of Ernie Creek on the North Fork of the River.

16~ A week later a pack of six gray wolves was seen 20 miles north of the above location~ on the Anaktuvuk River, These two S we re very of wolves to the same

172 On 25 Octabe nine wolves were seen 1 mile north of Galbraith Lake. a caribou carcass" The observer, a t noticed only that we re gray.

18, On the same five gray wolves "Jere seen 30 miles south of Sagwon "

10 19. Also on the same day 14 wolves wer e seen 5 miles east of Sagwon.

20. On the northern and western portion of the study area three gray wolves were seen on 9 October at the confluence of the Anaktuvuk and Kanayut rivers.

21, On 14 October seven wolves (4 black, 3 gray) were seen at the mouth of the Okomilaga River.

22, On the same day, one-half hour later, eight gray wolves were seen at a moose kill on the Colville River about 25 miles from the group of seven.

23. On 6 November six gray wolves were seen on Suluak Creek in the KUlik ULakHdc~e, near the remains of a caribou,

24. Five black wolves were sighted on the Okokmilaga River 12 miles northeast of the six grays. The black 'wolves were judged to be pups,

"it­ ,<.;), On 6 November two black wolves were seen in the Inukpusugruk Rf.ver val about three miles southeast of Anaktuvuk Pass,

26. The tracks of six wolves were seen on 31 October, 5 miles north of Anaktuvuk and indicating that these wolves had come from the north. Three of them, all pups, were trapped by a Nunamiut within two days.

The area north of the mountains and west of the Anaktuvuk River was not covered by aerial or ground reconnaissance during the fall of 1971. It is probable that the large whLt.e male wolf that has frequented this area s Lnce at least 1968 was still there since he was seen during the summer of 1971 and in 1972 on several occasions. Also, the Chandler Lake area was not covered. For the purpose of population estimation I have that six wolves were present in this area.

The e sighti.ngs of wolves within the 3600 square m1.1e ar-ea total animals ( observation numbers 11; 12 ~ 14> 16 and of 8, 7? 10, 6, 6 and 2 wolves, respectively). The six wolves assumed to be in the areB not covered brings the total to 45, suggest a dens of 1 wolf per 80 square miles.

The average pack size for the 16 sightings listed in Table 2 is 6.5 (104 wolves total; duplicate sLght.Lngs excluded). These data suggest a gr ay rb Lack ratio of 100 :40 (white woLves included with grays).

The dens! of 1 '~701f per 80 square miles is roughly 50 percent greater than the density of 1 wolf per 124 square miles estimated for the of 1971. Average pack size showed a slightly greater relative Lncraas e over the same period. Certain variables, however. make the s t r Lct of average pack size from spring data wi th that of fall data difficult, Pack cohesiveness is likely to be less in spring due to activity and because pups are older and probably have a greater tendency to spend time a\iJay from adults in the pack. Another factor tending to decrease average "pack" size during spring is natural

11 winter mor t a Lf to both pups and In the of Anaktuvuk and increase the dis 1. a of 8 fall average s Lz ea , Seasonal movements discussed below could also have an Lmno r t ant affect both t Lon estimates and average sizes *

A 50 percent Lncreas e Ln numbe-rs tvithin the annual of woI Raus , 196 Data from a.n the area suggest that at uu 1.Hu."",,,io11. pups, again to 51,)

the (tlinter of 19 71·~72 residents of 36 woLves , LncLud 19 P·UPS9 six adults and ei not recorded~ Of the animals; 21 younger than one year, much more chan are older arrlmaIs e of favor of pups~ e the in the of the wolves 1971·,·72 we re less than one pups is characterIs tic of an Rausch, 1967; Mech, 70 "

'Ihe 19 72 h arves t Lnc.Luded S8\Fel1. f emal.es all. pups IT!l11es (8..11 adul, t s (n""6 we re males) and 10 for YA7h:Lch ex was not recorded.

of wolves ill t he northcen Brooks

of 1972 are summarLz ed Ln Table 3 <> TIle of has been continued from Table 2"

t four gray pups were sf e d north f the Anak.tuvuk

t e and one gray, we r e seen 2 mf.Les s groups , and aps Ln the are a

29. at; I-east six mtLcs epr emoer t gray) were seen

30 ervec in

the Rf.ve1-' !} J.~) rn:tl es s 'SiTas th.e trail of four observed on 10 Oct, the Kollutarak River, one b female observed 19 2 t a den the Table 3, of of wolves in fall. 1972, northcentral Brooks Obs e rvat Lon numbers coincide t,Ji.th of observations in text.

Ob8. Total No. Date Location Number Black Gray Adu.I ts Remarks

-_ ...._-_ .._---_ ... _-_..------_._-_._...._--_._--_.._------_.. _..__ ..------27. 7 August Anaktuvuk R. 4 4 4

28. 2 Septembe.r Anaktuvuk R. 6 1 5 Two miles from obs. no, 27.

29. c. 5 Tiglupuk ek. 8 4 4 6 2 September

30. 10 October Kollutyak R. 4 1 1 4

I--' w 31. 11 September Anaktuvuk Pass 8 8

32. 17 September Anivik ek, 1 1 1

33. 21 September Inukpasugruk Creek 1 1 1

34. 6 October Makuktuk L. 8 8 6 2

35. 17 October Chandler L 6 6 6

36. 30 October Publituk Ck. 9 5 4 5 4

37. 27 August May Creek 6 6 57 17

38. 1 November OkokmHaga R. 8 4 4

------~------Totals 69 15 47 5 32 15 Table 3. (cont t d , )

Average pack size observations 32 and 33 = 6.5

:black ratio = 100:30

55 wolves obs , in 3600 square mile area

1/65 square miles Kollutarak Valley.

310 A of gray wolves was seen on 11 September 2 miles northeast of the village. The Nunamiut who observed t.hese woLves could not cits pups from older animals due to and poor light.

32. On 17 September two Nunamfu t wa t ch ed a black woLf " and pursue four caribou at Anivik. 6 miles north of Anaktuvuk. Tae caribou es after a chase of 1 2 miles through snow 2 to 3 feet deeD.

33. An adult male gray wo Lf was shot on 21 S ember, 3 miles east of Anaktuvuk ',ihi1e it was ch a s a em'! caribou.

34. A pack of eight gray wolves was seen on 6 October at Makuktuk Lake 16 miles north of Anaktuvuk. A Nunamiut killed four of them, all of ,,,hich were pups.

35. On 17 October six woLves were seen on the 'lP7eS side of Chandler Lake, 1',,170 Nunamf.ut killed four. all pups, and stated that the two were pups as we l I and that the adults were ab away

36. On 30 October three Nunamiut, Stephenson and Richard Bishop watched five black and four gray wol.ves at PubLf.t uk , on the east side of the John River 25 miles south of Anaktuvuk Pass, On the basis of size and behavior, five were judged to be pups of the year, the remaining four beLng juveniles and/or adults. Three pups were black and two were gray; of the adults two were black and two were gray.

Sightings outside the 3600 square mile study area included the following

37. On 27 Augus t, at the headwaters of Nay Creek 60 miles northeas t of Anaktuvuk., Bob LeResche (ADF&(;) and S observed six woLvea , One. p rob an adult, was seen I 2 miles southwest of the others, ',)'::I.thin 300 of f Lve bull caribou. l"hen f r's t s een the was Locatad in some willows a small creek. down-- wind from the caribou, indicating that it had been the carLb ou when dis turbed. The other five wolves were s t near a small ch oftv111ow growth s some small of wa t ar on o tberwfa e dry tussock tundra. All Xlve were puPS. judging their size, pelage, and behavior. It seems probable that they had been left at a temporary site while the adults we re hunting.

On 1 November a pack of t wolves 5 four black and four gr av , seen in the Okokmilaga V

e ieated s of wolves VIi thin the 3600 square mile area around Anaktuvuk Pass (excludes observation numbers 37 and 38) total 55, sugges t; a minimum densi of 1 woLf per 65 square miles. The average size for 10 si of wolves in groups of two or more excludes observation numbers 32 and 33 of one wolf) "HBS 6.5" Th.e gray: black ratio for the 69 wolves observed was 100:30 0 estimates and other datB are summarized in Table 4,

15 Table 4. Summary of wolf densities estimated for the northcentral Brooks Range, 1971 and 1972 .

._-_._._--_._------~--_.------_...._------Average Season and No. Wolves Area Density in sq. mt , Pack Gray:black Year Enumerated (sq. mi.) per wolf Size Ratio

Spring, 1971 29 3,600 1 wolf/124 sq. mi. 4.0 100 :30

Fall, 1971 45 3,600 1 wolf/80 sq.~mi. 6.5 100:40

Fall, 1972 315 30,000 1 wolf/95 sq. mi. Estimated from the occurrence of active dens.

Fall, 1972 55 3,600 1 wolf/65 sq. mi. 6.5 100: 30 Circumstances a 1972 estimate comnarable to those seasons. As mentioned earlier. however, a check of known was carried out w::Lth a helicopter in May. this time seven dens that showed of use or were b used were located. Of these seven dens, later checks of five indicated that they were used as natal dens. A visit to one of the remaining two in late Ausugt revealed that the den had been used at most only briefly prior to weaning, although an abundance of fresh tracks and diggings were observed from the air on 5 May. I was not able to determine the extent of activity at one of the seven dens.

In addition to the seven dens located, the locations of eight other potential active dens wer e deduced from the occurrence and behavior of adult wolves prior to and the denning season. and from the occurrence of packs including pups in fall, as reported v arLous reliable ob s e r ver s and from my own the summer and fall.

