“Wild about Wolf Research” Challenge Grant

Without ongoing and dedicated wolf research by biologists like Dave Mech and Dean Cluff, we would not have a clear understanding of wolves around the world, especially in remote regions like the High Arctic.

The International Wolf Center’s mission is to teach the world about wolves. From continued member support and generous donations, we are able to provide the world with accurate and unbiased wolf information.

We have teamed up with Dave and Dean again this year to provide you a glimpse into wolf research on Ellesmere Island. In appreciation for their taking us with them on a virtual day-by-day trip to Ellesmere, some anonymous donors are challenging us to raise $2,500 in donations for the International Wolf Center by July 30, 2009. If we meet the challenge, the anonymous donors will match it!

We have raised $420.00 as of July 15, 2009. Help us meet the challenge! Donate today.

July 15, 2009 - Things are looking up! Stay tuned!

We began our day yesterday at our observation point overlooking the fjord, but with added interest in learning where our collared male might be now. The 11 muskoxen we saw on Monday re-appeared again as they foraged along the gullies. We heard the VHF signal from the collared male, and he was still across the fjord but much farther east than the night before last. We continued to listen for his signal throughout the day while waiting for wolves to show up - hopefully with one that we could collar. With the spotting scope and binoculars, we scanned the area where we heard the signal. We saw a wolf, but it was challenging to discern what was happening with the heat waves coming off the land.

We then saw a second wolf, and Dave was puzzled by what appeared from 4.5 miles away like a dark barrel with some red showing nearby. We observed the two wolves greet each other and then go towards the "barrel." Only it wasn't a barrel! Instead we then realized that this was an adult muskox the wolves had killed, probably last night. We continued to watch the kill site to figure out how many wolves were there and determined that there were five and the collared male was one of them.

We will rise early tomorrow morning to continue to watch the kill site.

On another interesting note, we learned from the nearby weather station that in over 45 years of weather keeping, today we broke an all-time record for a daytime high temperature at 20.9 degrees Celcius. That is close to 70 degrees Fahrenheit - an arctic heat wave.

Dean & Dave

Editors' Note

"Wildlife biologist." Even in a world in which, as Richard Louv (author of the book Last Child in the Woods) put it, children are suffering increasingly from "Nature Deficit Disorder," the notion of a career as a wildlife biologist is attractive to many young people. It may become increasingly so as the condition of our planet continues to deteriorate. The trend toward insulating children from nature may be reversing. As organizations and teachers and parents motivate young people to become engaged in solving global environmental problems and in becoming stewards of our earth, environmental careers in the outdoors may see a spike in popularity. We hope so.

But field work is not, as the International Wolf Center's Web Specialist Carissa Winter says, "as easy as throwing on your flannel shirt and jeans, strapping on your gear and walking into the wilderness to be instantly rewarded." Field work can be brutal - bad weather, biting bugs, exhaustion, equipment that fails, accidents, injury - and long periods when nothing happens and there is no guarantee that it will. It is work that earns tremendous pay-offs and sometimes no rewards whatsoever. It demands patience, persistence, a positive outlook and a thick skin, both against the bugs and against dashed hopes.

Carissa, who designs and oversees this Blog, likens the suspense building today to a soap opera! What will happen? Will Dave and Dean find the collared male and be lead to the breeding female? Will they find pups? Stay tuned!

We can't predict the outcome, but we hope you will stick with this adventure in research for two more days. Dave and Dean will have to head home on Friday, so the pressure really is mounting. Send them your strong thoughts!

July 14, 2009 - The Pressure is ON!

We saw no wolves yesterday from our observation point, so we are getting desperate to put out the second GPS/ARGOS collar. Only 3 more nights to try to find and collar a breeding female. We did see 11 muskoxen pass by, and we watched a wolf some 5 to 6 miles away across the fjord through the spotting scope. The wolf came within about 200 metres (656 feet) below some 40 to 50 arctic hares, which then all scrambled away to the top of a hill, leaving the poor wolf at the bottom!

We found this wolf while we were listening to a signal from the VHF radio transmitter that is on the male wolf's GPS/ARGOS collar. The photos show us holding the antenna while we are listening. However, we could not be certain that the wolf we saw through the scope was actually the collared male because it was so far away, but it was in the same area as where the signals came from.

Hope springs eternal, and we hope today is the day we put out the second collar.

Dave and Dean


Editors' Note

In spite of their proximity to the North Pole, Ellesmere Island and neighboring Axel Heiberg Island support a bounty of flora and fauna. What appears to be an empty landscape is not. Plants range from the simple species such as lichens, fungi and mosses that have no roots to exquisite miniature flowering plants and larger varieties of breathtaking beauty. The simple plants are an important food source for a number of animals. Lichens are tiny and attach themselves to rock. Fungi have no roots, stems or leaves. They are important in northern ecosystems because one of their jobs is to break down dead organic matter. Mosses can grow on bare rocks; they also grow where there is water, such as around little streams formed by melting snow.

Shallow-rooted flowering plants grow on Ellesmere as well. They include the high arctic daisy, northern arnica, arctic poppy and saxifrage. The flower heads of arctic poppies follow the sun's passage across the sky just as sunflowers do! Purple saxifrage, the official territorial flower of Canada's third and newest territory (Nunavut) grows in the crevices and cracks of rocks. It is the first plant to bloom in the short arctic summer, and tiny hairs on its leaves help protect it from the dry winds that blow across the immense landscape.

