POSSIBLE WOLF ATTACK in CANADA, Page 4 WOLF SIGHTINGS in UPPER MICHIGAN, Page 7 the QUARTERLY PUBLICATION of the INTERNATIONAL WOLF CENTER VOLUME 16, NO

A PUBLICATION OF THE INTERNATIONAL WOLF CENTER SUMMER 2006

POSSIBLE WOLF ATTACK IN CANADA, page 4 WOLF SIGHTINGS IN UPPER MICHIGAN, page 7 THE QUARTERLY PUBLICATION OF THE INTERNATIONAL WOLF CENTER VOLUME 16, NO. 2 SUMMER 2006 Features Departments Implications of a 2 As a Matter of Fact 4 Possible Wolf Attack 3 From the Now that there is a report of a wild wolf perhaps Executive Director killing a human, does that mean we need to throw out that claim that wolves don’t kill humans in International North America? The author discusses the 10 implications of the recent attack in Canada. Wolf Center Notes From Home

Sherry Jokinen Steve Grooms 13 Tracking the Pack Subtle Return 14 Wolves of the World 7 In 1993 a population of just 30 wolves was known to live in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, and possible sight- 17 Personal Encounter ings of wolves didn’t seem plausible. But as the years went by and the population increased, wolves came to the Wolf Tracks author’s door—almost literally. 20 Jacqueline Winkowski 22 Wild Kids

24 A Look Beyond Jacqueline Winkowski

On The Cover Photo by Lynn and Donna Rogers, www.bearstudy.org Isaac Babcock Publications Director Question: Are there any wolves in Oregon? Mary Ortiz Magazine Coordinator Terri Ellman WASHINGTON Consulting Editor Mary Keirstead Portland Technical Editor Salem L. David Mech Graphic Designer Tricia Austin

International Wolf (1089-683X) is published Oregon quarterly and copyrighted, 2006, by the International Wolf Center, 12615 Co.Road 9, Minneapolis, MN 55441, USA. e-mail: [email protected]. All rights reserved. IDAH Publications agreement no. 1536338 Membership in the International Wolf Center includes a subscription to CALIFORNIA NEVADA International Wolf magazine, free admission to the Center, and discounts on programs and merchandise. • Lone Wolf memberships Answer: Currently, there are no known reproducing wolves are U.S. $35 • Wolf Pack $60 • Wolf in Oregon. However, an increase in wolf populations in western Associate $125 • Wolf Sponsor $500 Idaho may lead to wolves migrating into Oregon from Idaho in • Alpha Wolf $1000. Canada and other countries, add U.S. $15 per year for airmail the near future. postage, $7 for surface postage. Contact the International Wolf Center, 1396 Highway What is the most recent 169, Ely, MN 55731-8129, USA; e-mail: [email protected]; phone: 1-800-ELY-WOLF New Question technical book published International Wolf is a forum for airing about the wolf? facts, ideas and attitudes about wolf-related issues. Articles and materials printed in International Wolf do not necessarily reflect the viewpoint of the International Wolf Center or its board of directors. International Wolf welcomes submissions of personal adventures with wolves and wolf photographs. Prior to submission of other types of manuscripts, address queries to Mary Ortiz, publications director. International Wolf is printed entirely with soy ink on recycled and recyclable paper West Gate (text pages contain 20% post-consumer waste, cover paper contains 10% post- consumer waste). We encourage you to recycle this magazine. PHOTOS: Unless otherwise noted, or obvious from the caption or article text, photos are of captive wolves.

2 Summer 2006 www.wolf.org INTERNATIONAL From the Executive Director WOLF CENTER

BOARD OF DIRECTORS Nancy jo Tubbs Chair Dr. L. David Mech A Question of Elbow Room Vice Chair he chorus of hoots coming from my backyard and beyond on a midwinter night Dr. Rolf O. Peterson signaled that it was mating season for the great horned owl despite temperatures Secretary in the teens. The fact that these birds will nest before the end of winter is re- Paul B. Anderson T Treasurer markable. Even more striking is the fact that these predators have adapted so well to the suburbanized environment. As long as pockets of wooded areas exist in the landscape, Dr. Larry D. Anderson the owls’ tolerance of human activities remains surprisingly high. Thomas T. Dwight Contrast this owl with the grizzly bear, an animal requiring large tracts of contiguous Nancy Gibson wild lands, large numbers of sizable prey, and protection, if not relative isolation, from Hélène Grimaud human activities. After some 30 years of federal protection the grizzly bear population Cree Bradley in the lower 48 may be removed from the endangered species list as Cornelia Hutt “recovered.” Dean Johnson Author David Quammen in a New York Times op-ed article published Mike Phillips earlier this year challenges our thinking about recovery as it applies to Deborah Reynolds grizzlies. He argues that we deceive ourselves if we think that the bears Jerry Sanders are now safe, especially those in Wyoming’s Yellowstone National Park, which he describes as “isolated” and “marooned” from any other grizzly Paul Schurke bear population. This isolation, he contends, creates its own set of Ted Spaulding Walter Medwid vulnerabilities. Only three other states in the lower 48 harbor grizzly Teri Williams bear populations. Quammen’s fundamental tenet is that without adequate wild lands along with safe- EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR guards that those wild lands won’t be developed, the perceived recovery of the bears, should they be delisted, is only temporary at best, and at worst political window Walter M. Medwid dressing to prove that the Endangered Species Act works. It lulls us into thinking that the job is done—time to move on to the next species on the list. MISSION Looking back to the threats faced by bald eagles, ospreys and peregrine falcons, we The International Wolf can breath easier about their recovery because the key threat—DDT, which caused egg Center advances the survival thinning, resulting in significant drops in populations—was phased out of use in of wolf populations by this country. No such “easy” fix exists for those species that require big landscapes teaching about wolves, their except ensuring that big, wild landscapes will exist in the future. relationship to wild lands and And that’s the rub. Yes, we can point to the numbers of grizzly bears and wolves and the human role in their future. show that they have increased through federal protections, and that recovery-plan popu- Educational services and lation targets have been met, thus triggering the delisting process. But a very real ques- informational resources tion is whether the legal, political and environmental conditions that exist today to foster are available at: a species’ recovery will be there tomorrow. Legally and politically the Endangered Species Act is under intense scrutiny, which may lead to a reduction in the protection it affords, 1396 Highway 169 and we know that public and private lands face ever-increasing development pressures. Ely, MN 55731-8129, USA 1-800-ELY-WOLF Wolves, grizzlies, cougars and other species that require lots of elbow room on the 1-218-365-4695 landscape are today’s canaries in the coal mines. Their success will deliver an objective e-mail address: report card on our efforts to ensure that wild lands remain a part of the landscape. [email protected] Web site: http://www.wolf.org

International Wolf Summer 2006 3 Nothing has changed; everything has changed.

