This synopsis was provided by Steve Thompson, Sierra Club wolf specialist in Whitefish, Montana. Thank you very much Steve. Readers of the wolf update report should check out Steve's presentation schedule which I put up today on my web page.. . . . Ralph Maughan
The Montana Chapter of the Montana Chapter of the Wildlife Society held its annual meeting March 4-7, 1997 in Missoula. There were four presentations about wolves in Montana and Idaho. Below is a brief summary of those presentations as recorded by myself. These summaries reflect my notes and any errors are mine.Dispersal and genetic relationships of recolonizing wolves in the Rockies presented by Diane Boyd.
Diane summarized her 17 years researching wolves in Northwest Montana and, in particular, the North Fork of the Flathead River drainage.Between 1979 and 1996 30 litters of wolf pups have been born in the North Fork of the Flathead, a total of 162 pups for an average of 5.4 pups per litter. The vast majority of these wolves have dispersed, making the North Fork the single most important source of recolonizing wolves in the West.
The North Fork population of 25-30 wolves has remained relatively constant since the late 1980s. Of the recorded wolf mortalities, approximately 82 percent are human-caused. Diane found that male wolves disperse an average of 109 kilometers and females disperse an average of 83 kilometers, not counting the female who dispersed 900+ km north into Canada
A plurality of wolf dispersals, 35 percent, occured in January. More surprising, 23 percent occured in May and June. Diane observed that wolves tend to select mates for genetic diversity. In other words, if given the opportunity, wolves prefer mates that are not closely related. She also reported that Montana wolves prefer valley-bottom habitats rather than high-elevation wilderness areas.
The effects of wolf colonization on coyote behavior and food habitats, presented by Wendy Arjo-Leibert.
Across North America, coyote range expanded as wolves were extirpated from many of their historic haunts. However, wolf recovery has begun to pinch coyotes.
In the North Fork of the Flathead, Wendy found that coyotes select home ranges not used by wolves. In particular, coyotes appear to be exploiting the margins between two large wolf packs. Coyotes use the Whale and Big Creek areas, located between the home ranges of the North Camas wolf pack and the South Camas wolf pack.
There does not seem to be great overlap in prey selection. Coyotes prefer smaller game, although they have been known to take down whitetail deer in the North Fork. Coyotes in the North Fork tend to travel and hunt alone or in pairs. (Bob Crabtree reports that Yellowstone coyotes appear to be adjusting to wolf recovery by splitting into smaller groups with greater overall fecundity.)
Wendy observed five instances of mountain lions in the North Fork killing coyotes and two instances of wolves killing coyotes. On three occassions the mountain lions ate the coyotes. Since coyotes are not known as a feline delicacy, this indicates that lions may be going hungry, perhaps because wolves are driving them off their big-game kills.
Dietary overlap of wolves and cougars within and near Glacier National Park, Montana. presented by Kyran Kunkel.
Kyran found that both wolves and lions like to hang out in whitetail deer winter range, although they'll take other game species in those habitats. Cougars are killing four times as many elk in the North Fork as wolves, although both are fed primarily by deer.
Contrary to conventional wisdom, Kyran reported that elk killed by cougars are more vulnerable (i.e. elk killed are both younger and older) than the average elk killed by wolves. Wolves kill a higher percentage of male elk than do either lions or humans. Kyran noted that of the 40 cougars tracked in his research, only two were killed by wolves. However, wolves regularly will drive lions off their game kills. As a general rule, wolves are cat chasers, not cat killers.
Update on wolves in Idaho, presented by Timm Kaminski.
Tim is monitoring Idaho wolves for the Nez Perce Tribe. He reported that of the 35 wolves translocated to central Idaho, only four are known to be dead.
He knows of only three litters of pups born in 1996, although there may be others. At least 19 radio-collared wolves are south of the Salmon River, including a minimum of 7 potential breeding pairs and five lone wolves. Radio-collared wolves north of the Salmon River number at least 8, with at least 3 potential breeding pairs and approximately four lone wolves. One of the reintroduced wolves near Kelly Creek in the Clearwater National Forest appears to have paired with a naturally recolonizing wolf from Montana, and they are hanging out in the Fish Creek drainage near the Idaho/Montana border.
Timm reported that numerous contacts were made with Idaho hunters during hunting season last fall. In general, he reported, hunters don't like reintroduction but have a positive attitude about sharing the backcountry with wolves. Many outfitters think they can make money from wolves, and some already are.
-end of report-
I should add that there is a story in a recent issue of High Country News about Timm's efforts to contact central Idaho hunters last fall.. . . Ralph Maughan
© 1997 Ralph Maughan
Not to be reprinted, archived, redistributed, etc.,
without permission.