Ellesmere is home to a variety of terrestrial animals including the formidable musk ox, Canis lupus arctos (the arctic wolf), the weasel and the arctic hare. Muskoxen live in herds, and their long hair make them look like they are wearing flowing skirts! The arctic hare is not the same thing as a rabbit or a snowshoe hare. Arctic hares are large (9-12 pounds) with short ears that are black-tipped during winter. Summer colors vary depending on how far north the hares live. In the far north, the hares are almost pure white even in the summer (see photo). Farther south, they are a brownish color on top with white underneath.The young (leverets) are born with fur and with their eyes open. Rabbits, on the other hand, are born without fur and with closed eyes. Hares eat willow leaves, shoots and bark as well as grasses and flowers. In spite of its small size and tiny, winsome face, the weasel is an efficient predator. With its sharp teeth and claws, its speed and its silent attack mode, it can quickly dispatch with lemmings and other animals even larger than it is!

Dean and Dave report they are happy to see people from Australia, India, Israel, Canada, Japan, Belgium, Iceland, Saudi Arabia, Spain, and Denmark are reading the Ellesmere blog! This is proof that the International Wolf Center is "teaching the world about wolves!" Dave Mech and Dean Cluff, our good Canadian friend, have opened the door to the secret world of the High Arctic to thousands of interested followers!

More images can be viewed on our Flickr Photostream.

July 13, 2009

Good news; bad news. Bad news is that we still haven't put out the second GPS/ARGOS collar yet, although 4 days left to do so. Good news is that we received the first few locations from our first wolf wearing the collar, and they were most interesting. The main finding was that we think we know where the den is. But it is 27 km (about 17 miles) straight-line distance across the fjord from our observation point.

Thus to get there from where we collared the wolf, the pack must travel at least 37 km (about 23 miles) around the end of the fjord. We tracked the collared wolf from the ground today with the standard radio beacon, and it was still across the fjord where we could also see several herds of muskoxen.

Tonight as we watched from our observation point, we saw the 2 female wolves that were there yesterday, and they broke out into a howling session that lasted over an hour. We couldn't figure out why until Dean heard howling from across the fjord, some 4.1 miles away! Although it was hard to believe that he heard it that far, I was convinced when he pointed out a wolf across the way along the opposite shore through his 12X, stabilized binocs. Tomorrow we will take our 45X spotting scope along to look across the way. And, we will also keep keen eyes out for a suitable candidate for our second collar.

Dean & Dave

Editors' Note

Several people have asked how Dave and Dean find wolves in such a huge region. One Blogger asked if they had to travel around looking for signs of wolves, hoping to get lucky. All great questions!

Much of Ellesmere Island is too lacking in vegetation to support large herbivores like muskoxen on which the wolves depend for food. It is an arctic desert, and some regions of this huge landscape are locked in ice. There are formidable mountain ranges and bleak areas of rock. But here and there are "thermal oases," areas that receive enough annual moisture to nourish the shallow-rooted plants that feed muskoxen, the primary prey of the wolves. The wide expanses of landscape around the tiny weather station at Eureka on Ellesmere are home to wolves, muskoxen, arctic hares and other animals.

Sometimes wolves travel on a route near the weather station. They are not afraid of people because in this region, they have never been subjected to the persecution of their relatives to the south. They seem to be curious about humans, and some will approach and come close. Since 2006, the wolves in the area have not used the Rock Den (see the 2006 Blog). So finding them has, in fact, been a huge challenge in recent years. Read the 2008 Blog, and you will readily see what a task it was to locate them!

The GPS/ARGOS collars have a VHF transmitter in them (see below). Thus, Dave and Dean hope to be able to pick up a radio signal from any wolves they collar if they can get within range. With the location data sent from the ARGOS satellite by the collar, this may be possible. The beauty of the technology is the capability to receive locations through a computer. Thus, the great question asked at the end of the 1986 documentary White Wolf may finally be answered: What do the wolves do in winter? Where do they go? How far do they travel? It is important to collar a breeding pair. They are the core of the wolf family, and they and possibly some others will probably travel and hunt together even though they will not have pups to feed until late spring.

The standard VHF radio collar is extremely useful in many locations for tracking animals and birds. But a VHF collar alone wouldn't serve any purpose in a region as remote as Ellesmere and with weather so extreme and harsh most of the year. Additionally, the short summer is over by late August, and it is difficult or impossible to get around by foot or ATV until late June after the long, dark winter is over and the mud has dried up.

This VHF collar consists of a transmitter (just like a radio station that emits a signal that cannot be heard), a receiver (just like a radio) and a direction-finding antenna. With the antenna, the researchers can “find” the transmitter either by using direct line or triangulation. Some antennas are hand-held, and others can be mounted on the wings of aircraft.