everal decades ago when a few Implications progressive wolf researchers S began arguing against the persecution of wolves, most people assumed that wolves were dangerous to humans. Few people doubted that of a Possible wolves would kill a human if given a chance to do so. To quell that irrational fear, researchers made a startling claim: “There is no authenticated report of wolves killing a human in North Wolf Attack America.” That powerful statement did much to rehabilitate the reputa- tion of wolves and convince the public that a world with wolves would be better than a world without wolves. If wolves had never killed a human, they were obviously not much of a threat. Over time, the statement had to be qualified: Wolf-dog hybrids, rabid wolves and wolves in con- finement have killed people. The tweaked statement became: “There is no authenticated report of wild, non- hybrid, healthy wolves killing a human in North America.” Now there may be one such report. Does that mean we need to throw out that claim that wolves don’t kill humans in North America? Hardly. The statement could be tweaked again: “There is only one authenticated case of wild, non-hybrid, healthy wolves killing a human in North America.” That is still a

Jacquelyn Fallon dramatic assertion. Many thousands of humans have traveled safely in wolf country. In terms of statistics, by STEVE GROOMS wolves are a negligible threat. One fatal attack wouldn’t prove that wolves are dangerous so much as it would highlight how extraordinarily Now that humans have finally made great progress rare it is for wolves to harm humans. toward accepting a troublesome animal species, Or we could add another qualifier: “There is no authenticated report we might need to introduce a limited amount of wild, non-hybrid, healthy, non- human-habituated wolves killing a of aggression into wolf management plans. human in North America.” In other words, wild wolves still have a clean

4 Summer 2006 www.wolf.org record. Wolves that have lost their fear and more wolves will become bold scavenging food that people left of humans, however, are proving to be and potentially dangerous. around. Such wolves are known as a slightly more significant threat. There is another kind of bad habit food-conditioned wolves. In recent years, human-habituated that wolves can acquire. Some wolves Wolf advocates should pay serious wolves have injured or threatened learn that humans are a source of attention to the death of Kenton Joel humans several times. Aggressive food. The wolves that may have Carnegie, even though it is just a incidents (some slightly ambiguous) killed Kenton Joel Carnegie had been single and seemingly aberrant event, have been documented in British feeding at a dump and might have because that attack might represent a Columbia, Saskatchewan, Alaska and been fed directly by humans. Several new reality: namely, that wolves are Ontario. These incidents have become recent incidents of wolf aggression becoming more of a threat to humans more frequent, presumably because toward humans involved wolves that than they were several decades ago. more wolves are losing their fear were being fed by people or were This new reality could have implica- of humans. Habituation to humans occurs on two levels. According to ecological consultant Diane Boyd, speaking at the recent International Wolf Center conference, habituation to humans is a natural response to “frequent non- Wolves Possibly Responsible for Death consequential contact with humans.” If wolves repeatedly encounter of a Man in Saskatchewan people and suffer no adverse con- The body of a 22-year-old geology Wildlife officials have ventured the sequences, they adjust by fearing student was discovered November 8, theory that these four wolves became people less. 2005. While governmental officials emboldened by becoming habituated This claim is somewhat controver- have yet to issue a final report, many to humans and associating them with signs indicate Kenton Joel Carnegie food. These wolves may have been sial. Some wolf advocates claim that may have been killed by wolves. (See getting food from a dump near a local fear of humans is an inherent quality International Wolf, Spring 2006) mining camp. By some reports, they of wolves. Some argue that fear of According to early news reports, might even have been fed directly by humans has become part of the wolf Carnegie went out for a walk near humans, possibly including Carnegie. personality as a result of centuries of Wollaston Lake, a remote area persecution. in northern Saskatchewan. When he failed to return, a Many experts disagree. Wolves are NORTHWEST TERRITORIES search party found his body. highly intelligent and adaptable If Carnegie was killed by animals. Much of their behavior is BRITISH wolves, this is the first authen- COLUMBIA shaped not by instinct, but by social ticated report of such an event Wollaston Lake and individual learning. Wolves are in the past century in North America. ALBERTA observant, flexible and quick to MANITOBA change their behavior when their envi- There are several indica- ronment changes. That’s one major tions that wolves killed the Canada young student: SASKATCHEWAN ONTARIO reason we find them so fascinating. Carnegie and others had Wolves have feared humans for encountered a pack of four Regina the excellent reason that humans unusually bold wolves shortly have consistently subjected wolves before his death, obtaining to the worst imaginable treatment. close-up photos of them. Now people are tolerating wolves Another man was reportedly attacked Officials in the United States and more and more, raising the possi- by wolves in the same general region, Saskatchewan have emphasized the although he was able to escape. rarity of this event. Wolves are not a bility—or even the probability—that An autopsy indicated Carnegie died general threat to humans, although wolves are learning that humans as a result of an animal attack, and human-habituated wolves have been are not dangerous, especially in there were wolf tracks in the snow involved in an increasing number of North America, where wolf tolerance around his body. His body had been attacks in recent years. is advanced. partly consumed by animals. This observation raises concerns Officials shot at least two wolves in Editor’s note: An expected official report on because this kind of habituation is not the area following the death, and by the death of Kenton Joel Carnegie failed to some reports at least one had human appear in time for inclusion in this issue of a single event but an ongoing process. remains and bits of cloth in its stomach. International Wolf. The story above is a If more and more wolves interact with Lab results are still pending. short version of facts reported in the first humans and suffer no harm, more newspaper articles on Carnegie’s death.

International Wolf Summer 2006 5 Habituation of wolves to humans is not a single event but an ongoing process. If more and more wolves interact with humans and suffer no harm, more and more wolves will become bold and potentially dangerous. Kelly Godfrey According to ecological consultant Diane Boyd, speaking at the recent International Wolf Center conference, habituation to humans is a natural response to “frequent non-consequential contact with humans.” International Wolf Center International Wolf

management plans. In other words, the price we must pay to have wild tions for wolf managers as well as parts of North America with almost wolves in North America might be anyone interested in wolves. no conflict. People and wolves are that we have to kill, trap or at least First, managers probably need to getting along better than at any time seriously threaten wolves. criminalize the feeding of wolves. It in recorded history. There is no need to be drastic or will not be difficult to craft legislation Now it seems that we cannot, after to return to the days of irrational per- that makes it illegal to feed wolves all, just decide to live with wolves secution. After all, one human death directly. It will be harder to craft legis- amicably. A policy of “live and let in a century is not cause for panic. lation that discourages inadvertently live” might not work in the long It remains true that wolves are not feeding wolves by being sloppy with run because wolves will gradually a significant threat to humans. But livestock carcasses or by failing to keep absorb the lesson that people are while there has been only one wolves away from food in dumps. not dangerous. And bold wolves are a possible death, that death might Beyond that, managers need to threat that spooky wolves are not. signal the need to alter wolf manage- prevent the generalized human habit- Now that humans have finally ment in ways that teach wolves to uation that occurs whenever wolves made great progress toward accepting fear humans. interact with people without suffering a troublesome animal species, we adverse consequences. Every non- might need to introduce a limited Steve Grooms has recently rewritten his violent wolf-human encounter— amount of aggression into wolf best-selling book, The Return of the Wolf. theoretically, at least—can promote the sense in wolves that they need not fear humans. What steps should be taken to convince wolves that people are dangerous? Space limits the discussion here, but we’ve already noted that wolves are observant and clever. It will not impress wolves if humans begin hollering and waving their arms. Bluff hostility will not convince wolves to fear us. There is a terrible irony in this situation. Wolves have been irra- tionally hated and persecuted for centuries. In recent decades, a remarkable truce has developed in the old antagonism between wolves and Isaac Babcock humans. Many humans have learned Thousands of wolves live relatively close to humans in parts of North America to enjoy wolves. Thousands of wolves with almost no conflict. People and wolves are getting along better than at any live relatively close to humans in time in recorded history.