The area in which these dens occurred extends from the head- waters of the Alatna River in the west to the of the Sagavanirktok River In the east, and from Guns Mountain (Chandler on the north to Hiseman in the south. There is very l:ittle information in the :Literature on wolves regarding the minimum and average distances between wolf In the information gathered from the Nunamiut Eskimos on the occurrence of active dens over the past 30 year in the northcentral Brooks Range (Stephenson and Johnson, 1972) the shortest air mile dis t ance between dens was 14 miles. Th e re were a few instances of active dens b located 20 air miles apart and in the maj of cases dis tances were 25 more miles. These data suggest an average mf.n-lmum distance of 25 air miles between active dens, and observations during the past two years support this figure, 25 miles the dens urthest north, south, east and west, a rectangle 30,000 square miles in area (150 x 200 miles) encompasses known dens, At a minimum there we t:e 15 active dens in this area. Ass dens were dis uted at intervals 1.n the area there would have been a maximum of 35 or roughly 1 den per 857 square miles.

e mean litter size for 43 litters observed in June and July, the Nunamlut, in the northcentral Brooks "las 5.3 (Stephenson and .Iohneon, 1972).. The fall observations summarized in Tables 2 and 3 include nine s of pups 46 (grotins of 6~ 3~ 5 4~ 6, 6, ,Sand for an average of 5,0,

'Ih e numb ar of adults obs arvad at d ens and 'with varies :in this area, with from one to being seen at any given timew For the purposes of this ,I will assume that four adults (includes ) were associated "Jith each den, As that average of five pups in each litter survived until ear and t1:H3.t an aver age of four adults was associated i>litll each of t he 35 active dens, a total fall population of 315 wolves is indicated for the 30 square mile area. 1'1118 is ent to 1 \1701£ per 95 square

17 miles, a lower density than that estimated from fall observations in the area around fulaktuvuk.

The data s ummarLz ed in Table if suggest that the Humber of wolves in the 3600 square rnt I.e area around Anaktuvuk Pass tely doubled during a one and one-half year period. from spring 1971 to fall 1972. The initial population was very Low for the area to residents; the estimated densi falls at the end of the range of densities reported elsewhere in North America while the estimated for the fall of 1972 falls at

The fact that the hypothet:1cal density estimated from the occurrence of active dens is lower than that derived from sight of wolves made in either 1971 or 1972 might suggest that the former estimate was too low and that there were actually more than 35 active dens in the 30,000 square mile area. Alternatively, it could mean that the estimates based on sight around Anaktuvuk Pass are too high. Because the sightings were made over a period of about two months and because the boundaries of the 3600 square mile study area are arbitrary (that is, they do not conform to any natural boundaries to wolf movements or territories), I consider the latter possibili to be the most

The gray:black ratios given in Table 4 support the prevailing notion that the proport:lon of gray animals generallv is higher on the North Slope than in more southerly areas of Alaska" Johnson ( en80n and Johnson, 1972) reported that the g r ay zb Lack ratio in the Ne1china Basin in 1971 was 100: 87 (n=232). Rausch and Winters (19 ) reported gray: black ratios of 100:225,100:100, and 100:61 in the years 1,1962 and 196.3, respectively, in the Nelchina Basin and Rausch (1966) reported a gray:black ratio of 100:133 in 1965 in this same area.

For several reasons I doubt that the ion es t Lmat es in Table !+ are representative of the North in but rather are h than wolf densities further north. As a rule, the northern mountains and foothills of the Brooks Range offer substantially food resources in vlinter than does the coas r a.l ain, and woLves occur over the entire area, sightings are notably rare in the more nort.hern areas. The wf.nte r distribution of woLves on the coastal plain is almost certainly the occurrence of cverwi.nterIng caribou whLch is sporadic, with large areas devoid of ungulate prey for months at a time. Hoose are rarely found on the coastal plain. the Hinter of 1969-70 roughly 200 caribou wintered near Beechey Point (Gavin, pet's. comm.) and on two occasions a of wolves was sighted in this area. On 12 Novemb e r , 1969 biologis Jack Lentfer s aw nine wolves (7 gray ~ 2 011 Leavitt Island whLch lies 4 mf.Les offshore riea r the Colville River Delta. On 2 Hay, 1970 British Petroleum Gavin ob s erved wolves (6 gray, 2 black) at Point, 13 miles east of Leavitt Island, feeding on a ed caribou. This was very the seen earlier by Lentf e r and suggests t hat this pack wintered along the coast because of the availability of caribou,

18 Several Nunamfut; hunters have stated that a sout.hward movement of the wo Lf t Lon occurs in wr.nt.er , In f o rrner years these huntar-s over rrmch of the North Slope and have considerable basis for mak- ing t.his statement. Wolves den on the coastal plain but ective information obtained from old, Eskimos in both Barrow and Anaktuvuk indicates that dens are much rarer than in the more southerly, mountainous areas. It seems reasonable to expect that the lower availabili of prey on the coastal 1tJinter causes a southward movement of wolves, with a few in the vicinity caribou, The Nun amju t state notice wo Lf numbers are r e La t in wt nte r than during summer in the mountains, and since are often familiar with local individuals notice an influx of woLves with whLch they are not familiar. The data from the Anaktuvuk Pass area could prohab be considered at t representative of the northern Brooks Range but Lowe r densLtLes would be ed in the footh::Uls and on the coastal The Colville River area, however, ably also supports a relat wolf ion because of Its resident moose herd. Nunamiut who hunted there, prior to the 194.0'8, when moose first became numerous on the North Slope, wolves were rare in the Umiat area. In fact" the Nunamiut state that wolves were rare over most of the North S the 1900's. becoming relatively abundant only during the last two or three decades.

'Ih e fact that the 1971-72 harvest of wo.Lves (36) by Anakt uvuk residents is nearly equal to the estimated total fall ion (LfS) in the area whe r e occurred is an indication of the Lns t ab of wI n t e r home range among wolves in this area. The movement of \,701'188 over the course of the winter is such that many wol.ves in addition to those at the end of b season pass the area. Desp:He the heavy and hunt pressure exerted in th.e area resldents of Anaktuvuk the occurrence of active dens and the number of woLvas f r eq the area are comparable to acent areas with similar habitat. This suggests that a population of SIrEr adult wo Lv'ea , less vulnerable to human-vcaused mor than pups or "Ll.<,U,

s tab Le "linter range are repor ted for \'101ves at more Lat t t udes (cf: Mech, 1970) > however, a of 10 monitored Burkholder 1959) in Southcentra1 Alaska moved across a.n 100 SO miles and '(vas still us new areas at the end TI~e fact that the wolf ion was estimated to be 120 animals or roughly 1. woLf per 130 square miles (approximat one- fourth the density of 1. wol f per 35 square miles estimated for the same area seven years later (Rausch, 1969» 8 that contact with other wou.l have been at a mLnumcm thus the reLatI extensive movement reportede

the northern Brooks Range, wolves apparent do not remain in a limited area and may move substantial distances. The situation on the

19 North is, to a , sImilar to that described Kelsall (J.968) in the Northwest Territories, where wolves may move 100 to 200 miles south or t.he.t r areas ~f:t!lter in r'esponae to the aout.hward movement of caribou. 'the effect of the Be of car Ibou on the North moat: w:l.nters s, however, erred by Ute presence of moose, no t ab the Colville vers , and Da.lI sheep (Ovis dal in the luountains.

Caribou we r e not ab scarce in the northern Brooks the winter of 1971-072 and this s caused extensive movements wolves. The dis t r Ibu t Lon of wolves in the of 19 '71 (described earlier) held until midwinter, \iJoen a sou r-d movement of wolves occurred, Some c ar'Lbou vlintered in th of Hunt Fo r k , and it is probable that wolves in the vi moved south in response to p rey acarc t Nunamfut that: mos t woL~ves had moved au.t f t.he area ar-ound i.n as a few caribou moved thward into the area. Food s is also suggested the fact that fiv e wolves and two wolverines Lo ,,,;rere killed wolvas @ Four of t.h e woLves all pups were eat en, "'Jh11e adult male, was killed not eaten. One wolverine was t he other "las a\iUiIy.

In h Ls r evf.ew 0 the curr errt 01 70) coun t s reports or the cannfbalIsm woLves , 1-8, however , no doubt that Alaskan wolves may sometimes member of their pack Rausch 1967 ~ In at leas two the mentioned above there was no doubt. that. the wol f was killed and members of the ',.,rith whLch it was ~vheD. tracks indicated that one group of wolves, appr o ached and then left the s I t e , One trapped wolves killed be that, individuals act distress s are sometLmes s.e other and.maLs < :L9 not uncommon among sled among wolves as welL

o been tricted to the IZtll:tk River who and hunt.ad wolve3~ One of these men a-nd rhar 1:18 f ound t.h e r emaf.ns other veSe He added the animals eo we r e two OT three en were confronted and

Nunamtut t.n and t.hes e v"r1-.11 he els

19 2 art aerial hunter f ound a f erna Le been. 8 ured other woLves , She WCl.S found

20 of the Kobuk River, alive but unable to waLk , Tracks indicated that approximat s€venwolves had been involved and, according to the hunter, tracks indicated that the conflict occurred within the pack as they were traveling on a waterl.Jay, I was able to examine the skLn of this animal a fe\', weeks after the incident and found several puncture wounds around the neck and shoulders, The skin over much of this area was severely bruised. Positive determination of age was not possible but the size of the hide and development of claws suggested that the animals was at lesst 2 years old.

