1. Presented by Lauren N. Watine
The Wolf
Presented by Lauren N. Watine

2. “We reached the old wolf in time to watch a fierce green fire dying in her eyes... I was young then, and full of trigger-itch; I thought that because fewer wolves meant more deer, that no wolves would mean hunters’ paradise. But after seeing the green fire die, I sensed that neither the wolf nor the mountain agreed with such a view.”
Aldo Leopold
Throw this in here because until this point, we’ve dealt with only prey-animals. Predators are going to be very different – naturally low densities, in addition to much controversy, makes their management difficult.

3. What is a wolf?
Introduction
Ecology
Management
The Future

4. Introduction Origins Fox-like ancestors in early  middle Pliocene
Eurasia: Pleistocene period
~1 million years ago

5. Introduction Classification and Taxonomy Largest living WILD canid
Grey wolf
Red wolf

6. Introduction Classification and Taxonomy Grey Wolf Red Wolf
Order: Carnivora
Family: Canidae
Genus: Canis
Species: lupus
Order: Carnivora
Family: Canidae
Genus: Canis
Species: rufus
Gray Wolf, Tundra Wolf, Arctic Wolf, Grey Wolf, Mexican Wolf, Plains Wolf, Timber Wolf, Common Wolf, Wolf, lobo
Red Wolf

7. Introduction Classification and Taxonomy
5-24 ssp. recognized in North America
Nowak
Canis lupus occidentalis
Canis lupus nubilis
Canis lupus arctos
Canis lupus lycaon
Canis lupus baileyi
Canis lupus occidentalis  northern, Beringia origins
Canis lupus nubilis  central plains south of ice sheet
Canis lupus arctos  Pearyland refugium
Canis lupus lycaon  eastern; origins in a SE refugium
eastern timber and red wolf may be the same species, suggested both change to Canis lycaon
Canis lupus baileyi  southwest small form

8. Introduction Classification and Taxonomy Hybridization
Canis lupus x Canis latrans
Eastern grey wolf x coyote hybrids
Canis lupus x Canis latrans produce fertile hybrids
Eastern grey wolf x coyote hybrids
Hybridization not normally seen in western grey wolves and coyotes
Argument: coyotes more closely related to EGW than WGW

9. Introduction Physical Characteristics
Grey Wolf
Red Wolf
Mature males
20-80 kg
m long
66-81 cm shoulder height
Mature females
16-55 kg
m long
Mature males
mm long
20-35 kg
Mature females
16-25 kg
Red wolf
Resembles grey wolf, but smaller average size
Longer legs, larger ears, shorter fur
Stronger reddish TINGE to flanks and limbs – not actually a red coat
Overall size and weight increases south  north

10. Introduction Physical Characteristics
Proportionally longer legs, larger feet, narrower chest
Face: wide tufts of fur project down and out from below ears
Straight tail without curve
Mane has longest hairs  special erectile part of pelage
Center of back from neck  behind shoulders
Highly variable colors: white  black, generally light tan/cream mixed with brown, black, and white
Black: concentrated on back
Brown: tends to be on forehead
Whitish on lower parts of head and body

11. Introduction Distribution and Abundance
Circumpolar throughout Northern hemisphere
North of 15-20° N latitude
Global historic range: nearly all of Eurasia and North America
Extirpated from most of this
Mostly found now in remote/undeveloped areas with sparse human populations
NA mainland historic range: everywhere except SE US, California west of the Sierra Nevadas, and tropical/subtropical parts of Mexico
North of 20degN latitude
Red wolf replaced grey wolf in SE US

12. Introduction Conservation and Legal Status Grey wolf Red wolf
IUCN: Least Concern
Red wolf
IUCN: Critically Endangered
Grey wolf regionally threatened!