6 Summer 2006 www.wolf.org The first of Jackie Winkowski’s sightings of a wolf occurred while she was running SubtleSubtle her sled-dog team. Text and Photos by JACQUELINE ReturnReturn WINKOWSKI n late January 1994, a videogra- What do people do when they wolf population had increased to pher friend was filming my sled- think they may have seen a ghost? 248 animals by the year 2000. Still, Idog team on a trail parallel to Not tell everyone; perhaps tell no a sighting would hardly be expected. the railroad grade east of Harvey in one. Although I agreed with my Eventually, they came to our Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. We saw friend’s assessment, I told few people door—almost literally. what we thought were two collarless about our sighting. That we had seen On a warm night in December dogs running toward us, down the wolves didn’t seem plausible. A 2001, a pair of large eyes looked back railroad tracks. We were concerned. decade before, the Upper Peninsula at my husband, Jim, and me, What would happen as they neared had virtually no wolves. In 1993 a reflecting green in the light of our the dog team? However, the pair of population of just 30 wolves had headlamps, as we walked our leashed large animals—one black, one been verified by Department of dog Reba near our home in Sands white—gracefully, silently ran past us, Natural Resources biologists. Township, south of Marquette. What perhaps 30 feet to our north through As years went by, signs recogniz- we were encountering was unlike the powdery snow, with little more able even to an amateur surfaced: anything we had observed in the than a glance our way. They appeared large doglike tracks in isolated areas night before. The eyes followed our to move in synchrony. “I think those and sizable scats containing fur and every move, but the creature was were wolves!” my friend exclaimed. other remnants of prey. The gray stationary. More curious than afraid,

International Wolf Summer 2006 7 After one of Jackie Winkowski’s sightings of a wolf near her home, she found wolf tracks in the mud.

Jim and I remained still, speaking to each other in whispers. We could not make out its form, and there was no snow on the ground for tracking. Then it slipped away noiselessly into the woods. What was it? Later that winter, we found four- to five-inch-diameter doglike tracks on portions of our snow- covered acreage. The animal had crossed, but not used, our dog- sledding trails. A single set of tracks exited the woods and ran parallel to two dog pens housing our six-month-old puppies. It appeared that the animal had paused, then continued on its way. I thought that if it was a wolf, it might have been seeking a kindred spirit. But after further study, I concluded a wolf’s objec- One winter Jackie and Jim Winkowski saw possible wolf tracks crossing their tive would more likely be a meal. dog-sledding trails and running parallel to the dog pens housing their puppies. However, it made no attempt to pene- trate our six-foot-high fences. In early April 2002, melting snow had frozen to a crust, and it was evident that a large animal had traveled though our land. I carved out a section of crusty snow with perfect wolf

8 Summer 2006 www.wolf.org tracks—they couldn’t have been more its striking face, its lovely, thick coat, occurred next is not how life usually clear if cast in concrete. I showed Jim. its long legs and large feet, its lengthy is, but it’s true. He just shrugged his shoulders. tail—its beauty and magnificence. A half mile west of the Canyon On a Sunday in mid-April, Reba The wolf stopped on a small hill Falls parking lot, a beautiful gray and and I set out for a walk down our about 30 feet south of the road. white wolf ran directly in front of county road. Just outside our Behind the young aspen trees, it our car. Jim had to brake to avoid driveway, I glanced to the south and turned and exchanged stares with hitting it, and we pulled over onto saw a large all-black animal walking Reba and me for several seconds, the shoulder. The wolf trotted beside toward us, unaware of our presence. then bolted away, continuing its the highway. Other motorists pulled I searched my mind to identify it, pursuit of the hare. over to observe the wolf for several ruling out a bear and dog. It had a Though elated after this sighting— minutes before it disappeared into large head, long legs and straight tail, how often does a person witness the woods. and was tall at the shoulders. A wolf! a wolf pursing prey?—I regretted that Jim and I keep our eyes open as I’d waited a lifetime to see one, but Jim hadn’t shared these sightings. we travel in Upper Michigan, where fear prevailed. I shouted, “Get outta If he were to see a wolf, it would the population of wolves has grown here!” About 150 feet away, the wolf have to be without me, for surely to over 400. We continue to monitor looked up; its eyes met Reba’s, then my “wolf cards” had all been drawn, animal tracks in our area, and it ran into the woods. It left perfect and another wouldn’t be crossing although we have seen no evidence tracks in the snow and mud, along my path again. of wolves since 2002, we expect they with scats, for Jim to study when he A year later Jim and I attended a might visit again. The forests sur- returned home from work. picnic at the home of a relative near rounding our home have seemed I was pleased about the wolf Baraga. A guest there was openly more rich and enchanting since we sighting but disappointed to have demonizing wolves. Not usually one realized that wolves, once eradicated scared it away so quickly. I knew it to debate, Jim spoke from his knowl- from the Upper Peninsula, have would be unlikely for a wolf to attack edge and heart in defense of wolves, traveled there. a human or leashed dog. Knowing pointing out that wolves kill not for that some professionals who study sport but to survive, that they prey Jackie Winkowski, an Upper Michigan wolves seldom see one, I didn’t expect on old, weak and infirm deer, that native, lives near Gwinn, Michigan, with her husband, Jim, and 28 sled dogs. to encounter another. roadkill accounts for a good part of She is employed by the Marquette Area The next Saturday, as Reba and I a wolf’s diet, and that they are very Public Schools as administrative assis- walked down our county road, a unlikely to threaten humans. On the tant to the Superintendent and Board of snowshoe hare ran across the road in way home, we continued to chat Education. She has had a lifelong appre- front of us. Reba tugged at the leash about wolves, a favorite topic. What ciation for wildlife and the outdoors. in hopes of pursuing it. As we crossed the hare’s path, I realized I’d never seen one run faster or appear more frightened. We stopped to listen Suddenly, out of the woods and heard something substantial running up the ravine toward us. Suddenly, out of the woods and onto and onto the roadway, the roadway, perhaps 20 feet away, burst a beautiful gray wolf, 6 feet or perhaps 20 feet away, more in length from its huge head to the tip of its tail. Its facial expres- burst a beautiful gray wolf, sion—one of apparent joy in pursuit of the hare—turned to surprise. The wolf hesitated briefly, its eyes 6 feet or more in length from its fixed on us as it walked across the road, directly before us. I tried to huge head to the tip of its tail. absorb every detail: the animal’s size,