In February, 1972 another aerial hunter reported finding the remains of a large male wolf near Circle which had been eaten by wolves but I have not yet been able to obtain details of this incident.

Th e point here is to establish that fatal c.onflict and/or cannibalism is not uncommon among woLves during high populations, or when animals are or snared.

In t.he fall of 1971 and in 1972 the carcasses of wol ves trapped or shot Nunamiut October and November were examined and routine data and measurements were taken. 1'h1.8 information included detennina- tion of sex; age; color; weight; body ; tail ; shoulder 11 t ; distance from sternum to bottom of heel pad; depth of subcutaneous fat on the midline of the rump, back~ sternum and the flanks; and the distribution of visceral fat. Pertinent a from pups are in Table 5,

TI1e average weights of the pups examined in 1971 , from two litters) and 1972 (n=9~ from four litters) were 51.3 and 61,4 pounds, respect None of the six pups from the two 1971 litters showed any subcutaneous fat and, compared to the 1972 pups, these animals had much smaller its of visceral fat. The fact that the pups examined in 1912 may have been from two weeks to one month younger and certainly we r'e not any older than those examined in 1971 yet averaged 10 pounds heavier indicates that prey availability in the vicinity of Anaktuvuk was more limited in 1971 than in 1972, The Nunamlut hunters stated that the 1971 pups were unusually "skinny"; the 1972 pups wer e regarded by them as of average size. weLgh t and condition for the area and season. They suggested that caribou may have been more scarce than usual during t he summer of 1971 and accounted fo r the lean condition of the pups on this basis, Other factors that m:l..ght account for these differences are variatIons in availab of migrat caribou in the fall and of small mammals the summer. In the fall of 1971 a few hundred carfb ou ed Anaktuvuk Pass but in 1972 in excess of 3,000 used this pass on their southward migration,

l1icrotine rodents were more abundant in 1972 than in either of the two summers, further sugges ting generally greater prey avail­ in 1972.

21 \",Jei ts and measurement s of wo l f pups in the vic of Anaktuvuk Pass October and November, 1971 and 1972, Sibling groups are by double spacing.

Sternum 2 Acc.es-- Original Body Tail3 to Shoulder Depth of s Lon Number Wt. th Length Ground Height Rump Fat Number Date Location in Pack Ibs. Color Sex (in. ) (in.) (in. ) (in.) (in.)

61039 1 Nov. Cache L, 5 mo. C,S 50 gy F 36.0 14.0 15.0 22.0 0.00 s .l. 61040 1 Nov. Cache L~ 5 mo. C.8 Lf 4 gy 1'1 37.0 15.0 17.0 24.0 0.00 s.L 61041 1 Nov. Cache L 5 mo. C,8 50 gy F 35.0 1~J.J<:; 15.5 23.0 0,00 S .1. M+- 61042 3 Nov. Fan .l.Li.. .. 5 mo . C.8 53 gy F 36,0 16.5 15.0 24.0 0.00 N N s .1.

61043 26 Oct. Anaktuvuk 5 mo. C.7 55 wht F 13.5 15.0 23.0 0.00 River 610Lj4 28 OcL lnukpuk 5 mo. C.7 56 wh t 1'1 15.5 17.0 26.0 0,00 River

Averages 51.3 36,0 14,,6 15.7 23.6 0,00 s.L

61066 (; Oct. Hakuktuk 4· mo, e,8 66 gy 1'1 42.0 c. 17 .0 25.0 0,12 Lake 61067 6 Oct" Hakuktuk 4· mo , C,.8 70 gy 1'1 1+2,0 c. 17.0 25.5 0.25 Lake 61068 6 Oct. Hakukt uk 4 mo, C8 62 gy 1'1 42.0 c. 16.0 25.0 0,18 Lake 61069 6 Oct .. Hakuktuk If mo. C.S 66 gv H 42.0 c" 17,.0 26.0 0.18 Lake Table 5. (c.ont:'d.)

Sternum ') 3 Acces- Original Body~ Tail to Shoulder Depth of sian Number hit. Length Length Ground Height Rump Fat Number Date Location 1 in Pack Lb s . Color Sex (in.) (in. ) (in. ) (in.) (dn . )

61071 18 Oct. Chandler 4.5 mo. e.6 gy H 41.0 c. 16.0 23.5 0.05 Lake 61072 18 Oct. ChandLe r 4.5 mo. C.6 65 gy M 42,0 c. 16.5 24.5 0.12 Lake 61073 18 Oct. Chandler 4.5 mo. e.6 59 gy F 43.0 c. 16.0 23.0 0.18 Lake 61074 18 Oct. Chandler 4.5 mo. C.6 60 gy M 42.0 c. 16.0 23.0 0.05 Lake

61075 4 Nov. Publituk 5 mo. e.9 45 bk F 38.5 c. 15 16.0 25.0 0.00 N Lv 61078 9 Nov. Anaktuvuk 5 mo. e.9 60 gy F 0.25 River

Averages 61.4 41.6 c. 16.4 24.5 0.14 _._--_._---- ...... _---

1Assuming June 1. as birth date. Actual date could be one or two we eks earlier. 2Ti p of nose to base of tail. c.=contour, s.l.=straight line. 3A",r t er aka.nm.ng1" , These data also suggest that pups in the 1972 litters were slightly taller and longer than pups in the 1971 litters, The difference of 10 pounds in average weight is probably due in large part, howeve r , to the heovi0r fat depositA on the 1972 pups.

The left hind leg of one of the male pups U/6107Li ) from Chandl.er Lake had been broken perhaps two months earl.Ler , The fracture extended through the middle of both tibia and fibula and, aI though healed, t h Ls portion of the leg was twisted and slightly crooked. As a result of calcium deposition the healed area was roughly twice the diameter of the bone above and below it. The hunter who killed the wolf stated that it limped and was able to run at only about two-thirds the speed of the other three pups that were pursued. This pup was the only one of the four that retained both deciduous upper canines, suggesting that healing the broken leg had delayed the transition from deciduous to permanent dentition.

On the other hand pups from the 1971 litters had shed all of their deciduous teeth in spite of their relatively "poorer" nutritional status compared to pups in the 1972 Utters whLch still possessed varying numbers of dectduous premolars. It appears that the lower nutritlonal status of the 1971 litters was not sufficient to slow the development of dentition.

Resightings of_T~d Wolves

In an effort to assess the feasibility of using immobilization and tagging as a tool in studying wolf populations, two adult male wolves were immobilized and ear-tagged in April and May of 1971. One pregnant female was partially immobilized but not tagged.

A gr-ay-br own male wolf, es t Lmated to be 2 or 3 years old, was tagged on 16 April, 1971 on the John River at Gunsight Mountain. This animal was killed by an aerial hunter on 31 December, 1971, 8 1/2 months after being tagged, about 2 miles from Bettles and 44 air miles south of the place it was tagged.

TlI€ other male, also gray-brown and es t Lmate d to be 2 years old, was tagged on 10 May, 1971 near Galbraith Lake, He and the white female that was with him at the time of tagging were seen on several occasions in April and Nay, 1972 by core-sample drilling crews in the At Lgun Valley south of Galbraith Lake, and from 4 to 12 miles from the site at which they were immobilized, Accompanying them were two other wolves, a black and a gray"

TIle occurrence of the gray-bro,Vll male 44 miles south of where it was tagged on the John River could indicate that it and others in its pack (it ,,1813 traveling with five other wolves when taken) had moved south the midwinter period to caribou ovenvintering areas, The Bettles area could, however , have been a routinely visited part of the pack's range.

Resighting the gray-brown male and 'white female very near the site

24 of tagging one year after they were suggests that they either remained there during the winter or at least returned there for the su~ner The white female was pregnant when immobilized in 1971 and almost certainly reared a litter of pups in this area during that year. The fact that she was in the same area in April and H-ay, 1972 s t suggests chat , if pregnant, she denned in the same area.

Between 22 May and 13 July, 1972 we observed various wolves associated with two dens for a total of roughly 150 hours, During this period diverse behavioral • one successful and one unsuccessful chase of caribou, were observed. In one sense the effort fell short of its since "J';: were not able to the behavior of pups at a den, however~ The effort was very successfu1 9 in providing an to witness two Nunamf.ut; hunters their knowledge of wolf behavior to and the behavior of free-roaming wolves, and in allowing me to obtain f Lrs thand obaervat Lons of wolves during summe.r .

The food activities of juvenile and adult wolves associated with two d ens were observed. Caribou were rare in the of these dens the first week of June. and wolves spent a good share of their time in June and early July hunting small mammals and birds and their eggs, and SLaV~:1L15LU~ on carcasses of ungulates killed by wolves earlier :in the year or by Nunamiut hunters.

Detailed observations from the summe r work v7ill be reported in the future in combination with observations from subsequent sunwers,

19 Stephenson cooperated in the release of five at NARL~ Barrow. This s was undertaken to learn some about the role of Ln tbe develop'- ment of prey kil > hunt and reproduct::tve and social behavior of 'rht~ wolves I;) woLves consisted of two b Lack f emal.es , a gr ay-s t an female and two gray-tan males. 1bree litters were represented. The wol.ves has been placed together at the end of March 4 1/2 months prior to the release. Since birth all had b een with various numbers of other woLves in outdoor cages measuring approximately 14 feet by 36 feet (/,;m x

Collaborators included Robert E. Henshaw, Pennsylvania State Richard Sh LdeLe r , Washington University; and Randall Lockwood , Universi All of these were involved in ongoing res earchwith wol.ves at the NARl. colony.