July 12, 2009

Weather better. We did spot two wolves yesterday, one of which was the same one we saw on Friday, plus one new one. This makes nine wolves now that are using the area. One wolf appears to be a yearling based on its small size, and the other appears to be a maturing female based on her abbreviated flexed-leg urination (see Editors' Note). Of special interest was the way the two met. The younger wolf seemed to stalk the older one initially, sniffed it when they met, and then the older one sniffed the tail gland of the smaller one. (See the 2008 Blog for more observations about tail gland sniffing.) We are still waiting to see a nursing female again on which to place our second collar.

Dave & Dean

Editors' Note: Scent-marking is used as a "no trespassing" advertisement of territorial boundaries. Wolves typically leave more scent marks along the perimeter of their territory than within the core. Trespassers onto alien territory are thought to suspend marking until they return to their own territory. Both the male and the female breeders (formerly called the "alphas") in a wolf pack scent mark. The breeding male's scent-marking posture is raised-leg urination (RLU). Male wolves sometimes use standing urination (STU) as well. Females use squat urination (SQU), and the breeding female will often use a flexed-leg posture (FLU). See the photo on July 17, 2008. The female is displaying an abbreviated version of FLU. Her leg is only slightly elevated. The communication function both of anal sac secretions and the glands associated with the hair follicles around the anus are varied and complex. In addition, wolves have a supracaudal or dorsal tail gland which is located on the top of the tail at the surface, about 1/3 of the way down from the tail base. In some pale color-phase gray wolves (white, gray, buff, tan), this gland may be noticeable as a diffused area of darker coloring. The guard hairs are black-tipped, and underfur is absent from this area. Although the specific role of this gland is not known for certain, scientists have proposed that it may advertise individual identity. In terms of the senses, the old adage, "The nose knows" applies perfectly to the wolf. The sense of smell is probably the most acute of all the wolf's senses. Wolves constantly seek olfactory information, both about their surroundings and about each other. The animal's entire body produces scent information, and scientists still have a great deal left to learn about the roles of various odors and the information they convey.

More images can be viewed on our Flickr Photostream.

July 11, 2009 - Rain, Rain - Go Away!

Yesterday's observation session started off misty, drizzly, foggy, rainy and muddy, and got worse. But one small female wolf, probably a yearling, came by. Because we were waiting for a breeding female to collar we merely watched the yearling for awhile. Otherwise we sat in misery! Toward the end a lone muskox wandered by, and we managed to photograph it. At midnight we left and went back to camp.

Dave & Dean

July 10, 2009 - The Plot Thickens!

We began our monitoring for wolves at our observation point at 6:30 p.m. and sat there until 1:00 a.m., but no wolves came by. We spent much of those 6 1/2 hours speculating on what we had learned so far and pondering the puzzles. Of most interest is whether there are two breeding pairs in the area. We know that there are two potentially breeding males because both our collared wolf and the male from the pair we saw Sunday were raised-leg urinating. For breeding females, we suspect there are two based on appearance and behavior of the wolves we've seen. However, we will need to observe them again to be sure. Another big question is: how far and wide these wolves are moving? But we will have to wait for location data from the tracking collar. We had hoped to collar another wolf today but will have to wait for another day.

Dave & Dean

Editors' Note

The collared wolf is wearing a GPS/ARGOS collar. Unlike the VHF radio collar, which is still widely used to locate animals and birds, the Global Positioning Systems (GPS) collar "listens" to the signal from a satellite and can calculate (by triangulating its own location) precisely where the animal is. The data are stored in the collar. Those data include location, time, date and movement. With a GPS/ARGOS collar, the data are sent to another set of satellites (ARGOS) which then sends the data to a computer. The system can be set up to record information at intervals predetermined by the researchers. The ARGOS satellite system sends the data via e-mail, usually a couple of times a week. Dean and Dave said in their previous posting that the big male wolf's GPS/ARGOS collar will send data every 4 days.

It is possible, since tooth wear indicates the male is 8-10 years old (see July 9 Blog), that this is the wolf in the 2006 Ellesmere Blog that Dave and others called "Brutus." There is no way to know for sure, of course, but it's fun to speculate. Go to the 2006 Blog and see what you think!

A Blogger made the following comment just last night: "Will the collar transmit all through next winter? I remember the narrator (of the 1986 National Geographic documentary White Wolf) saying, 'What the wolves do during the long polar winter remains an arctic mystery.' Will this mystery be solved thanks to this one wolf wearing a (tracking) collar?" This is one of the questions Dave and Dean hope to answer, and this is why they hope to collar an additional wolf. The pups that are strong enough to travel with their parents and siblings of the current year and years past (those that have not dispersed to start families of their own) will hunt throughout the dark months. But where? How far will they go? Much can be learned since the "life" of this high-tech collar is about two years.

White Wolf is still available through online book sellers, and it can be ordered from the International Wolf Center Wolf Den Store.

July 9, 2009 Exciting news!

After hearing that a pack of 10 wolves was spotted on Tuesday, we approached our observation point at 3:45 p.m. yesterday afternoon with great enthusiasm. And rightly so, for there as we approached we could see 2 wolves curled up sleeping, and soon discovered that there were 3 more nearby.

We had been hoping to help answer so many of our questions about these wolves by using a brand new approach for this area. Although many people elsewhere, including ourselves, have placed radio collars on wolves, we have never done that here. However, after 23 previous summers of just watching the wolves and learning so much from them, it was clear that any new breakthroughs here would require this new approach.