13. Introduction Population Trends
Many populations have been decimated or completely extirpated
Causes of decline
Agricultural expansion
Overhunting of ungulate prey
Intensive predator control
Canada = most important stronghold! Overall distribution hasn’t changed much in last 40 years, still constitutes 80% of historic range

14. Introduction Value Traditionally: pelts Scientists: natural ecosystems
1970s: symbol of wilderness
Economics
Wildlife Viewing
Ecotourism companies
1960s  environmental movement, one of the first to be listed under ESA
Scientists  recognized the need for predators to the health of the ecosystem
Other
Wyoming 2007: $2.7 billion, average $1207 on a 4 day trip
44% of visitors to YNP in 2005 wanted to see wolves
Ecotourism companies: single and multiple day trips in Grand Teton, YNP, and Jakson Hole
Trips catered specifically to seeing wolves
$650-$2000 per trip, estimated revenue of $422,500-$1,300,000

15. Ecology

16. Ecology: Natural History
Survival and longevity
13 years in the wild
Pup Survival
Van Ballenberghe and Mech, 1975
pups <65% of the standard relative weight had poor survival vs. pups >80% had higher survival

17. Ecology: Natural History
Diet Selection
Obligate carnivores
Ungulates
Beavers
Hares
Scavenging
Daily maintenance requirement:
1.7 kg/wolf/day

18. Ecology: Natural History
Habitat generalist
Influences on use?
Deserts, grasslands, forests, arctic tundra
Influences: availability/anundance of prey, snow conditions, protected and public lands, absence/low occurrence of livestock, road density, human presence, and topogrpahy

19. Ecology: Natural History
Sex Ratios
Males more common in high density populations

20. Ecology: Natural History
Physiology and growth
Sexual maturity
9-46 months
62-63 day gestation
Average litter: 4-6 pups

21. Ecology: Natural History
Physiology and growth
Pups
Blind
Deaf
Thermoregulation?
Waste elimination?
THERMOREG: TELL ABOUT PUP CAPTURES, WRAPPING IN OUR JACKETS

22. Ecology: Natural History
Reproductive Strategy
High reproductive potential
Females in estrus 5-7 days
1-3 breeding females
Mate January  April
Latitude-dependent
Litters-per-pack?

23. Ecology: Natural History
Reproductive Strategy
Percent pups in unexploited vs. exploited populations
Wood Buffalo National Park
Great Slave Lake Area (Kelsall 1968)
Wolf responses to increased mortality reflected
Wood Buffalo National Park: percent of pups in a population under natural control increased from 20-35% one year after wolf control began; 55% 2 years later
Great Slave Lake Area (Kelsall 1968): wolf control caused increase of 46% 1 year later, and 73% 5 years later, compared to 13% under natural control

24. Ecology: Natural History
Reproductive Strategy
Unexploited populations: 60% of females breed
Exploited populations: 90% of females breed
Management implications?

25. Ecology: Behavior Social Structure THE PACK Hierarchical
5-12 individuals
Basic social unit!
Complex social structure  rank not static!
Agonistic contests most intense during winter breeding period
USUALLY breeding pair and offspring of previous 1-3 years
Live in packs to facilitate predation on large prey
Typically 5-12 indiv
Mech: central MN, 22-23
Alberta, Canada: 40 following mig caribou

26. Ecology: Behavior Communication Postures Scent Vocalization Video
Facial expressions = most dramatic form of communication
Urine and fecal material = social status, breeding condition, territorial occupancy; often in conjunction with scratch marks

27. Ecology: Behavior Interspecific interactions Interference competition
Positive and negative effects: other predators
Ravens
Brown bears

28. Ecology: Behavior Movements Dispersal Migration Home-range
Caribou movements
Home-range
Territories
Pimlott et al. 1969
Oosenbrug
and Carbyn 1982
Home-range
Stable, exclusive territories
Territorial behavior is a spacing mechanism, adjusts wolf densities to their food level – LINKED WITH FOOD AVAILABILITY
Varies by area: depends on type and density of prey and season
more closely correlated with pack size than prey density
Pimlott et al. 1969: Algonquin Park ( km2),
O and C: central manitoba (boreal area; 283 km2, WTD primary prey), Wood Buffalo NP (bison prim prey, 1250 km2)

29. Ecology: Population Biology
Mortality
Starvation
Intraspecific aggression
Disease
Compensation?

30. Ecology: Population Biology
Mortality
Harvest
Road-kills

31. Ecology: Population Biology
We’ve been over that wolves have a high reproduction potential – however, excessive harvest will ALWAYS negatively impact populations, regardless of spp!
DECLINE due to hunting pressure  leads into management!!