On 11 the wolves were inunobilized with Sernylan, ed with Promazine, and flown to Umiat in a NARl. DC-3. Upon arrival they were transported 2 miles down the Colville River in a riverboat and in a pen on the south side of the river where were held until had recovered from drugs used in transit. A frozen bull caribou was 30 from the cage to serve as food for a few

25 whLl.e the 1fiJolves became oriented,

For two weeks observations were made from f] camp on 900-

collars. Bnd a ree station on Mountain as F1S He,<.18()

aircraft were utLlLzed for r ad Lo t r acktng However 9 one coIl.ar broke Bnd fell off and the two maLfunctLonad the f Lrst week, Thus to maInt.afn contact wl t h the animals their movement from tile release area were thwarted,

A brief account of or events fol10,,18

1 and 2, The wol.ves were released on 12 t at 0130, Within one minute of r aLeas e four of the 'NO 1yes ran out of to the we s t after sniff the caribou Carcass, r aturned to the carcass one hour after release, The black fema.l a that remained in the cage wande out after the others and dis , ab due to effects of the She was seen about 2 miles 'west of the r e l e as e s Lte on the second day and o Lnad the others on the of. the third Four of the woLves r'emaf.ned '(qithin one-half mile of the releas s Lte for 1110st of the first: t"'10 The caribou 1iUl.S 80 percent consumed the end of the second Bes ides f • activities included of the area, romping in adjacent to the l'0.1e8.5e site and purs of ravens gZaucescens) attracted the caribou carcass, group social interaction and and rest

3 .- 5" The caribou "lBS reduced to hide and bones by late in the third On passed within 25 of one of t.he black. f ema I es T;Jh.o sat entered the Colville River and swam across, unawar-e of her p resence , The other

one-shaLf mile away at the time 0 this time behavior lessenE,d and the woLves moved as far as L miles from the pen, often Bcllavior became more food oriented.

6 7, Food orLent.ed behavior increased and no solicit was observed ~ Scattered of carIbou wer e wf 1 to 5 mLLes of the release site butvlere not vts Lb Le to the woLves 'were sLtuate d downwind from t.h em, On one occas , however , five caribou swam Heros Colvf.Ll,e from the nort.h waLked dOWI1YJi7:tI1Cl to 'tiJi thtn 40 of to within 30 of the nearest ca. ou, a bull, and a small clump of '(villolN's for concealment. A fe,? seconds later one of rhe black females awoke and dashed t.oward the caribou them to f

and Pour of th.e wolves 9 led. the B mal e , pur's four of rhe carfbou for 200 ards t 'V}ere out.di.s tanced by the carLbou 't;\lhi CD, swam across a. S Th e ves did 110t fallow, One wo Lf male, a bull caribou that had ed from the sou.th and had gone unnoticed the ot.her wo Ives . Th Ls wo Lf mad o a more dete rmf.ned at than the others and t.h e caribou for about orre-shaLf nuLe but was a l.s o outd Ls t.anced , after rh e chase, the g r ay-itan female swam north across the Colvill at the

26 the caribou had crossed. Her location remained unknown until five days later when she was seen at an oil we Ll, site on the Ivishak River, 100 miles eas t of Umiat, She remained in for at least 30 days, after which the oil camp moved. No of her location have been ob tained.

8 - 11. this time period the four wolves usual beyond visual contact and little f.s known of their act I vf.t Les except that the alpha ma.le and a female swam across the CoLvf.Ll.e and attempted to forage in the dump at Umiat,

11 -- !to. The al a male and black female "Jere seen at Um Lat in S ember and on 11 October the a male was shot there a n atLve 'hunter who stated that the wolf 'was in very poor condition subcutaneous fat, protruding) and that it that the male and the black female that accompanied him had r emafned at Umiat and t r Led to subs Ls t on scraps in the

On 2 October the other black female was shot by a native hunter on the ell River, 105 mtLes nor t.hwas t of Umiat. Her carcass was examined at NARL and showed subcutaneous fat Le to those of adult wild wo Lves at season (Stephenson, dat 1y 9 she had b een bet t.e r than the two '1;]0"1 vee that r ema.Lned at Umlat , Caribou f the area vlhere she was killed but it is not known ,(;lhether she or any of the other wolves in the release pack made any kills.

No further information on the location of the three wolves was db t afned until 9 December when the black female that was last seen in Umiat on 11 October turned up back at NARL~ Barrow, 175 miles north- west of Umiat, where she was This wolf was j to be eaI n NARL personnel; it cached of meat that were used to entice it into a cage~ Apparently it had been successful in food of some sort.

It is difficult to say what factors accounted for the black female IS return to Barrow. However. an explanation offered by Pete Sovalik of NARL seems tenable. I-Ie thought that the \'I701vE's could have oriented their rectlon of travel toward Barrm¥ in response to noise from large air­ craft on Fairbanks to Barrow and on the coastal Dewline routes. Small aircraft noIs e in the Barrow area and human act LvI t y t.he coast and inland at f Lsh camps on the ChLpp River could also have played a part, t December. 1972 the wind at Barrow blew from the northwes t; poss Lb being another cause for the movement of the two black 'I;wlves in that direction, assuming the wolves moved in search of food, As of February, 1973 two members of the release (a black female and the a are dead. The 10 ion of two others (a female and male) is unknown, and one a black f emaI has returned to Barrow,

The results of the s suggest the as tent a tive conc.Lus Lons :

27 L ive released in the vJJ_l.a maLnta tn their affinity ror men and can locate of human act OVer d Ls t ancea . Once located show a to remain at these ab associating them with food.

2, When under conditions cohesiveness Inay be los t, perhaps due to hunger,

3. A propens to pursue prey appears to be inherent in wo Lves • The determination. and exoertLs e necessary to success hunt and kill is not inherent.

4. Contr as the results of thts

Her r Lam t s , begun in 1960, sugges ts that a than that found in the Um:l..at area is necessary to wolves until can relt ab prey, In J:·1erriam IS study four 19~-month~'old, wol.ves 'were released on the 30'-8 e Coronation Is land in Sout.heas t Alaska" s urvLved mul, , Le of Sitka b Lack.-zatLed deer (Odooo-i I.eue hemionue) . In addition to deer" however , they' liJere able to on an abundance of marine resources mussels harbor seals (Phoca vituZina) and various types of carrion 1964 " Food resources in the Umiat Lf.mited terrestrial prey inc1ud- mf.crot Lnes , moos e and caribouo small mammals were ab Has ob tainable food r esourc e to sustain the and their interest whLle they acquired ise in large prey.

In the past two and one half years, the Nunamiut ed out various characters that use Ln differentiat • in the field betwaen male and female. and young and old woLves .I have been able to res the validi f moe t of these characters. > the summer field work and while examining wolves shot or in w:1.nter. Mos t sex and age ch ar-act e'rLs t Lcs cannot; be described in exact term."> but are tic r e l atLve to their opposites. one unaccustomed to ob s wolves. the many differ-' ences would not be detectable or would sometimes appear Ie. To the ak.ILled observer with an intimate of the biology and behavior ofwoLves such as many Nun amf.ut; possess. these characteristics are real and u s e f u L, these crLtarLa , the Nunamiut; alLow for the var Lab f Lf. ey know is inherent in "101f behavior and and consider the various in corob Lndat Lon , them as observations of an individual\N'olf accrue ~ Det e rmfnatLcn of sex is tentative until the wol.f is with:l.n a ferw hundred or has u r Inated Ln a charact.ert s tic marm e r 0

I t ant to in mind that Ls any e aracter- Ls t Lc consLdercd unequf.vocal evfdence that th.e anLma.l ill question is e the r a mal e ::)1" female", Th ey are in. e d witll the entire array of clues available 8IJ.d each character ts tic carries its own

28 i ve we Lgh t , Hunters differ somewhat in the weight they place on certain clues, because each relies, to a great extent, on his O\vIJ. in developing criteria of predictive value. The dis cuss ion of 8 and aging criteria is included here primarily because the techniques may be useful to other field investi.gators and may be tested by them, te probably, some of these. characteristics are iar to Brooks wolves.

TIle literature on wolves contains virtually no mention of sex and age characteristics. and Goldman (1944) devote two to and molt in wolves, however, and mention that wolves seem to become grayer with age.

In summer, female woLves are dist by their retentton dull colored "linter fur until the end of Lacta t Lon and by appearance of the abdomen caused by the loss of hair around the mammae and a red-brown stain that colors the hair on the abdomen and on the posterior thorax. TIle exact nature of this stain is not known but it may be caused the oxidation of milk saliva from nursing pups. Retention of winter fur by lactating females occurs among caribou (Kels ,1968), sled (Shepherd, p ers , comm.), and possibly moose (LeRee ch e , pers , comm.), Ha.Le woLves and young females shed their winter pelage in May and June, One-year-old woIves complete their molt and possess short summer hair by late June. At this time 9 moa t adults exhfb Lt complete s unmer pelage on their > face and lower sides, where winter fur is first shed, thus provid­ a contrast with juvenile animals. As mentioned earlier, lactating females are the last to shed; evidently their hair cells remain dormant longer than those in males and young females due to h energy demand of lactation,

The abdomen of lactating females is darkest during lactation. prior to the regroeth of abdominal hair. The r ed-eb r own stain on hair ~ how ever , through the winter and ].8 a useful criteria during most of the year. With good binoculars and in favorable light, the darkly hued abdomen of lactating gray or white wol ves is often visible at a d Ls t anoe of 500 m or more, and a 20x spotting scope renders it visible at aI's 1000 mo On black wolves the color is more difficult to detect.