Thus when we found this pack of 5 wolves and saw that some came right up to us, we took the opportunity to dart one with a blowpipe and collar it. Deadeye Dean, an expert at this technique, got the dart exactly where he wanted it - right in the shoulder, and the wolf probably thought it was a big mosquito. In 5 minutes, the male wolf was sleeping peacefully and was oblivious to us weighing him (90 lb), estimating his age by tooth wear (8-10 yrs), and measuring him.

Both we and his pack mates watched him as he recovered from his unexpected "nap," and eventually he, sporting his new, very high-tech collar, led his pack mates back toward the den. None realized that this collar would be recording the male's location twice per day and sending the locations to our email every 4 days, hopefully for up to 2 years.

We then followed the male some 20 km back towards the den but lost him after he crossed a wide river and mud flats that we could not cross.

As we returned to camp, we were elated at how well this new venture had gone and began to look forward to when the location data would start coming to us.

Dave

July 8, 2009

We struck out last evening and night, both with the weather and our observations. But the good news is that while we were sleeping during the morning (we don't get to bed until 3 or 4 a.m.), other workers spotted wolves in the general area. One wolf was seen about 9:00 a.m., and a mile or so away, 3 were seen about 10:30. So, were the 3 "our pair" plus one other, or another pack? Was the single one of the 2 we had seen on Monday night? Only time will tell us.

Meanwhile we readied the equipment that had finally come last evening, which should help us solve some of these puzzles.

And now, we are going to put our soggy selves to bed.

Dave and Dean

Editors' Note: At this time of year in the far north, it is "broad daylight" for 24 hours. The sun does not even dip to the horizon, and it is easy to lose all sense of time. Soon, however, the cycle of light and darkness will begin, and as winter sets in (by late August and early September), the darkness will begin to overtake the light, and before long, the sun will not appear above the horizon. Meanwhile, the biologists can, at this time of year, conduct their research any time, "night" or day!

July 7, 2009

Our new-found wolf pair was not as co-operative as we wished in that they did not show up last night, at least up until 1:15 a.m. when we left our observation site. We had sat in the rain for several hours waiting for them, but to no avail. Still, tomorrow's another day. Our big elation of today was that the rest of our luggage finally arrived with some equipment important for our study.

If our wolf pair continues to come by our observation point, there are many more things we can learn. We know now that this is a breeding pair with pups. Not only were the nipples on the female prominent, but we saw the male do a raised-leg urination (RLU). RLUs are consistent with a breeding male. Some of the questions this observation of the breeding pair raises are 1) Where are the pups and how many? 2) How far is this pair traveling to hunt? 3) Where will the pack go next winter when it's -50 degrees and dark for 24 hours a day?

We've been wondering about such questions for a number of years and now have an idea about how to answer at least some of them. However, to do that we will need to see this pair again. Hopefully tomorrow?

Dave

July 6, 2009 (Continued)

Editors' Note - A Blogger wrote to ask if the researchers have seen any prey species. This is an excellent question. At this time of year, the wolves must begin to feed regurgitated food to the fast-growing pups as weaning time approaches. This means the adults must be successful with their hunting in order to feed themselves and the youngsters. Wolves in this region on Ellesmere rely on muskoxen as their primary prey. Healthy adult muskoxen are difficult to catch and kill, so the wolves try to isolate a calf from the herd if they can. Even this is a tough job because the adult muskoxen form a protective circle around the young.They face outward with lethal horns that can kill a wolf or wound it seriously. Arctic hares make a good snack for adult wolves and a meal for a pup. The wolves become adept at catching them despite the hares' bursts of speed and evasive tactics.

Below is Dean's response.

Yes, we have seen some muskoxen and hares.
The first day we saw 4 groups of muskoxen (4, 11, 18, 4) totalling 37. One of the group of 4 was on the north side of the fiord (same side as the weather station) while the others were on the other side (which we can't get to).

Yesterday we saw 4 muskoxen (3+1) and we suspect they are the same ones from the group of 4 we saw on this side earlier. We've seen several hares throughout our travels and at various times of the day, but we see more when they are more active in the evening and night. I've seen one leveret (young-of-the-year hare) so far.

Dean.

July 6, 2009

(Written the night of July 5th) Well, we struck it rich today! After lamenting an intermittent drizzle all day, we decided to try our luck at sitting out at one of the favorite spots where over the years we knew that wolves tend to come by. We started at 7:30 p.m. and sat for several hours straining our eyes at the gorgeous horizon and wiping the rain from our faces, planning to remain there probably till about midnight or so. It was too wet to read any books as we often do while waiting and watching, so to the pass the time we chatted about how lucky we were to be sitting here in this beautiful setting, about our jobs, about wolf behavior, etc.

Suddenly, about 10:50 p.m., Dean tilted his head and said, "Did you hear that?"

How could I have heard anything? Besides being hard of hearing to start with, I had a head band over my ears, a stocking cap over that, and the hood of my rain poncho over that. And it was raining! Nevertheless, Dean's much younger ears had no doubt picked up something of great worth. "A wolf!" he exclaimed. Or was it an old squaw duck that can sound similar from a long distance? But there it was again, Dean said, and he was certain it was a wolf, after he took off all his headgear. Four times the sound came to his eager ears. I still heard nothing, but never for a minute did I doubt his word.