32. Management

33. Management The Endangered Species Act 1995: Yellowstone National Park
Translocation
June 2013 Proposal
Wolf Management is PEOPLE Management. Given enough prey and space, wolves thrive. Numbers have always been in jeopardy where in contact with people.

34. Management Current Management Regulation of legal harvest
Protection from harvest
Translocations
Wolf population reduction*

35. Management Monitoring Harvest statistics Radio telemetry
Age assessment
Radio telemetry
Ground surveys
Aerial surveys*
Line-intercept track sampling*
Age assessment: cementum annuli counts most accurate and cost-effective
why might it be important to know the ages of harvested animals?
 with adequate snow conditions, best methods when large/relatively open areas must be surveyed
Other methods: howling surveys, hunter observations to assess trends
No consistency in methods used among agencies, most estimates NOT objective or contain no measure of precision

36. Management Harvest Exports/imports CITES, Appendix II
Wolf Management is PEOPLE Management

37. Management Harvest UPDATED 2013-2014 Seasons
Implications on wolf susceptibility? Why might there be no trapping season, but an open hunting season?

38. Management Harvest Alaska: the only state to allow public harvest
1960: declared a game species
1996: eliminated aerial hunting
Require an export permit to remove from the state
Elaborate monitoring system for harvest
26 GMUs, annually set trapping/hunting seasons
ADGF inspects EVERY harvested wolf
color, sex, age class, method of take, date/location of harvest
Each hide receives a metal tag
Require an export permit to remove from the state

39. Management Harvest Alaska: the only state to allow public harvest
Compliance?
Liberal regulations
Annual harvest
individuals
Good compliance most areas, poor for rural subsistence users
Regulations generally liberal because harvest is relatively low and well within sustained yield levels
Annual harvest fluctuates depending on snow and other weather factors

40. Management Habitat Park size Travel corridors Logging operations
Buffer zones?
Travel corridors
Logging operations
As generalists, direct habitat management not necessary – it’s a SPACE issue
Park size: some may be too small to hold viable populations
Seasonal movements from these areas subject wolves to human-caused mortality
Not recommended to create travel corridors like has been done for other large wide-ranging carnivore species (e.g., bears) – makes prey too susceptible/vulnerable to wolf predation!
Logging ops: recommended controlling access on roads following logging

41. Management Livestock Depredation Wolf control Annual depredation
/1000 cattle
2.66/1000 sheep
Wolf Management is PEOPLE Management
Removal of damaging wolves, education of livestock owners, and compensation to owners
Compensation: Defenders of Wildlife, PERC

42. Management Humans Increase ungulate species for harvest? Controversial
Lethal and nonlethal methods
guard dogs, birth control, denning, steel leghold, shooting…
All programs have increased ungulate survival, human harvest of prey spp, and maintained viable wolf populations

43. Management Red Wolves and Coyotes North Carolina
Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge
Wolf Management is PEOPLE Management

44. The Future

45. The Future Coexistence at the local level Social acceptance
Biological requisites
Biological requisites
Adequate forest cover, few roads, small human densities, adequate prey base, absence/low livestock occurrence

46. The Future Coexistence at the local level Public education Persecution
Public education required to make need for control understood in areas where wolves and livestock come in contact
Persecution: if not persecuted, able to occupy areas of more human activity than previously believed!
Still occur more often where people and road densities are low

47. “We shall never achieve harmony with the land, anymore than we shall achieve absolute justice or liberty for people. In these higher aspirations the important thing is not to achieve but to strive.”
Aldo Leopold

48. Current Event What do we know about Canis rufus? Extinct in the wild
by 1980
Grey wolf X coyote
hybrids not
uncommon
Wolf X coyote
hybrid, grey
wolf, or a distinct
species
Does it matter?

49. Questions?

50. Idaho Department of Fish and Game: Wolf Monitoring Program

51. Sources Wild Mammals of North America - P. Paquet and L. N. Carbyn
Ecology and Management of Large Mammals in North America - Demarais and Krausman