The Nunamiut also to some extent on mor~lo10 differences in S woIves . These criteria are the most difficult to express in exact terrr~ and the judgment of sex is made on the basis of a ated of many years of observation, and on the simultaneous evalua­ tion of several characters. including relative size and robustness of head and neck, r el atLve s Lze of chest and abdomen and length of

to most male wolves, females generally have a narrower muzzle and forehead, thInner neck, slightly shorter legs, and less mas.sl shoulders, making the. ab domen s e em less s Lf.m than Ln mal es 0 There also seems to be an additional clue in t.h e conformation of the abdomen and flanks, but I have not been able to understand the

29 precise difference.

'fhe tell and structure of the howl ves anot.he r clue to sex and age" Ln , adult maLes how l at a Lower t ch , ~e" have a d e epe r voice, than f emaLes and j uvenLles , are ,~as d Ls t Le their t ch ad

In addLtLon to che sex and age specLf c a r act e r s e field, the Nunarnlut out sex and age differ-- ences that become evident upon cLoa e examf.natLon , Thes e characteristics, like those descrIbed ab ove , do not hold true in all but are in trends the Nunamiut have of several

of f ema.le appeal> than that of males which appearance caused

wolves have a reddish coloration of the hind with a cast of often it exists as the red~brown colorat ~ and my observations cor rob ,. that mcre Yed-br-own col.orat ion than do male 1 examt.ned t.hree 5-mon pups from on 1. November 5 north of Two these pups 'Here females and both showed not icaab more of the red~·hrown e than the male pup.

from another male Both more extensive and denser occurrence of the male,

each had Ern six inches and. pOS:l.t:t011 for T11e co was very f af.nt the three f ema'l es amounts many excep- t Lons to rule~ but it is ffilother c ons Lder sex.

30 One other aspect of coloration that has been pointed out in this connection is the characteristic rufous color on the back of the ears of pups ~ wh:lch Ls mOB t intense ~ihen the pups are about 2 months old, dimin- ishing in intensi with age.

The age of f emaLe and, to a lesser extent, maLe changes in texture as the animals become older. ThE; of n f ema l es (animals older than about ftve has a much smoother texture than does the fur of young females and males, I have not been able to determine the e nature of the change but:Lt seems that hairs are more dense and of more uniform It may also be that the fur becomes more pos oriented~ thus a smoother, less bristly appearance.

1\10 of the oldest Nunami.ut thought that the number of white hairs on the of the tail was correlated with age, but other hunters pointed out that pups often have whLt;e hairs at this and that, therefore, this 'was a poor index to age. In the wolves I have examined, I have noticed a for old animals to show more whLte and gray hairs on the of the tail, as well as in other areas such as the muzzle and forehead. It appears that Lndtvf.duaLs do become grayer with as and Goldman (1944) suggested, but that each. wolf is endowed, , w:ith a amount of gray coloration, which varies and that from that

I have also noted that the c.Laws of wolves less than 1 year old are shorter than those of adults" The claw'S of animals older than 1 year about three-fourths inch from the fur whLLe c Laws of younger animals about three-eights inch.

Neiland (1972) discussed bacteriolo studies of northern mansnaLs carried out by the tment of Fish and Game and on the results of efforts to detect brucellosis in serum taken from wolves in the Anaktuvuk Pass area. Sera from 15 wolves reactors by the fixation method and five aE;e·LuLination method. The occurrence of BruceZla abortus, 13, me U in various carnivores, dogs, has for some time. effects, and LnvaaLon of the speen , Li.ver , mammary teste8~ ~ utenlS, prostrate fetus 5 , and blood have been noted. An effect of poass Lb Le importance in the of 1:'1:1.1d canines subsLs ting on caribou on infected ranges as the Arctic caribou is the occurrence of abortions, which take in infected dogs such as b~O'5.~~D

addition to bact e r Lo Lo and vi studies of blood, 12 s ubmftt ed to Dr , ·U", S, Seal , Veterans AdmfnLs t r at.Lon a.l , n i.nneapoLta , Ninnesota> for studies of transferrins to Lndjcat Lon of the of wolf ions. The res ta of initial work on this not been received.

j" -'.1 P~COI~1ENDATIONS (ARCTIC STUDIES)

An 128 t Lmat e of ion should be made at least once for the area around Anaktuvuk Pass and the collection

carcasses taken by Nunami.ut hunters should cont tnue 0 This will atian level and age ratio data for this

""-"I'J..1.", ... ion, At the same time more of the Nun amf u t can be recorded. Tnis of the work proven to be very n,,- evduct Lve ,

A concerted at be made to scats and food rerrains from recent used dens in both the Arct Lc and Interior

The collection wolf~·k:tll remains should continue as ies arise in the course of work in the northcentral Brooks

~v~,,~.a~ions should be monitored in Interior carried out on selected areas habitat-faunal associations in the

To data on the movements and rate of prey by wo I ves in the Interior region one or two should be followed f o r several of one or mora weeks each the fall, wLnter and 8 this information with wo l f ion estimates men t toued ab ove and ,,11 th data on moos e , caribou and densities derived from research and management e c t s on these 8 the basis on vv'hich to assess, at Laas t; the annual wolves on Interior big game

FINDINGS (SOUTHCENTRAL

11112 mos t successfur method of locat moose carcasses winter of 1971-1972 was s to r1vers search directly for carcasses. For reasons not understood it did not prove vmyth,vh1le to track wolves to kill sites.

Du the winter of 1971-1972 moose along river bottoms whe r e p resumab ravel was easier and. food more These rivers included the .opper , CuLkaria , Kl.utLna , 'I'az Lf.na , Gakona, ChLs t och ,Susitna and Maclaren. This S was concentrated these r Ivers because of the Ir close to the Gulkana air~ field and the moose concentrations and wolf nreuarion Of' Ln this area.

CarLbou are known to be a favored pre'Y species for wolves

194 LJI; BurkhoLder , 19.59)" this $ the Ne1ch Mentasta caribou herds wintered in the eastern Hountafns ,= Nabesria area .. Th at area is t Lmbered arid te so kills were difficult locate and Th(;;; area. is also a considerable dis t anca from Gulkana air­ field so f ts are difficult to make in a s

32 Therefore, observations of woLf ion on caribou were not emphasized. caribou ion studies ~ however, numerous instances of caribou kills were observed. five of these kills \Vere visited"

It :1-8 also that woLves may at times act hunt Dell (Sheldon, 1930; MurJe 4L~; and Goldman 19L~4; NfchoLs and Heimer, 1972), In t , 1972 I found the remains of six sheep (includ- one very small lamb) in the Nab esna area \'lhich had been upon and Lar consumed However, because of the in 8 of sheep kills no attempts were made relationships.

Table 6 sUIT~arizes data from all mammal carcasses examined the course of this field activity. Included are a number of animals wh Lch died causes other than wolf predation and are included

for Lve purposes e

study , 85 moose, five caribou and four bison carcasses were examined on the Fif of the five caribou were considered to have been killed wolves. 28 moose were known to have met death other causes, winter kills, road kills and kills. The bison we r e all winter kills.

and sex determinations were made on all animals known to have b een killed woIves whenever po as fb Le , the moose killed by wolves excLud calvee, the sex rat io';vas 19 bulls per 100 cows, The mean age of moose killed, excluding calves, was 3.0 years and 8,6 years for bulls and cows , respect the 1971 fall sex and age moose compositions f.n this area, there were 24 per 100 cows S & I , 19 is of moose killed hunters the 1971 season showed the mean ages of bull moose (c£'~,~UU~U5 calves) to be 3,2 and females 1 year to be 6,7 years (Annual S • Calves of the year accounted for 56,1 of the wolf kill s 1971 moose composition counts, calves represented 15,8 of the moose S"'''''-'_Le'-,

1S of fat reserves in marrow of the been \ used as a measure of an animal's nutritional I;ve1.1-·b I• I Alaskan moos , it appeara that adult animals "d.th less and cal with lesB than 10 Ln their bone marrow are raaLnutrLt t on Co and Charles Lucier, HarrclIfl s ,,101f~killed adult moose rnalnu-~ fat G One adult known to h ave died trt t Lon showed 7,1 fate An adult moose in condi- '1 " t Lcn killed of Fish and Game ..L]_C nuLs ance showad 17,,0 percent ma'rr'ow fat ~ MarrO-tv killed aduLt; CO',7 showed 88" 2 percent fat" An bull k i.Ll.ed at the same time as the cow showed 56,8 fat .. HarrOld is from 14 moose calves killed woLves L 8 per­ cent at '(,mile s of 11 calvee known to have d Le d from malnutrition 6,,8 percent fat" Degree of Perm. l:1arroiol Utilization Field Acces s Lon Date of Analysis Cause 0: Wh€J.i firs t Location of No. ]\0" Species Collection Sex Age % Fat death visited kill RCL'larks

~i-72-1 6?103 AZces Unk .. C 27 .5 Wolf kill Total Gulkana River 3 mt'" Kill revisited until total alces above CuLkana utf.Lf.zatLon ,

M--72-2 6710/+ Aloes 1/Xx/72 Unk. c 39.1 t·Jolf kill. Tota.l Gulkana River 3 mi. ~ Kill revisited until total al.cee above Gulkana utilization~

H-72-3 67105 1/YS../72 Unk~ c 19.3 Total Gulkana River 3 mi. Kill revisited until total alces above Gulkana utilization.