Thus we peered at the distance with renewed enthusiasm, knowing that chances were excellent that at least one wolf would appear. From the long distance Dean had estimated the howl had come, we judged that it could take 30 to 60 minutes before the wolf, or wolves, would get there. However, as time went by and the horizon appeared the same, we began to wonder whether the wolves had perhaps taken a different route.

Then it happened! The image that we had been hoping to see -- a long white form picking its way over the distant hill -- caught our eyes. Immediately we knew it was a wolf. From the way it was looking back, we also knew to expect at least one more, and sure enough, about 150 meters behind appeared another one.

We watched intently as they approached, hoping we had positioned ourselves squarely along their route. Sure enough; within a few minutes, they came by. As we had hoped, they actually stopped and inspected us. We immediately saw that one was a nursing female, and the other no doubt was her mate.

We were elated that we were able to make such a valuable breakthrough on one of our first days out and what we might learn from this pair in the coming days.

Dave

To view more images, visit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/intlwolfcenter/sets/72157621041610908/

July 5, 2009

We are still waiting for some of our gear to arrive by plane from Yellowknife. The weather has been overcast and socked in all along the route from Yellowknife to "way up here," but we are hoping a plane will arrive tomorrow. Weather problems are always a possibility in this region. The wolves did not den this year at what Dave calls the Rock Den (see Day 1, July 3, 2008 for a photo of that den site). However, weather station personnel report seeing fresh wolf tracks last week at the end of the fjord, so Dave and I figure the wolves may be using the same den site they used last year. Today, we are heading out to Blacktop Creek to scope out that area. Then we will consider the best strategy for finding the wolves. The challenge is on!

Dean

Editors' Note: So you can get some notion of what Dean and Dave will have to do, we suggest you page down and read last year's postings. The two searched long and hard for the den site. They finally figured out where it was located, but it was a long distance across some impassable mud flats. If the den is, in fact, located this year at the same place, they might be able to plan a way to get within a respectful distance for some observations. But first, they need to figure out if the wolves are there with their new pup crop. The plot thickens!

July 4, 2009

After the long flight from Yellowknife to Resolute to Eureka, we arrived safely at the weather station air strip on Ellesmere. We have only been here a short while and need to get some much-needed sleep, but we did some looking around. We didn't see any wolves, but we did find tracks, so that is a hopeful sign! We will send more news as soon as we can. We have a few equipment and technical glitches with transmitting our postings to work out, but that's the way it goes on expeditions like this!

Dave

July 3rd, 2009

Well, it's time. All the preparation, the anticipation, and the waiting are over. Dave arrived in Yellowknife last night. This morning we went over the equipment, finalized a few details this afternoon, and now we're ready. In a couple of hours we board the plane to Eureka. There's a fuel stop in Resolute on Cornwallis Island. I checked the weather just now. Not great. It's 1 degree Celcius (30 degrees Fahrenheit) there with a band of rain showers passing right through Resolute. It's a bit better in Eureka. It's 4 degrees Celcius there (39 degrees Fahrenheit) and mostly cloudy. Conditions are forecasted to improve slightly, so we're optimistic. Here we go. In a few hours, we'll set foot in a very different land. Let the adventure begin!

--Dean.

What secrets will the wolves of the High Arctic reveal?

Will the researchers find a wolf pack to observe? Will the pack have pups? Will abundant numbers of muskoxen and arctic hares be present on the vast, rugged expanses of land here in the farthest reaches of the north?

Veteran Ellesmere biologists Dave Mech and Dean Cluff will seek answers to these questions and more as they begin Dave’s 24th consecutive year of the Ellesmere Island Arctic Wolf Research Expedition. Although Dean studies wolves as part of his duties with the Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT), this collaboration with Dave Mech on Ellesmere Island and the International Wolf Center is on his own time and outside his normal GNWT responsibilities.

The study area where the two researchers will spend the next two weeks is a region so remote that the nearest permanent human community is far to the south. Here, at 80 degrees north latitude, the sun never sets in summer – and in winter, 24 hours of darkness blanket the landscape.

Check in here on July 4th, the day Dave and Dean arrive on Ellesmere - that is, weather permitting! They will send their notes from the field, and you can stay up-to-date through their their postings to the Blog – which may include photos!

What’s in store? Nobody knows – except the wolves. And with luck, they will share some of the secrets of their lives with us. Join Dave Mech and Dean Cluff for an incredible journey.

Saturday, July 19, 2008

DAY 17

DEAN: Dave and I arrived safely in Resolute and will now head out to Yellowknife, Northwest Territories late this afternoon on the once-a-week flight – if the weather allows! Thanks to the Blog Buddies at the International Wolf Center for allowing us a great way to share our experiences with the Ellesmere wolves in that beautiful landscape.

And my thanks to Dave and Dean for ending each long work day by taking time to send the daily dispatch – mostly at 3:00 in the morning – so that we can all learn from their research and observations. And special thanks to Carissa Winter, Web Specialist for the International Wolf Center, for a superb job of designing and putting up this Blog. Watch for updates and additions! An article about the 2008 Ellesmere Island Arctic Wolf Expedition will appear in the winter 2008 issue of International Wolf magazine. If you are not a member of the Center, you can join online and receive this quarterly publication!