International Wolf Summer 2006 9 INTERNATIONAL WOLF CENTER Notes From Home

IWC Pursues ITV Television.” Starting in the Great Barrier Reef, and most spring, the Center will of his clients are schools begin offering ITV classes in the United States.” by Kevin Strauss about wolves to schools The Center is the first Adapted from an article printed “Today, we reach out- across the country. In those wolf organization to offer in the Ely Timberjay side Minnesota with our classes, an instructor at this kind of programming, traveling exhibits, Web site, the Center will use animal but larger zoos have been or more than a decade, artifacts like skulls and doing this for a few years. the International Wolf international conferences, F educator workshops and pelts, video clips of wolves The Center will also be the Center has been educating hunting or interacting and first nonprofit in the state the public about wolf magazine,” said Center Assistant Director Jim live footage of the Center’s to provide “virtual field biology, wolf ecology and ambassador wolves to teach trips” that bring content how humans interact with Williams. “Now, we want to find a way to bring our school children about the experts into classrooms for this elusive canine predator. biology and ecology of a short time to support But while the Minnesota- Ely-based educators and exhibits to the world as wolves. This system will teachers in the classroom. based education center also allow Center staff to The Center’s ITV project attracts 40,000 to 50,000 well.” The way to extend the answer questions from owes its existence to the visitors each year, the students in real time. Community Wireless Center’s reach extends far Center’s reach seems to be “Two-way Interactive “This gives us the Initiative Grant that has beyond Minnesota. opportunity to bring our been coordinated by True professional educators and North at the Ely Economic our unique educational and Technology Center. resources to the rest of the The grant provided some country and the rest of the matching funding to help world,” said Williams. “Last the Center set up a high- week we had a video con- speed wireless Internet ference in Australia with an connection, purchase hard- instructor who does educa- ware and get the training it tion programs about the needed to start the program. “This was a critical leg up for us,” said Williams. “Something we couldn’t have done on our own and we are grateful for the help.” The Center for Interactive Learning and Collaboration has been a valuable advisor in shaping the project, and the Northeast Alliance for Telecommunications (NEAT) has been a great help to the Center as well. In addition to grant-funded work, NEAT has also loaned the Center equipment and been generous with their technical support. “As a partner they are a lifesaver,” said Williams.

10 Summer 2006 www.wolf.org SUMMER 2006

undreds of ideas and resources come together to Hmake the International Wolf Center a premier education center. You can help us continue to educate the world about wolves as cost-efficiently as possible. Please consider contributing any of the following items so we can make your membership dollars work harder!

WOLVES AND WOLF CARE: Insulated coveralls Medication: Cosequin double-strength chewable tablets; Vita-Min Tabs, senior and regular; Fly-Off ointment Closed trailer for hauling prey food

GENERAL: Child- and adult-size snowshoes Spotting scope with tripod High-quality binoculars Tanned pelts, hides, antlers and bones from animals associated with wolves (deer, beaver, elk, moose etc.) Camp can make a big difference in your son’s life. We place him in an ideal TECHNOLOGY: wilderness setting, teach him, help him make friends and grow. Since 1951, Set of Audix PH 5-VS speakers with electrical outlet our philosophy has evolved into a solid Microphone headset system for 15-passenger van program that emphasizes fair play, Lexmark printer cartridges 31, 32/34, 33/35 fun, fitness and REAL CAMPING. Business-band long-range walkie-talkie set Slide scanner 17-inch iMac G5 TRADITIONAL SUMMER CAMP FOR BOYS 10-17 14-inch iBook G4 WILDERNESS CANOE & BACKPACK TRIPS 12-, 15-, or 17-inch Powerbook G4 Power Mac G5 (Dual 2GHz, 2.3 GHz or 2.5GHz) iSight cameras Adobe Photoshop Elements or Adobe Photoshop CS2 (preferred) for Macintosh Final Cut Studio or Final Cut Express HD HP Printer ink #97 and #96 Blank CDs and DVDs

International Wolf Summer 2006 11 INTERNATIONAL WOLF CENTER Contributors

DECEMBER 2005–FEBRUARY 2006

Major Challenge Bruce & Lynn Lutz Memorials Honorary In honor of Betty Magnuson Nia & Teagan Weiss: Donors Grant In memory of In honor of Sharon & John & Lynn Harris Adelson L. David Mech Carol Coffin: Don Amorosi: Mark & Lorrie Bogart Sandra Anderson Thomas & Denis Engel Edward Altenau Kimberlee Meriwether Gale Davidson Donald Amorosi Donald Benson Jr. & Ralph Appoldt Brock Moore Nancy Kulik Connie Winslow In memory of In honor of Jill Badyrka Janice Navratil Lori Hanna: Lee Bigelow: Steven & Benson Kathleen Maskiewicz Marilyn Bailey Lavonne R. Newman Karmen H. Berlin Kara & Marilyn Celina B. McGinnis Edmund McGuire Carol Cassetti Anna Oeltjen Luginbill Catherine D. Brown In honor of Michael & Gloria Peralta Marilyn Capouch Michelle Childers In memory of KyLee Brockmann: Rebecca McInnis RMC Project Tracey Dawn Martin: Lammot Copeland Jr. Bernadette Cook Patty Thies Belinda & Management Cosgrove family James Czuprynski Teresa Morton Andrew Minor Tani Randolff In honor of David Dayton Ronald E. Dacre In memory of Alice Counts: Russel & Ted Reece Mrs. Elsie Pabst: Madonna Weiss Ellen Gigliotti Jack Daniels Diane Rees William Counts Johanna Goering Sheryl Davies Jean V. Ruth Robert Resnik In honor of Matching Nona Hamblin Bruce Davis In memory of Jean Drzyzgula: Jean V. Ruth Gifts and Carol Hodges Mark Ditmer Jim Petrick: Fred & Joyce Steven Carlson Foundations Michael Huwaldt Dion Dostaler Jean V. Ruth Scharringhausen In honor of Carson-Pfafflin Dorothy Kanehl Jenifer Drayson Mike Schmidt In memory of Robert Fusco: Family Foundation Jade Dressler Jeffrey Sampson: Robert Kluth Beverly Schneider Anne-Marie Smith Julie Corty & Richard Kari Koehler Marque Dunham Rustin Claypool Erickson Family Fund Robert Schuneman In honor of C. Stephen Kriegh & Vicki Ellmaker Tiziana Severini In memory of Melvin Germain: Dorene Eklund & Pamella Gronemeyer the General Mills Barbara Farley Brian Smith Tom Shomo: Kriegh, MD Melissa & Molly Foundation Matching Scott Forthman Peter Stein Sandy K. Jones Gift Program James LeBlanc In honor of David & Sigrid Goeldlin Alfredo Stoffella In memory of Michelle Hallet: Judith Fech & the Wells Scott G. Lewis Fargo Community Tim Gudukas James Sweeney Joan Treno: Elaine Lyford Nojima Wanda Fitzwater Support Campaign Joanne Guild Kelley Tees Marilyn Raveling Sylvia Manning In honor of Jack Faegre & Benson Audrey Gulla John Tollefsen Foundation Linda McGurn In memory of Hughes & Janet Kailin: Sheryl Hanson Risto Vuolle Leonard Buell Tubbs: Sherry Green & L. David Mech Pete & Flit McElligott Suzanne Hernandez Mrs. C. A. Warner Joan Bergquist the Microsoft Giving Dorothy Donnelley In honor of Campaign Moller Sandra Jennings Marla Wicklund Tom Dwight Maelene Krig & Jeannie L. Martin & Dean Johnson Steven A. Portnoy Teri Williams Sparky Eisenstadt Lynne Macziewski the Braun Intertec Darren Jones Charitable Giving Judith Posnikoff Kathy Wilson Nancy Gibson In honor of Program Betty & Richard Seid Jennifer Jones Neil Hutt Robert S. Metcalfe: Matthew Kabrisky Teresa M. Meng & Janice Thompson Royalties Dean Johnson Mary Louise & The Teresa H. Meng Mary Tilbury Marilee Kaufman MBNA Bud Kraehling Joseph Tarara Fund John Virr Lloyd S. Keys Jr. L. Dave Mech In honor of Casey Albert T. O’Neil Kim Ogden-Avrutik: Foundation Susanne Wentz Robert Kluth In-Kind Ted & Barbara Spaulding REI, Inc. Charitable Joseph & Shirley Wolf Thomas G. Koch Donations Nancy Schaffer Walter Medwid Action Campaign Words That Work Frederic Larson Tricia Austin In honor of Debbie Reynolds & Lorraine Leicester Mary Ortiz Jim Williams: Paul & Chris Batiste the May Company Michael Littleford Dawn Ewing Janet Peterson Karen & Foundation Roger Mattson Walter Loesberg John Maronde Bruce Shnider Tomchin Family Charitable Foundation Margaret Luke Andi Nelson Leon Spies In honor of Jim Williams Mike Vieths: Winthrop A. Wyman Rolf Peterson Family Fund Walsh Sewer & Brenda Sherrod Thank You Septic Systems