H-72-4 67106 A.loes 2/3/72 Unk. c Winter kill Total Copper River at Kill revisited mostly by fox aZoes mouth of Gulkana R. and coyotes. .

11-72-5 67107 Al.ce« 2/4/72 c 6.8 Winter kill None Mi. 11 Tok Cut-off Collected whole, aloes

11-72-6

11-72-9 67108 Al.cee 1/25/72 M C 6.9 Road kill None Glennallen alces

11-72-10 67109 AZ-ces 2/10/72 Dnk. c 69,0 1-)01£ kill Total Gulkana River 1 mi. Old kill site when collected. c.Zees above Sourdough

.... ~ ~_ ~~ ••eu .~ 0 •• __~_, __, _. ,~~ _ ._.__ .~ _ .. ~ ~ _.' __~ _ • __ ~~_" ._~.. "","'~' __• ~~_" .~ •.__~ ~ ~_" , '.,. __....__ .~,.~~ ..._. ---- _ -~. ----- ~~.--,,."",--- - _.- - -,,~ ,-_._. _~•• -~~~._ -,,<~ • ~ rf-72-··11 67110 Aloes 2/10/72 Unk~ c 9.8 ~Jo1f kill Total Gulkana River at Old k:U.l site when co Ll.ec t ed , alces Pipeline crossing

11-72--12 67111 Al.ce» 2/10/72 Dnk. c 10.0 Total Gulkana River 5 mi , Old kill site when collected. aZoes b e Low Sourdough

:-1--72-13 67112 Aloes 2/10/72 F C Wolf kill Total Gulkana River 5 mi. Carcass still warm, Revis Lted aloes below fans until total utillzation.

67113 Aloes 2/10/72 8.3 \·Jolf kill Total Gulkana River Klll revisited until total aloes below Sourdough utilization.

Aloes 2/10/72 Unk~ c ~.Jolf kill Total Gulkana River 10 mi. Total u t i LizatLon "Alan al.ces below pipeline cross. Visited._Y l1-n-16 67114 Al.cee 2/21/72 F 7.4 Holf kill Total. Copper River at Kill r ev Is i t ed until total al.cee mouth Bear Cr. utilizatlon.

6 AleeB 2/21/72 Unk, c 90% Kl.u t Ln.a Rive.r Kill site indicated winter aloes at \·Jilson Ranch kill. Degree of Perm. Marrow Utilization Field Accass Lon Date of Analysis Cause of when first Location of No. No. Species Collection Sex Age j; Fat death visited kUI Remarks

:~f. .... 72-18 67116 /iL-CeS 2/21/72 3 45.0 Wolf kill Total Klutina River at Extensive wolf activity at Earthquake slide kill.

~1-72-19 67117 Alces 2/21/72 Unk. c 1708 Wolf kill Total Klutina River Total utilization when alces at bluffs visitedJ)

X-72-20 /ilces 2/21/72 Unk~ c wolf kill Total Tazlina River 5 mi. Total ut~1ization when al.ces below Tazlina Lake visited ..::;.!

>1-72-21 67118 AZces 2/21/72 F c 25,,0 \~olf kill 90% Tazlina River 2 mi. Old kill when visited. alaes above Moose Creek

M-72-22 67119 Alaes 2/21/72 Unk. Ad. 34.8 Wolf kill Total Tazlina RiVer at Old when Visited.!! ~ aZces Moose Creek

H-72-23 67120 A.lces 2/22/72 Unk. c 13.7 Wolf kill 90% Copper River 3 mi. .?/ aloes below Gulkana R.

11-72-24 67121 Alaes 2/22/72 F 12 81.8 Wolf kill Total Gulkana River 2 mi. ExtenIlve wolf activity at alaes above W. Fk. kill.

M-72-25 Alces 2/22/72 F 2 Wolf kill Total Gulkana River 2 mL Skull only found. a.Zces above W. Fk.

M-72-26 Aloes 2/22/72 Unk. c wolf kill Tota.l Gulkana River Falls Total utilization when aloes visited.Y

M-72-27 67122 Al.ces 2/22/72 F 12 \~olf kill Total Gakona River E. Total utilization when aloes Round Top Mt. visited.

M-72-28 67123 Aloes 2/22/72 F 16 75.9 Wolf kill Total Gakona River S.E. Total utilization when aloes Round Top Mt. visited ..Y

11-72-29 67124 Alaes 2/22/72 c 44.5 Wolf kill Total Gakona River 20 mi. Total utilization when aloes above Gakona Visited.~

H-72-30 Aloes 2/22/72 Unk. C Wolf kill Total Gulkana River Falls Total utiJ when alces visited.1.7ization

M-72-31 67125 Alaes 2/25/72 F 3 gS.2 Illegal kill Total (s ee Mile 24 Tok Road Total utilization by a'lces remarks) scavengers including wolves.

::1-72-32 67126 Alce.s 2/25/72 M 11 56.S Illegal kill Total (see Mile 24 Tok Road Total utilization by alces remarks) scavengers including "elves. Table 6,~ (con t; "d ,

Degree of Penn .. "Jtilizaticu Field Accass t on Date of Analysis Ca.use of t4hen first Location of No" S·pecies Collection Sex Ago; % Fat death vis.ice.d kill

67127 3 /""fdl. (,/7?'- 7.1 ,\'inter kUl None Head Daclina River Carcass intact when fOllild. alces

)1-72-35 67128 Aloes 3/3/72 C 7.6 ,Enter kHl Total e xcap t Coppe r-rChLs t och t na Tra~5 set around this k~ll~ aLces spinal column confluence

67129 AZccs 3/3/72 Unk. C 7.1 Winter kill Total except Copper-Chis t o ch Lna Scavenged - partially covered aloes spinal column eonfluence by overflow.

H-72-·37 67130 Alee,;:; 3/3/72 3 23.6 Wolf kill Slight Copper River 3 mi. Still wa~i - traps set around aZees above ChLs t ochLna carcass ,"-

H-72-38 67131 AZees 3/3/72 F 7 80.2 Wolf kill 85% Sanford River 4 mi. Kill revisited until total aZees above Copper River utilization.

H-72-39 67132 Alees 3/8/72 M c 7.4 ,hnter kill None In Copper Center Collected intact for autopsy. aZoes

N-72-4G 67133 Alces 3/9/72 F c 6.5 ,

M-72-4l 67134 ilZees F Ad. 65.4 Wolf kill Total E. Fk. Chistochina Upper jaw only found. aloes 6 mi. above main r ,

67135 AZees 3/14/72 F 3 64.7 Wolf kill Slight Gakona River e as t; Kill revis Lt ed until total alees of Paxson tower u t i.Lt za tion.

67136 Alces 3/14/72 Unk. 3 Wolf kill Total Chistochina River Four grey wolves at kill ~ aZces 5 mf , above hwy •

M--72-Lf !., 67137 AZces 3/21/72 F 16 89.7 \.Jolf kill Total Sanford River 5 mi. alces above Copper R.

C-72-·4S Pangifer 3/21/72 Unk" 8 36.6 Wolf kin Total 8.E. of Q1istochina ­ t arandus Unit 11

N54933 Rangifer 3/21/72 Unk. 6 Wolf kill Total Pass Creek - Unit 11 tarandus

C-72..47 Nst+934 3/21/72 M 9 21.9 10'olf kH1 Total Goat Creek - Unit 11

1'1-··72··-<':·8 67138 AleeB 3/3/!'2 Unk. 31 Holf kill Sanford River aZces opposite. bluffs 'I'ab Le 6~ (cont'd,,)

Degree of Pernl", Harrow Utilization Field Access f on Date of Anal ysts Cause of 'i4hen f Lr's t Location of. No. No. Spec:les Collection Sex Age % Fat death visited kill Remarks

3/2.2/72 c None. Copper Cent.er

AZces c \~i.nter kill Naue MUe 56 1/2 Scave.nged only" al.cee Tok Hig.'1way

72-51 6 71l~ 1 Alces 3/31/72 16 Winter kill None. Hile 58 1/2 Scavenged only. aZc8s Tok Hi.ghway

H·-72-52 67142 AZoes 3/30/72 F 15 17.0 ADF&G Mile 43 1/2 alaeE! collectton Tok H:J.gh('lay

M",72-53 67143 Aloes ,~!1!72 F C 6,7 l~inter kill None 1/1 .. Fk. Cu.l.kana Ultimately complete aZeea art K~~g Creek utilization.

1:1""·72.-54 6714L} Aloes 4/1/72 UnkG C 6,5 1,;101£ kill Total Gulk.ana 5 mi." Total utilization when aloes above Sourdough

0.> Y"' 1 '-I H-]2~~55 Aloes 4/11/72 F 10 IV Wolf kill 90% neac Sanford R. aloes

H-72--56 67146 Alces 4/11\/72 c Winter kill Sli.ght Copper R, 1 mi_, Scavenged only. aloes above Sanford R.