Friday, July 18, 2008

Day 16

DAVE: Our last night watching for wolves to interact with Elmer was uneventful except for the visit by a very nervous arctic fox that Dean can better describe. As we whiled away our last few hours fending off sleep and a light rain and hoping for just one more wolf visit to Elmer, we opined to each other how satisfying and scientifically fruitful this trip has been. We have been able to document two new pieces of interesting wolf information in our short visit: (1) the long daily distances wolves here travel from their den to areas with consistent food sources – daily round trips of over 40 km; and (2) the manner in which wolves examine strange wolves (Elmer) they encounter. Although the wolves made only two visits to Elmer, a total of 9 wolf visits were involved (1 night by one wolf plus 1 night by eight wolves). There appeared to be some strong commonalities in the ways all these wolves inspected Elmer. It will take several concerted examinations of the video tapes before we can be definitive about this behavior, but for now we believe we have some information that no one has known before. All that, and a glorious time, too! Thank you for joining us.

The wolf is superbly equipped for long-distance travel. From a literary standpoint, no one has described this adaptation better than Barry Lopez in his book Of Wolves and Men: “The movement down the trail would seem relentless if it did not appear so effortless. The wolf’s body, from neck to hips, appears to float over the long, almost spindly legs and the flicker of wrists, a bicycling drift (is) reminiscent of the movement of water or of shadows.” Unlike dogs whose elbows turn out, the elbows of wolves turn inward, thus allowing their feet to track in a straight line underneath their lean bodies. The long muzzle pulls in ample air to keep the blood oxygenated and the wolf’s internal cooling system finely tuned. Capable of moving along at a steady pace of 6 to 7 miles an hour depending on the terrain, the wolf can easily travel as many as 45 miles in a 24-hour period – perhaps more. The long, slender legs, huge feet with toes that grip and cling to rocks, and narrow chests allow wolves to plow through snow, climb boulder spills, and to accelerate their pace to achieve astonishing bursts of speed when chasing prey. Technological advances like satellite and GPS tracking devices have given scientists in the lower latitudes insight into precisely where collared wolves travel and how far. But not here, not in the high arctic. Dave and Dean have to rely on research conducted the old-fashioned way: long hours of observation where nothing seems to happen, their eyes intently sweeping the distant expanses of treeless landscape, watching for movement – and waiting.

DEAN: Last night was our final one in Eureka before heading south. One last time to watch for wolves. Dave and I set up Elmer, optimistic that at least some wolves from the previous night would return. However, no such luck. We did see the arctic fox, though, and it was comical how high-strung and skittish it was. The fox was convinced Elmer was a threat and gave him a wide berth. I got a picture of the fox on one of his retreats. A plane came into Eureka earlier in the evening and was supposed to continue immediately on south to Resolute, but bad weather there forced the crew to stay at the Eureka Weather Station. Although our scheduled plane was expected to arrive and leave with us on board sometime late in the afternoon today (Friday), Dave and I realized we might have to get on the delayed plane instead, the one that stayed overnight here. Sure enough, once morning came and the weather cleared a bit, we were off to Resolute. There was hardly enough time to say goodbye to the weather station crew, but we have many memories to cherish. Thanks, Dave.

Thursday, July 17, 2008

DAY 15

DEAN: The recent waiting around for wolves to come to the vicinity of our base camp near the weather station has finally paid off! For a few days now, we have set up a wolf mount, affectionately called “Elmer,” to help us better understand wolf behavior. The mount is particularly suited for conservation/education purposes. Elmer is no ordinary wolf mount in that its legs are removable, and the tail has a wire that allows for different positions. The removable legs are simply to make the mount more portable, and I use an old golf club bag that everything fits into. The mount is very realistic looking, thanks to a great job done by the taxidermist in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada. Dave and I wanted to set up the mount in advance of wolves coming through the area so that we could observe their response. This is a great opportunity to document aspects of wolf social behavior.

I have heard diverse opinions about what the wolves might do when they encounter “Elmer. “ On two occasions during the past 10 days, we have had wolves approach the mount, and we have noted similarities in their reactions and differences as well. Of course, we need more encounters to note patterns, but the initial sniffing around exhibited by the various wolves has been interesting. Hopefully, the breeding male makes his appearance tonight before we have to leave Eureka. I have video-taped each encounter. For now, I will leave you to speculate on some of the outcomes. Meanwhile, I will get some frame captures from the video for posting.

The wire that makes the tail position on the mount adjustable is an important feature because tail posture and body attitude are visual signals that reveal the rank relationship among pack mates. By being able to interpret these signals, wolves convey and confirm their status with the other members of their family. Thus, there is no need for conflict and recurring reminders about who is in charge. The parents, called the breeding pair by wolf biologists, often carry their tails in an elevated position, one of the ways in which they signal their rank as “heads of the family.” Their offspring of various ages within the pack signal their recognition of the parents’ dominant roles by carrying their tails in a lower position. Older siblings may exhibit dominant body positions or higher tail carriage with their younger brothers and sisters. Submission is signaled by a tucked tail and a lowered body position.