12 Summer 2006 www.wolf.org Tracking the Pack

Lifespan of a Wolf: hunting prey equipped with success and another day Captive versus Wild defensive weapons such as without food. hooves and antlers. The Fortunately for captive Russian proverb “a wolf is wolves, food is delivered in by Lori Schmidt fed by its feet” is appro- a wheelbarrow once a week, priate when discussing wolf and roadkills don’t kick. f you’ve been reading While the inevitable loss mortality. When those feet The Center would like to “Tracking the Pack” for of one of the Retired Pack get too old to keep up, food thank Andi Nelson and awhile, you know about will be difficult for staff and becomes hard to obtain. By Pam Dolajeck for their I age 7 or 8, a bit of stiffness continued donations of the Center’s first permanent members of the Center, it is resident ambassador wolves, important to recognize that in the joints may make the medicines and vitamins, the 1993 litter that is now the the care given to captive difference between a hunting which help keep the older Retired Pack. As this pack’s wolves more than doubles wolves healthy. We may members, Lucas, MacKenzie the lifespan of a typical have several good years left and Lakota, age, the wolf wild wolf. Wolves in the with the Retired Pack, but management team is pre- wild rarely live past 6 to 8 the staff think about the paring for inevitable age- years of age, and very inevitable and cherish every related mortality. First comes rarely to 14 years. What day of wolf care. the graying muzzle or tail, causes mortality in the Top: Lakota is starting to show then the stiffness as the wild? If human-related her age in her graying face and wolves slowly lower their wolf mortality is low, the desire for more sleep. hips to their beds, then the main cause is starvation small lumps that appear and aggression between Below: Although the Retired Pack under the skin, until the day wolves for territory or in wolves are aging, they can still when their appetite seems to pack conflict. Wolves can race around the enclosure. dissipate and a series of med- also be injured when ical tests leads to the conclu- sion that they are just old. Years ago, the Center’s management team drafted a

euthanasia document that Center International Wolf discusses animal health, quality of life and a process for decision making that recognizes an animal’s suffering. As I write this, the pack is still active and mobile, but any responsible animal management program needs to plan for the future. Captive wolves may live up to 16 years or more, but Center International Wolf the majority of facilities that our management program has consulted acknowledge that 14 years is a common mortality age for wolves in captivity.

International Wolf Summer 2006 13 WOLVES IN POLAND 900 wolves inhabited approximately Long-Term Survival of Wolves half the country, with highest density in the northeastern and southeastern Depends on Attitudes and Habitat regions and with isolated populations residing in the Beskidy Mountains by Cornelia Hutt of western Poland. Then in 1998, pressure from scientists and environ- he current status of the wolf cally exterminated in all but rela- mental organizations led to strictly in Poland belies its history. By tively remote regions. In Poland, a protected status for the wolf Tthe end of the 19th century, the government wolf-control program throughout the country. gray wolf (Canis lupus) was extinct included hunting (often by entire Although forest complexes with in most densely populated parts of villages), poisoning, destroying pups prey (red deer, roe deer and wild Western Europe. Viewed as a pest in dens and paying high bounties boars) for predators remain in some with no value to humans, wolves in for wolves killed. By the 1970s, regions of Poland, wolves are in danger Central Europe were also systemati- fewer than 100 individuals inhabited of decline due to habitat destruction the forests of northern and eastern and illegal shooting by hunters Poland, regions totaling less than 10 who remain vehemently opposed percent of the wolf’s historic range. to wolf conservation. According to But in 1973, poisoning was banned, Henryk Okarma, member of the World and in 1975, Poland listed the wolf Conservation Union’s Wolf Specialist as a game species. Gradually, wolves Group, wolves have not increased rebounded. By 1993, an estimated since 1998 despite legal protection, Henryk Okarma

Currently, an estimated 600 to 700 wolves inhabit approximately half of Poland, with highest density in the northeastern and southeastern regions and with isolated populations residing in the Beskidy Mountains of western Poland. Henryk Okarma