N-·72-57 6 71t.~ 7 Aleca /

11--72-58 711,8 Alees 4/14/72 11 C I k;Jolf kill Slight Copper R. I, mL Ev1clence. indi.cated wolf aloes b e l.ow Chis t och ina

Alaes 11 Illegal kill Copper R. 1 mi , Frozen solid - bird scavengedQ aZoes above Gakona

?1-72-60 6 Alces 1;/17/72 c II Wolf kill Total Spinal co Lumn only remaf.ns .. aloes

11-72-61 67150 Al.cee F W·ir.."tf.::t' kill Total Gulkana River at aleeB mt . 139 Rich. Hwy, u , ~ , _

4/1 /72 I kill None MHe '1'ok l{v;;ry LTlt:i.mati:..:ly s cavenged ,

Yl-72--63 67152 AlceB Unk. I \sU.L"""ii R. at Total uti.lizatiori by wo Lves . aloes Poplar Grove Table 6, (cont'd,)

Degree of Perm. Marroy? Utilization Field Accession Date of Anal.ysLs Cause of when first Location of No. No. Species Collection Sex Age % Fat death visited kill Remarks

:f-72-6L~ Aloes 4/24/72 10 Illegal kill Total by Gulkana at Sourdough aloes humans

1'1-72-65 67153 Alces 1,/24/72 Unk. c I \.;rolf kill Total 2 mi. up W. Fk. aloes Gulkana

11-72-67 Aloes 4/24/72 Unk. c I Wolf kill Total 2 1/2 mL up aloes W, Fk. Gulkana

:1-72-68 67156 Aloes 4/24/72 F C I Winter kill None 8 mi. up W. Th. Carcass intact. aloes Gulkana

1'1-72-69 67157 & Aloes 4/24/72 c I Winter kill Total 10 mi. up W. Fk. No blood on calcaneus. 67158 aloes Gulkana w C-72-70 Ranqi je» 4/24/72 Unk, Ad. Wolf kill Total Monsoon Lake No specimens available. 00 tarandus

M-72-71 67159 Aloes 4/211/ 72 M C I Winter kill Total Middle Fk. Gulkana aloes 5 mi. f rom Dickey Lk ,

/il.cee 4/24/72 Unk. Ad. Wolf kill Total Middle Fk. Gulkana 1/ aloes 10 mi. from Dickey Lk.

M-72-73 67160 Aloes 4/24/72 F 12 III Wolf kill Total Gu1kana at Very old kilL aloes 12-MilfJ. Creek

M-72-74 Aloes 4/26,/72 M C \{olf kill Total Gulkana at Very old kill - wolver:f.ne aloes 12-Mile Creek scavenged.V

11-72--75 67161 Aloes 4/211/72 F 2 I Wolf kill 50% Gakona east of Very fresh kill alees Paxson tower

M--72-76 67162 Alees 4/211/ 72 F 14 IV Wolf kill Total Gakona east of Very old kill~ aloes Paxson tower

~ .; 1 1 11-72-77 Alees 4/24/72 Unk. e Wolf kill Total Gakona east of Very old K.l."'\"J.. alees Round Top Mtn.

11-72-78 67163 Alcee F 6 IV ~oJ'olf kill Total Gakona S. Eo of Spinal col~ITn only aZces Round Top Htuo Degree of Perin ~ Utilization Field Accession Date of Ana.Lys Ls Cause Whfu'1. first Lo catt on of Specie.s Collection Sex Fat death vi.sited kill Remarks

Unk~ k.Ill Total Gakona alces ROU'fld Top Mtn ..

6 leeB .'+/25/72 F 3 III 1,Jolf kill Total Copper R" 2 alces b e l.ow Dry Creek

72.-,81 Unk" Copper River at No specimens available alces Sfmpson urn

67165 4/2.5/72 Un.k.. I Winter kill None TazLtna Ri v(~r: l?irst·obse.rve:d 3/27/72 tntact." at.cec at Gle.nnallen.

11-72-83 67166 Alees 1;/25/72 Unk. Ad. IV '(,lolf Id11 Total Tazlina River alees N:l.ckel Creek

n-·8!, 67167 AZeeB l,/25/72 Unk .. C I Half kill Total Copper River l, aZees below Copper Center

;·\--72--85 Aloes [>/25/72 Unk. ltJalf kill Total Copper River 4 1/2 aZees mt, b el ow Copper Center

Al.ees Unk" c Wolf kill Total Dadina River mi0 alees above Copper Ri.ve.r

Alces Unko 5 IV Total Copper River 2 mi. Total utilization except so" Dad i na River ske Let.on ~

AZ,ces k:Lll Copper River opposite a7,c2B Klax,,-:,as.i Rivet'

AlceB c I Copper Rlver at Probably calf of 67169. aleeB

F aZoes

l:/27/72 F 5 67,2 wolf kUl 'Iotal Ga.kona River ROUlld

4/27/72 3 63. Gakona Degree of Perm., 'H2.rrO\{>l UtHization Field Aecession Date of Ana.I S'Sis Cause of when first Location of No~ Species (~llection Sex Ag€~ % Fat death visited kill Remarks

H-72-9 AlceB c 7.6 Winter kill Sc.averrged Copper River at alces only T'ulaona: Creek

C-72··94 4/28/72 F 9 8.2 \?olf kill 75% Nabesna River at Totschadan Creek

of moos e , :L",e" calf or adult base d on examfnatLon of h afr , gray , fuzzy and short indicating ca.Lf ,

£!Bloody calcanei indicating wolf kill,

numbers 11-72--55 .• M.,·72··89 (67145-67170) animals on which 1'.O.&,rrmv' analysis datad.ost , Based on gross visua.l analysis, I rep:reserits <10% fat, III represents 11-59% fat, IV represents fat ..

revisited by wolves until utilization complete. As wcuLd be a notice- able reduction of the fat content of bone marrow of adult moose as the winter progressed~ Fat cont ent; of eaI n adul cows was ely 80-90 pe.rcent In the vvinter but was down to 60~·70 percent when the we r e collected in

Unfortunat , marrow fat content data f r orn 25 marr ow were lost lab process The a from those listed gross , are presented in 'I'ab Le 6. are not included in averages of fat content above,

Our data do not the that ers, es wcLves , prey upon the disabled and inferior individuals of a prey Rather they suggest that prey are taken in the sex and age composition of the for young of the year, As indicated by fat content of bone marrow, there appeared to be no difference in the nutritional we11-b of adult animals killed by wolves and adult animals killed by accident ly, In the calf segment of the moose population killed by wolves, healthy animals appeared to predominate.

The winter of 1971-72 was the most severe ever recorded in terms or snowfall and snow accumulation in the Gulkana basin. A total of 88.6 inches of snmv fell with a ID8.xiNum of 55 inches on the on Ha r ch 17, 1972~ NormaI seasonal s nowfa.I I is 4,6 Lnchas , These records are provided the D, S. Department of Commerce. A snaw accumulation of that magnitude es for such a , is known exert a very fb LlI t at effect on moose This was well I Ll.ustr at.ed the course of this s Alaska Fish and Game scale amDng calves were noted. Such s e'ver e snow of all moose to the that are wolves to kill. It is a genetic on the effects of the or-sprey relationsh when an surv1ves the effects of a V21:Y severe vJin.ter upon wolves

The of utilization of moose carcasses wolves was very animals killed vee and for thos e f r om o t.her t; cases, wo l.ves revisited kf.Ll.s untLL r umen content s , the skull some hair remained~ Calf moose vJith thetr s o fte r bones ~ we re utLI ed and even the bones wet:« eaten , .1,

results of this st sugges~ tha~ wolves can select wh ell c l Lmat;t C COIldit ions ( e ~ g "' ktL'le d are a e y'ear and are the easiest prey~

rat an occur in. the oonu.Lat.Lon e Fig, 1, Total utilization of a moose calf Klut River February 21, 1972.

42 The effects of predation on a healthy population are pr ob ab not too severe to the adult segment except through direct reduction of those animals killed. The immediate effects of such a rate of predation in conjunction with extreme w:1.nter is a severe depletion of that year's age class. If such a rate of predation should continue, as it well might in View of the rather abundant wolf population} the effect wculd be a serious reduction of the annual calf crop result in low annual recruItment to that population, With the moose and caribou populations in this area now experiencing downward trends for a variety of reasons it is very possible that wolf predation can lessen recruitment to the point that these populations "Jill continue to decline, This conceivably could continue until food becomes critical for the wolves, at which time their own population control factors would bring about a reduction in wolf numbers. The classic predator-prey hypothesis of predatory selec­ tion of poor quality animals probably holds true in a "normal" situation but probab does not in times of extreme conditions when all segments of the po ion are under stress,

- During the course of this s ,it 'was Lve to determine the cause of death of animals examined to gain a true of the condttion of wolf-killed animals, Several criteria werE' deveLoped dur this study upon which it was usually possible to assign the actual cause of death to each dead game animal that was encountered.

\lJolf~kill sites are quite characteristic. are in an open area, such as a frozen lake or stream or a small opening in the woods 0 If the kill is only a day or so old, circumstances of the kill can ly be constructed from the tracks in the snrn~. There are considerable signs of s t ruggl.e , with bits of hair, blood and often rumen contents strewn over a \vide area. wolf tracks, indicat extreme excitement on the part of the woLv es , are usually present. There wt.Ll. typically be several wolf trails radiating from the kill, often on a prominence where the woLves res t after feeding. After on a fresh carcass, wolves "preen" themselves by wa l Lowi ng in the snow near the kill site. After a few days scavenging birds, es ally ravens and e agLes , sma.ller carnivores (fox, coyotes and wolverines) and repeated visits of the wolf usually obliterate the tracks at a kill site.