DAVE: Even though we both believe we have located the den, we agree it is too far away from our hilltop vantage point. We would not be able to see the pups from our lookout, and we can’t get any closer than 2 miles because of the mud flats. Thus, our big focus is on using the mount we call Elmer. We waited for the wolves to approach our base camp from mid-afternoon to midnight on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday to no avail. Then last night, 30 minutes before packing up and calling it quits, we spied a couple of white backs about half a mile away coming our direction. Then another, and another, and another, and finally – EIGHT wolves! We got great video of them inspecting Elmer. After the wolves left Elmer, we followed them from 12:18 a.m. as they headed west along the fiord. Found them chasing leverets (young arctic hares). It was hard to keep track of 8 wolves and several leverets, so not sure the wolves caught any. They headed 1/8 miles up Station Creek and then west up the hill paralleling the fiord and then down to the fiord. They were not afraid of Dean and me, and several of them grouped around us. We then accompanied the pack, some ahead of us, several behind, as we tried to keep up with the leader. I kept trying to figure out the gender of the leader, which was scratching regularly at scent-posts. Finally, I realized it was the breeding female. She would do a slight raised-leg urination (see photo), which from a distance looked like a squat defecation, and then she would scratch vigorously. No breeding male to mark with her – he must have gone off on his own earlier. This was a rare occasion to watch the pack while led by the female. We think this is the same female we saw earlier, but no way to prove that. A leveret suddenly jumped up, and all 8 wolves took after it. It gave them a terrific run for their money, but in the end it succumbed to one of the wolves. Two others then gathered around the animal with the young hare, and the breeding female ended up with it and ate it. The wolves returned to the place where Elmer had been and several times carefully examined the spot where he had stood. Then off they headed to the east at 2:58 a.m., and we headed to camp for dinner and to crash.

Stiff-legged scratching sometimes follows urination and defecation scent-marking by the breeding pair. This scratching may spread additional scent from the numerous eccrine sweat glands in the footpads. Also, the obvious scratch marks may be visual cues that call attention to the urine or fecal scent marks.




DAY 15 (CONTINUED)

Thursday, July 17, 2008
DEAN: Here are some video frames I took on the first day we decided to conduct some behavioral observations using Elmer. In this sequence, one subordinate wolf (we think is a male) comes in to the area near our base camp where we have set Elmer up. In this encounter, the wolf eventually bites Elmer on the back and pulls him down, then drags him before I intervene. I had to save Elmer’s hide, so to speak!

Note the tucked tail of the wolf as he sniffs the air and approaches Elmer. It is impossible to know what prompts this wolf’s reaction to Elmer, but it’s tempting to conclude that he is trying to drive the trespasser away. Wolves are territorial, and they vigorously defend their territories against encroachment from interlopers. Perhaps the subordinate wolf thinks Elmer is a stranger that has ventured into his family’s domain. Clearly, he is depending on his nose to identify Elmer as either a pack member or an intruder, but since Elmer is a taxidermist mount, it’s hard to know what wolf-like scent, if any, he has retained!




DEAN: Here are the video frames from Elmer’s encounters with various individuals of the eight-member wolf pack that came in last night. There appear to be 5 yearlings (based on their size and behavior) which is consistent with the number of pups observed last year after Dave and I left Eureka without seeing any wolves. The ragged-tailed wolf is the breeding female, and she led the rest of the pack in last night. We are headed out for what we hope will be another evening of “ Encounters with Elmer.”

Yearlings are as tall and as long as adults, but like human adolescents, they have not put on the weight, bulk and stature of their parents and older siblings. They sometimes have what observers call a “bad-hair day.” That is, they may have long hair on the tops of their shoulders that drifts in a halo of tangles as they move about or stand in the wind. Like human teenagers, they may act confident one minute and clueless the next!

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

DAY 14

DAVE: There is not much to report. We had a problem with one of the ATV’s (all terrain vehicle), and that took much time, but it’s fixed. We sat out all evening at our base camp hoping the wolves would come to the area near the weather station but saw none. Weather is cloudy, but not much wind. It’s about 35 degrees, so it’s comfortable, and there are no bugs!

DEAN: I took a photo of Blacktop Ridge with snow on the high elevations and also one of icebergs in the fiord and of some dwarf fireweed.

Visible from the base camp, the brooding bulk of Blacktop Ridge looms in the near distance. The icebergs drifting in the fiord in July are reminders of just how far north the researchers are. But colorful flowers bloom briefly in summer in this otherwise stark landscape. Among them is the dwarf fireweed that covers the ground in places with a brilliant carpet of intense color.

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

DAY 13

Dean: We got a late start yesterday because of the poor weather. It snowed on and off throughout the day. It's a wet snow, so it's not permanent on the ground but visible on the hills and higher elevation areas. Visibility is down to about a mile, so there was no point trying to watch for wolves across the river, We mapped out the bearings from our observation spot on the river, and the suspected den is 2.5 miles away from that vantage point. However, we decided not to cross the river because we'd likely only get bogged down in the mud flats. The weather station manager told us that one of the station staff saw three polar bears at the mouth of the fiord in the morning. I suspect they were a family group. Apparently all three bears were similar in size, so likely a mother bear and her two-year-old cubs. We're inland about 6 miles, so those bears will likely stay out on the sea ice. We also heard that a wolf was sighted around the airstrip early in the morning. We didn't get out that way until evening. We wanted to conduct some behavioral observations on any incoming wolves to the area near the weather station and our base camp, but saw none last night. We haven't seen the breeding pair for a few days now, so we are hoping that tonight, Tuesday, brings us better luck.