14 Summer 2006 www.wolf.org nor has there been an expansion in their distrib- LITHUANIA ution. Approximately 600 to 700 wolves exist in Poland, although estimates vary. O k a r m a acknowl- edges that while livestock damages have escalated BELARUS by about 60 percent over the past eight years, the Warsaw government has responded GERMANY by paying compensations Poland to farmers. Wolf advocates are working hard to transform attitudes toward wolves Krakow UKRAINE and environmentalism CZECH REPUBLIC among local people. These advocates promote eco- SLOVAKIA tourism to benefit regional economies and attempt to AUSTRIA establish alternatives to HUNGARY killing predators. For example, biologist and ROMANIA regional conservationist Sabina Pieruzek-Nowak has written an information manual WOLVES IN SWEDEN for preventing predator attacks. The manual includes advice about Government Increases Effort to Educate the Tatra Mountains Shepherd (a livestock-guarding dog) and informa- Citizens About Wolves tion about legal assistance and compensation for livestock losses. by Cornelia Hutt But many farmers remain resolute in their resistance to accommodating orway and Sweden share a the presence of wolves. They insist of the Environment decried the wolf population of approxi- that compensation payments are Norwegian policy and, according to mately 100 animals that inadequate and predator deterrents N one news report, accused Norway range on both sides of the border are ineffective. of putting the full burden of between the two countries. Because If wolves are to survive over the Scandinavian wolf restoration on wolves know nothing of political long term in Poland, alienation and Sweden. boundaries, they roam back and fear must be replaced with solutions Sweden has made a sustained forth, but most live in Sweden. In and cooperation in areas where effort to educate the public and to winter 2005, the Norwegian nature people are adversely affected by rebuild the nation’s devastated wolf directorate issued permits for hunters predators. At the International population. This effort has paid big to kill 5 of Norway’s estimated 20 Wolf Center conference in Colorado dividends. Attitudes among citizens wolves in response to reports that Springs, Colorado, in October 2005, of Sweden are mostly positive, with the predators were killing domestic Okarma stated that in addition to anti-wolf sentiment existing mainly pets and livestock. The proposed changing negative attitudes, frag- among older people and among hunt received worldwide attention. mentation of habitat must be the reindeer herders of Lapland in Wolf opponents insisted that Norway controlled and a national wolf northern Scandinavia. But recently should be “wolf-free.” Wolf supporters management plan established. Swedish government officials have in central Scandinavia, encouraged been pressured by farmers in central by the gradual reestablishment of Sweden who want the legal right wolves after near extinction, opposed to kill problem wolves. The farmers the government-sponsored cull. At say protective laws leave their sheep the political level, Sweden’s Minister and dogs vulnerable to attack. On

International Wolf Summer 2006 15 New Year’s Eve 2006, 3,000 farmers, Olle Larsson and fellow Swede some with banners proclaiming “One Gun-Marie Swessar visited the Wolf Is One Wolf Too Many,” pro- International Wolf Center to see the tested a 2001 law that permits wolves inspiration for their own carnivore to be shot only if they are proven education center. They spent several killers or are caught in the act of hours with Center Assistant Director attacking domestic animals. One Jim Williams, taking photographs, farmer, who received a six-month jail touring the exhibits and sharing sentence in May 2005 for shooting a educational ideas and materials. wolf in 2003, petitioned the Swedish Larsson presented the Center with a government for a pardon. Farmer wolf paw print cast taken in 1983 Stig Engdahl said the wolf killed 10 from one of the first two wild of his sheep and attacked his wolves to return to Sweden neighbor’s animals as well. after they were In response to the increasing exterminated. conflicts over large carnivores— wolves, brown bears, lynx and Cornelia Hutt is an Norway wolverines—the Swedish govern- educator and Sweden International Wolf Center ment has acknowledged the need Oslo board member who lives to provide the public with credible Stockholm objective information about these in Purcellville, Virginia. controversial animals. After intensive study, the government recommended creating a private education organization modeled on the International Wolf Center. The new center opened Denmark in June 2005 at its home in Jarvzoo, a private zoo located north of Stockholm in Jarves, Sweden. On Friday, February 3, 2006, Director

Recently Swedish government officials have been pressured by farmers who want the legal right to kill problem wolves. The farmers say protective laws leave their sheep and dogs vulnerable to attack. B. & C. Promberger

16 Summer 2006 www.wolf.org Wolves Give Strength to Deer It’s something a hunter thinks about, now and then. Because memo- and Hunter Alike ries are long and stories get handed down. Stories about how wolves came by Steve Foss in on hunters who were dragging out their deer. Occasionally, some- This article was originally published in the only fair or poor deer habitat before what hair-raising tales, perhaps made Ely Timberjay, January 24, 2006. that development. more spectacular in the continued And we’re thick with wolves up retelling, as is the habit of humans. packed up and moved toward the here, and were even when wolf popu- But I’m sure there’s more than a howling wolves. It turned out to lations in other parts of Minnesota grain of truth to them. I be my final day hunting this deer and the nation were nonexistent. A cold time, hungry wolves, fresh firearm season. I’d been sitting in a That online thread had begun to blood trail with a deer at the end of likely spot for two hours with no descend into a festival of wolf blame, it. Yep, that’d be enough to focus the action, and when the wolves began as though wolves weaken the deer attention and whet the desire of any howling about 11 a.m. to my north- herd and rob hunters of their right to wild canine. west, it seemed an interesting thing see large numbers of deer. And when you’ve shot that deer to do. Maybe they’ve found some- A fellow like me can only take so at last light two miles from the road thing interesting over there. much of that. and begin the drag-out in the dark, Wolves and their impact on the I am, of course, a deer hunter. I hunt after sundown has removed from us deer population have been a topic on in some places up the Echo Trail that the most important of our six senses, the online fishing and hunting only hold higher numbers of deer imagination brings possibility to life. discussion board I’ve been a member because man has carved those niches Nevertheless, on that day I walked of for the past several years. out of the woods. Big toward where the wolves were Many who have posted on the woods deer howling, drawn in a way I’m always topic complain that, from their may travel for drawn but have never been able to stands in the woods, they’ve been a couple miles adequately describe. seeing fewer and fewer deer over or more to the last couple of decades as the logging cuts wolf population has rebounded. that eventu- Some say they see more wolves than ally produce deer. Others say there ought to be lots of tender some kind of open season on wolves young aspen to keep the deer herd from being leaves on sap- pushed too far down. lings that put Deer, of course, are at near record them within populations in Minnesota, thanks to reach of deer, and a recent series of warm winters. It’s deer focus heavily likely that part of the reason for the on such leaves. increased population also is develop- Where there are deer ment and agriculture. Development in northern Minnesota, creates deer habitat in many cases, there are wolves. and gardens and corn, grain, hay, soybean and sunflower fields offer fine foods for deer. There are stories about how wolves In our area here near Ely, it’s the came on hunters who were drag- development and logging that carve ging out their deer—somewhat good deer habitat out of thick woods, hair-raising tales, perhaps made more spectacular in the continued and the big woods were historically retelling, as is the habit of humans. Lori Rhodes

International Wolf Summer 2006 17 I did not come upon those wolves. snow wet and made for fairly loud, I was about to give up and walk It was a day of wind gusts punctu- low frequency thunks every time my a quick 200 yards along the trail to ated by calm periods, a day of above- boot put weight on the snow. Such start hunting again when a flicker freezing temperatures that kept the noises carry through quiet woods, caught my eye. It was a deer ear, and and as I still-hunted my way to the it led to the shape of a yearling fork Where there are deer in northwest, I moved very slowly along buck. His attention was on the northern Minnesota, there an ATV trail that was marked with snorting deer, and I only saw him in are wolves. fresh deer sign. time because he’d taken a couple Still for as long as the calm periods steps out of the thickest brush, a lasted, I moved only when wind prelude to bounding away after being hissed through the pines loudly alerted by the other deer. enough to mask footfalls. For five minutes he continued to I’d hoped for more howls, but look back at the other deer. He did not expect them. Daytime wolf had no knowledge of my presence. howling is uncommon enough. Finally, when the wind rose, I took After 10 minutes in one spot, one step back, still having to lean fairly close to where I’d guessed into an awkward stance to get the the howls had come from, and rooted scope on him, and found a small gap without moving because of the in the brush through which to shoot. absence of strong wind, I heard a deer Ten minutes later I was walking snort about 50 yards downwind, on back to the truck about a mile away, the other side of thick brush. where the plastic tub sled waited, That figured. Busted again. promising a much easier drag over The deer stayed where it was, and the snow. with nose full of human, continued As I was lashing the deer to the to snort every 30 seconds or so. sled, I remembered the tales I’d Mike Possis

Deer are at near record populations in Minnesota, thanks to a recent series of warm winters. It’s likely that part of the reason for the increased population also is development and agriculture.