Examfnat.Lon of '~ler:y r ecent; kills reveals that wo Lves k i.Ll. large animals, moose, by attacking their rear and flanks as the animals are s or running ee also Hech, 1970 and Burkholder, 1959). The hair around the calcanei typically is saturated "\-71th blood on a antmaI killed in this manner 0 The 10'07er hind legs are usually the last of a c arcass to be eaten or removed "wives so skeletal remains which have a blood soaked calcaneus are evidence of a wolf kill. Such a blood soaked leg is recognizable for several we eks after death of the anLmaL, Skeletal remains with reasonable fat reserves in the bone marrow indicate that the anLmaL did not die of malnutrition.

43 four also tion eouen often freeze

The ca.Lc anef

1 ..~ ." D~,OOa iJ. ttLazation

abundance it seven

'rather

for a ",'ere in

Ihes data Basin, appears

the Fig. 2. Adult moose killed by wolves. Note that animal is on side and that legs are stretched out straight. Klutina River.

45 e 3 0 lHntercockilled moose calf in position. Mile 126 Richardson Highway» March>

46 Fig. 4. Scavenged remains of calf moose dead from starvation showing folded rear legs, Tazlina River,

47 food the time spent afield collect data on woLv cs some observations were made,

In the s of 1971, caribou hunters the Nab es ria road found the remains of a river otter iLutoa canadeneee) wh Lch had been eaten by wolves, I examined the remains of the otter skull for positive LdantLfLcat Lon , It is not known if the otter was by the wolves but. since it had not been skinned, it seems probable that the otter was not killed humans,

Snowshoe americonvE) ions were moderate to dense the s "\4'ni1e wolves on the Cu Lkana River, on 1, 1972, I landed at the site of concentrated wol.f act centered in 3 dense stand of spruce, in whicll I assumed I would find a moose carcas , A careful search revealed only wolf and hare tracks, the remains feet) of t,vo hares and three deposits of wolf vomitus containing hair. It that this concentrated wolf act was ab the result of intensive hare hunting. Several additional areas of concentrated wolf act were later observed at which no mammal kill was These were concluded to be areas where wolves had engaged for snowshoe hares,

On 26, 1972, a recently vacated wolf rearing den was visited

on Mt o Drum. in the Wrangell Mountains. Approximately 200 pup scats ,,,ere collected, These have not been analyzed yet but the only fresh r emaf.ns of prey species present at the den site were numerous remnants of snowshoe hares. Hind feet, which apparently are not eaten, were the most often encountered remains.

Cannfba Lf.srn by wolves is often reported and I know of one instance of that happening. A female wolf was trapped in the spring of 1971 by Frank Zimbick::L in the Croaswf.nd Lake area. The animal was about half eaten other wolves. It is not known if the animal was eaten members of her own

On 27, 1972; w1:1.i1e snowshoeing to a wolf-killed moose on the Gakona Rlver, I found the frozen body of a gray wolf curled up under a cot t onwood tree When the carcass was t'h awed and skinned, it was noted that the woLf had been severely attacked at the throat and rear quarters alive, as evidenced hematoma) by other wol.ves , There were holes in the throat a.Lorre , 1\1O aO-buckshot aerial gunner, we re Loc at.ed in the anLmaLf s body. attempts at feeding on the carcass by wolves even animal had obviously been killed by woLves ,

In the s of 1970~ a female Labrador dog was killed and eaten a of wo1vee 'while she "las chained near a res idence at Slana, Alaska, At a location where a had shot one of his dogs, I found where a of wolves had fed upon the frozen blood of the dog but the carcass not eat: en"

Du the severe winter of 1971-72, se-veral bison, in the Copper River herd succumbed to starvat ion" These b Ison carcasses

48 were intact when first observed, but on subsequent visits I watched as the carcasses were ultimately totally utilized, primarily by wolves.

On two occasions during early winter wolf tracks were examined on Klutina Lake where it was determined that the wolves had been digging up and feeding on the frozen carcasses of spawned-out red salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka). On April 7, 1971, wolves were observed feeding on frozen red salmon carcasses on Fish Lake at the headwaters of the Gulkana River by Kenneth Roberson, Commercial Fisheries biologist. I have also observed and photographed wolves digging at muskrat (Ondatra zibethica) houses or "pop-ups" on frozen lakes in the Gulkana River drainage.

These miscellaneous observations on feeding indicate that wolves are opportunistic in their feeding habits and apparently will eat just about any animal matter they encounter.

Wolf pelts and wolf hunting continue to command a high degree of human interest. The requirement that all wolves killed in Alaska be presented to Alaska Department of Fish and Game personnel for sealing was inaugurated effective July 22, 1971. The information gathered through that program for Unit 13 is summarized in Table 7.

Wolf Coloration

As previously noted (Stephenson and Johnson, 1971), wolf coloration should be monitored because the ratio of dark to light colored individuals might be an indicator of the wolf population trend. Insufficient obser­ vations were made by Alaska Department of Fish and Game personnel to provide a reliable sample. Of the 111 wolves taken from Unit 13 and presented to Alaska Department of Fish and Game for examination and seal­ ing the black:gray ratio was 25:100. The lower number of black animals in the harvest as compared to 1971 might support the suspected reduced wolf population (see page 44) but might also be a matter of hunter selectivity as the pelt of gray wolves commands a higher price on the fur market.

RECOMMENDATIONS (SOUTHCENTRAL STUDIES)

Investigations of summer food habits should be continued.

Studies of denning ecology should continue in Southcentral when more den locations become known.

Additional data on the characteristics and condition of ungulate prey should be gathered on a year-to-year basis. The status and productivity of the Southcentral wolf population should continue to be monitored. The relationship between wolves and prey should receive intensive investigation, particularly now that the populations of the major prey species, moose and caribou, are considerably below what they have been in recent years.

49 Table 7. Wolf harvest, Unit 13, 1971-72.

Ma]efl - 61 Females - 45 Unknown - 5 Total - I 11

Chronology by Month

Month Number Percent Month Number Percent

September 4 3.6 February 31 27.9

October 4 3.6 March 24 21. 6

November 2 1.8 April 22 19.8

December 7 6.3 Unknown 0 0.0

January 17 15.3 TOTAL 111 99.9

Method of Take Number Percent

Ground shooting 22 19.8

Trapping 41 36.9

Snaring 2 1.8

Aerial shooting 46 41.4

TOTAL III 99.9

50 (SOUTHCENTRAL STUDIES)

Grst i.s to the following persons:

Charles C, Kellogg, with the Alaska Department of Public Safety- Fish and Wildlife Protection and Nicholas C. Steen. Game Biologist, Alaska Department of Fish and Game who performed admirably as fixed-wing pilots and field companions; Milt Stacek of Wilson Air Service. a highly skilled and cooperative helicopter pilot; Charles V. Lucier and Dave Harkness of the Department of Fish and Game Laboratory in Anchorage where the specimens were processed; Nick Steen also assisted with collecting and processing specimens.

LITERATURE CITED

Annual Report of Survey and Inventory Activities, 1973. Alaska Fed. Aid in Wildl. Rest. Rept. . W-17-4. Parts I and II.

Burkholder, B. L. 1959. Movements and behavior of a wolf pack in Alaska. J. WildL 23:1~lL

Cheatum. E. L. 1949. Bone marrow as an index of malnutrition in deer. Nevi York State Cons. 3 : 19.,··22.

.Jolicoeur, P. 19590 Multivariate geographical variation in the wolf Canis Lupus L. Evolution XIII(3):283-299.

Kelsall. . P. 1968. TIle caribou. Queens Printer, Ottawa. 340 pp.

Klevezal~ G. A. and S. E. Kleinenberg. 1969. Age determination of mammals by structure in teeth and bone. Fish. Res. Bd. Canada Trans!' Ser. No. 1024. 141 pp.

Mech, L. D. 1970. The wolf: the and behavior of an endangered species. Nat. Hist. Press. 384 pp.

H. R. 1964. The wolves of Coronation Island. Proc. Alaska Sci. Conf. 15:27-32,

Muris. A, The wolves of Mt. McKinley. D, S, National Park Service, Fauna Ser. 5. 238 pp.

Neiland~ K, A, 1970, t of marrow as an indicator of fat in car .fsmut's, J, Wildl, ( :904~907.

1972, Caribou disease studies, Alaska Fed, Aid in Wildl. Rest. W-17~2 e~d W~17~3. 42 pp.

Nlchols~ L, and W, E, Heimer. 1972. report. Alaska Fed. Aid in \>.JildL Res t , H',~17~3 and W~17~4. 133 pp.

51 Rausch, R, A. 1966. Wolf studies, Fed. Aid in Wildl, Rest. Proj. W-6-,2~5 and 6. Alaska.

1967. Some aspects of the population ecology of wolves, Alaska. AlT!. Zool. 7: 253-265,

1969, Report on state-wide wolf population studies. ~~aska Fed. Aid in Wildl. Res. Rept, Proj. W-17-1. 37 pp.

and R. L. Winter§. 196/+. \iJolf studies. Alaska Fed. Aid in . Res. . W-6-R-4.

Shal.don , C. 1930. The ~dlderne8S of Denali. Charles Scribner Sons. New York. £;12 pp .

enson, R. 0, and L. J. Johnson. 1972. Wolf report, Alaska Fed. Aid in Wildl. Res • Proj. W-17-3. 51 pp.

• S. P. and E. A. Goldman, 1944. The wolves of North America . Am.

W:l.1d1. Ins t . > e > D. C. 636 ppo

PRE,P ARED BY: APPROVED BY:

Robert 0. Stephenson &

r.~ Game Biologists Director,

SUBMITTED BY: S}j~~W\~ Research Chief, Divisio of Game

52