18 Summer 2006 www.wolf.org heard, and blood trail the deer had the deer was mine. It would make left as I dragged it to the ATV trail little difference to them who’d killed and the sled. Gray jays had found it. Food is food, and one does not it already, and half a dozen of them closely ponder the source when were calling in anticipation. survival is the issue. But no wolves came. Likely this never will happen, and It occurred to me as I was pulling it’s happened rarely enough anyway the sled back to the truck that it’s in deer and wolf country. true, the part about wolves keeping But I posted on that online board the deer herd strong. Hunting as I do that the wolves in wolf and deer in the heart of wolf country in a place country don’t only keep the deer where deer numbers aren’t that high strong. to begin with, I’ve always seen decent The thought of them out there, number of deer while out hunting. coursing through the woods, noses And if a wolf, or more than one, to the wind in search of food. The came upon me while I was dragging knowledge that they are the supreme out a deer, I guess events would have non-human predator of the North to take their own course. Country, that they will be determined If they were determined to have when they find prey and not espe- that deer and were continuing to cially choosy where they find it. threaten aggressive action, I imagine Such things add strength not only I’d fire a couple warning shots, to the deer but to the hunter. and then leave the deer if such were necessary. Steve Foss is an Ely freelance nature In that case, they’d deserve the photographer and writer. You can view deer. If I could drive them off, then his work at www.stevefossimages.com. Mike O’Connel

International Wolf Summer 2006 19 in a wild animal population from its Yellowstone Wolf Population Drops: inception. The biologists live-trapped Canine Parvovirus May Be the Cause wolves from May to November each year in a 2,000-square-kilometer area by Jay Hutchinson of northeastern Minnesota where the wolf population is contiguous with he number of Yellowstone drastic loss of 68 percent of the park’s the Canadian population and has National Park’s wolves, one of pups leads them to speculate that never been wiped out. Highways and Tthe recent main attractions of the population may be infected with towns lay within the study area, and our oldest national park, has dropped a disease called canine parvovirus domestic dogs (which were some- from 171 to about 118 as of early (CPV). As the name indicates, CPV is times killed by wolves) are common January 2006. Following this popula- a malady shared with domestic dogs around residences. During the study, tion drop, the number of wolf packs and coyotes. CPV in wolves has been the captured wolves were radio- also fell, from 16 packs to about 12. most studied in Minnesota. Before collared, and blood was drawn from As yet scientists have not positively CPV, biologists in Minnesota believed 9 to 30 wolves each summer and fall. determined the cause of the decline. that wolf populations mainly fluctu- After release, the wolves were ob- Several adults perished of unknown ated with changes in the numbers of served and counted from fixed-wing causes last summer. However, the their prey such as white-tailed deer. aircraft throughout the winter. However, about 1986, CPV infection was slow to affect these scientists docu- the Minnesota wolf population. For mented the presence of the first 5 years of the study, CPV CPV from antibodies in incidence was sporadic, and appar- the blood of the wolf ently did not affect wolf population population and found that change. But after that, the disease the disease could be fatal appeared to settle into the wolf popu- to pups. So this disease, lation and become endemic, so that like the numbers of wolf the more wolves that were infected, prey, can influence the the more effect it had on the popula- number of wolves. tion. This was especially true for Before 1979 almost wolf pups—the percentage of pups nothing was known captured in summer and fall declined about CPV, though some as the prevalence of CPV increased in evidence showed this the population. The disease probably viral strain resulted from affects 1- to 12-week-old-pups the a mutation. As early as most. By the early 1990s, 87 percent 1973 blood samples from of the adult population showed anti- Minnesota wolves showed bodies for CPV. Based on overall data, some evidence of anti- however, researchers concluded that bodies to the virus. The the winter wolf population would disease also showed up decline when CPV prevalence con- in dogs in Europe in the sistently exceeded 76 percent. (This mid-1970s, in Texas dogs prediction turned out not to be true, in 1977, and in coyotes as the study population has been in Texas, Utah and Idaho relatively stable or increased slightly.) in 1979. But what does having antibodies In studying CPV, mean? The presence of antibodies to Minnesota wolf biologists CPV in a wild animal means the

Sherry Jokinen appear to have been the animal has been exposed to the Canine parvovirus probably affects 1- to 12-week-old-pups first to trace the long- disease. And those exposed may die, the most. term course of a disease show symptoms and recover, or resist

20 Summer 2006 www.wolf.org symptoms. Wolves stressed by lack of food or parasitized could be more severely affected. Infections that don’t kill an animal can still incapacitate it for up to 3 months. Dogs that recover from CPV are immune for up to 18 months after, but scientists don’t know if this holds true for wolves. A large population of wolves with blood testing high in CPV means exposure to CPV has been high and will probably stay high. Feces from infected animals contain the virus, which may be able to infect others for up to 5 years. The results of the Minnesota wolf study posed an intriguing question: if the numbers of pups dropped as prevalence of CPV in the population rose, why didn’t the population Sherry Jokinen decline through this period? Above: In a Minnesota study, the percentage Apparently wolves that would have number of surviving wolf pups, this of pups captured in summer and fall died from starvation and conflicts result may only reduce the number of decreased as the prevalence of canine with other wolf packs before the young wolves that become dispersers, parvovirus increased in the population. advent of CPV instead died of CPV while the overall wolf population Dr. Larry Anderson pictured. infection, perhaps made worse by may maintain itself in the long run, starvation and parasitism. And since as has happened in Minnesota. Below: Lamar Valley, Yellowstone National CPV reduced the number of new Park. The number of wolves in the park has pups surviving, there were fewer Reference: Mech, L. David, and S. M. Goyal. dropped from 171 to about 118 as of early wolves killing other wolves in neigh- 1995. Effects of Canine Parvovirus on Gray January 2006. Scientists suspect that part of boring packs in competition for prey Wolves in Minnesota. Journal of Wildlife the cause of the drop is infection of the and territory, mortality that restricted Management 59 (3) 566–70. wolves by canine parvovirus. the population before CPV infection. Jay Hutchinson is a writer and editor, Based on the Minnesota findings, retired from the U.S. Forest Service’s there may be little that wildlife North Central Research Station, in managers in Yellowstone National St. Paul, Minnesota. Between travels, Park can do to prevent CPV in their he enjoys writing about various natural wolves. Despite the setback in the history subjects, including wolves. Kathie Lynch

International Wolf Summer 2006 21 Kids Lead the Way on Red Wolf Education The Wildlife Kids, led by three California siblings, is a true grassroots educational group. During Wolf by Mark MacAllister Awareness Week 2005, Wildlife Kids members sold homemade drinks, ndangered species recovery is But it doesn’t take long to dispel cookies and jewelry and distributed generally considered the this perception. The Red Wolf wolf-related information flyers and Edomain of adults. People Coalition has for years watched stickers. More importantly, they commonly perceive efforts to shield children undertake valuable projects made the most of every opportunity animals from the threat of extinction on behalf of red wolf recovery. Two to speak with their customers about to be in the control of experts— projects in particular demonstrate the wolf’s situation in the world. wildlife biologists, lawyers, veterinar- the creativity of children in devising By the end of the day, they had raised ians, zookeepers and policymakers. ways to educate the public about the nearly $200, which they then red wolf and the ongoing struggle to donated to the Red Wolf Coalition. protect its population and habitat. Wildlife Kids also organized a recycling program at their school, with the money raised going to support wildlife organizations. Their most important legacy, though, is a $300 donation to the Coalition in 2004. We acknowledged this gift by attaching a small plaque honoring Wildlife Kids to a wild wolf’s radio-tracking collar. Eagle Scout Alec Grubbs of North Carolina took a different route toward educating the public U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Above: Eagle Scout Alec Grubbs built two information kiosks with six display panels to provide information about red wolves and their recovery for use at the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge. Left to right: Rosemarie Haskell, Henry Garagan, Alec Grubbs, John Sommerville, Josh Hartzog, and Andy Grubbs Right: Members of Wildlife Kids raised nearly $200 for the Red Wolf Coalition by selling homemade drinks, cookies and jewelry. Left to right: Lizzy Mayersohn, Emma R., Kalli Kouf, Whitney Browne, Rebecca Weitzel, Amanda Gould, and Emily Gould

22 Summer 2006 www.wolf.org Two Losses to the Pack

On February 28, 2006, Darian Rhyder Willette, a friend of the International Wolf Center, died as the result of an accident about red wolves—one that promises long-term benefits for both wolves in Cuzco, Peru. Darian was an exceptional young man. As a and the Coalition. As part of his scouting project, Alec built two huge wolf educator intern during summer 2002, he touched many information kiosks, each measuring lives with his engaging and humorous presentations about 10 feet by 10 feet and weighing 600 pounds. These kiosks support wolves and their environment. Those of us who worked with six large display panels that provide him will remember his artistic important information about red wolves and their recovery. They nature, humor, sense of adven- were delivered to the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge, site ture, desire to learn about of the Coalition’s howling safaris, the natural world and above in early January 2006. Projects like these—and there are all his kind and thoughtful dozens more like them in support of Darian manner. Darian had begun Rhyder

endangered species everywhere—are Center International Wolf a post-graduate degree at Willette, important on a number of levels. They (left) and extend the educational capacity of the University of Minnesota at Carol Coffin small nonprofits, and they help chil- (below) dren develop intellectual skills useful Duluth and was transferring to in school and in later life. The most exciting aspect of their work, though, Southern Oregon University. He will is that it demonstrates that all people, be missed by all those whose lives expert or not, can play an important role in advocating for wildlife. he touched.

Mark MacAllister is Longtime International Wolf Center vice president of the Red Wolf volunteer Carol Coffin passed Coalition. away December 15, 2005, at

the age of 68 after a courageous Courtesy of Coffin family battle with pancreatic cancer. She was well known for her willingness to help out at booths and her faithful

Terri Gould Terri attendance at the Twin Cities volunteer bimonthly meetings. She was always fun to work with and dedicated to supporting the survival of wolves and other wildlife. All at the Center will miss her.

The International Wolf Center extends our deepest condolences to the families of Darian and Carol.

International Wolf Summer 2006 23 Red Wolf Recovery: Facing the Challenges, tion’s major goal is to build a Red Wolf Center, a facility that will teach people Celebrating the Successes about the red wolf’s role in the regional ecosystem and provide a tourist desti- by Kim Wheeler and Cornelia Hutt nation to benefit the regional economy. The recovery goal of 220 red wolves in the wild seems remote and t is long past sunset, and the some landowners remain hostile to unreachable at times, but each spring group gathered for the “howling” predators—especially wolves. brings a new crop of pups and fresh Iis shivering from the December Increasing genetic diversity hope. “A look beyond” energizes chill and from anticipation. Will among the wild population is also an us and reinforces our determination the wolves sing tonight? As suspense issue. The “gene pool” is limited. Just to keep the red wolf on the road to mounts, no one moves or speaks, 14 red wolves founded the present recovery. And like the group on that not even in a whisper. And suddenly wild population, the remnants of a December night, we listen for the from the distant darkness of the once wide-ranging species. howls that sing the message: the red wildlife refuge, the haunting notes Despite these and other challenges, wolf is back and thriving. rise and hang suspended before the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service fading into silence. The red wolves (USFWS) Red Wolf Recovery Team Kim Wheeler is the executive director are out there! and the Red Wolf Coalition (a non- of the Red Wolf Coalition. Once officially extinct in the wild profit group of red wolf advocates) Cornelia Hutt is president of the and still one of the world’s most are optimistic about the future. Their board of the Red Wolf Coalition and an endangered canids, the red wolf now hopeful outlook is based on some International Wolf Center board member. ranges wild and free in the lowlands positive trends. The skilled of coastal North Carolina. and dedicated USFWS bio- Nevertheless, those of us who logists have reduced coyote value this elusive predator must numbers in the recovery confront the hard realities of the area, thus allowing red wolf species’ long-term recovery. The packs to become estab- greatest of these is the threat of lished. And the Recovery hybridization with coyotes. A fragile Team’s bold experiment population of 100 red wolves inhabits with captive-to-wild “pup the region; thus, coyotes are ever- fostering” has worked. present antagonists despite the Red This method for infusing Wolf Recovery Team’s remarkable new genes into the popula- success at reducing their numbers tion involves the placing within the recovery area. of very young captive-born Another challenge is the scarcity of red-wolf pups into the unoccupied space in the Southeast. dens of red wolves, where “A look beyond” rural northeastern they are then raised by North Carolina reveals three sobering wild parents. facts: high human density, a labyrinth Encouraging public of roads and few large tracts of unde- investment in red-wolf veloped land. Experts have judged conservation through that two additional reintroduction education is paying divi- sites for the red wolf must be desig- dends. The Coalition nated to ensure the creature’s survival. reaches out to schools, But where? Additionally, there is community groups, hunters Greg Koch the issue of human attitudes. In the and other local citizens Once officially extinct in the wild and still one of the recovery area, where red wolves range through a variety of projects world’s most endangered canids, the red wolf now ranges on federal, private and state land, and initiatives. The organiza- wild and free in the lowlands of coastal North Carolina.

24 Summer 2006 www.wolf.org