Dean's career as a wildlife biologist includes years of studying polar bears as well as wolves and caribou. The poor visibility is frustrating even though the researchers know that weather is one factor no one can control.

Monday, July 14, 2008

Day 12

DAVE: We watched the possible den with a high-powered spotting scope, and both Dean and I saw a white animal arise out of the tundra, disappear for a few minutes several times and then reappear a few times. Then the animal gradually left the area and began heading west. Both of us think it was a wolf, but neither is certain enough that it was not a hare. So we still can't say for sure that this is the den or rendezvous site. We are watching from about 2 miles away, and it was very windy (and cold --summer here is over as of today!), so it was hard to get a really good read through the scope. We may take another look tomorrow. We also set up some possible behavioral tests near our campsite in case a wolf approaches our base area, but none did up until midnight, so we gave up on that, too.

DEAN: Cold and cloudy today. Hopefully, it’s not the end of summer up here just yet. We went down to the end of the fiord to the river to see if we could see wolves again where Dave spotted one heading down a slope yesterday. It was not too bad getting there as we were traveling downwind, but once we were at the river and facing the direction of the suspected den, we could feel the full force of the wind. Both of us had to put on extra layers of clothes. Even my toque (wool hat) came out. We watched for about an hour and a half when both of us saw a white object moving at the suspected den site. Unfortunately we were 2 or more miles away, and even with the spotting scope, it was hard to make out a definitive shape. It was likely a wolf, but we couldn't absolutely rule out an arctic hare. Arctic hares are very white and large, and they are visible from a long way. However, the movement behavior was so unlike a hare and so much more like a wolf that it would be a safe bet that it was a wolf. If a wolf, then the odds of repeated sightings of wolves in the same spot two days in a row hint strongly at a den site. We took bearings with my GPS at two different spots, so we'll plot those on the map and get a better estimate of distance to that site. Our quest for the den may be successful yet. Cold ride back - into the wind all the way!

It may be hard to imagine how it could be difficult to distinguish between a hare and a wolf with a high-powered spotting scope. But as Dean notes, arctic hares are big, and from a distance, they look even larger than they are! They are 22 to 28 inches long, and they weigh between 9 and 12 pounds. Arctic hares are not the same as snowshoe hares or rabbits. They have huge feet, comparatively short, black-tipped ears and, although their fur changes color farther south according to the season, they remain white all year on Ellesmere. Unlike rabbits, whose young are born blind and naked in a burrow, arctic hares are born in a nest in June or July with their eyes open and with a snug fur coat. They eat the bark, roots, shoots and roots of dwarf willows as well as grass, flowers, saxifrage and the little cranberries that carpet the ground in some places in the arctic.

Sunday, July 13, 2008

Day 11

DAVE: All at once, our search has taken a new direction! We now have some track evidence that the adults might have been away from the den or rendezvous site. Just when it seemed we'd totally struck out with finding the den, we suddenly developed a ray of hope. A biologist from the Canadian Wildlife Service studying snow geese here told us late on Saturday afternoon (after our fruitless search with the helicopter) that he had seen lots of wolf tracks at the head of the fiord along which we had often tracked the wolves. Thus we turned our attention there, found scads of old and fresh tracks going both ways and saw that the wolves had headed across a mile-wide set of mud flats to the other side of the fiord. Being unable to cross the flats, we scanned the other side with 15X binoculars and spotted a wolf walking down the slope of an eroded ridge that could easily be a den area. The wolf disappeared for half an hour, and we never saw it or another wolf again. But, we can bring a powerful spotting scope to our lookout tomorrow and watch for a longer time. If we see a wolf there again, or 2 or 3 adults (or possibly pups!), we will confirm that as a den or rendezvous site. We have high hopes about this possibility, for the tracks now indicate that the den is somewhere across the fiord. On the way back to camp, we ran into a wolf heading our way and confirmed that it is not one of the 3 we have learned to identify. It seems to be a non-scent-marking male, and we ran some preliminary behavioral tests with it. So all in all, things are looking up.

And so the pendulum swings again! This demonstrates perfectly that what seem at first to be wild-goose chases ending in failure (in this case, wild-wolf chases!) are, instead, opportunities for new strategies. Instant gratification is not a given in fieldwork. In fact, that rarely happens. This job requires tenacity and the determination to learn from what is NOT found as well as from what is. This is one reason that researchers like Dean and Dave keep meticulous and accurate notes about every single observation, no matter how inconsequential it might seem at the time. From that information, the researchers make new plans.

Saturday, July 12, 2008

Day 10

DAVE: Breakthrough of a different kind. We have the confirmation we needed that the wolves' den is in the direction we think. But we got the confirmation in an unusual way. We have been watching during evenings from a high sandy hill to try to spot the wolves leaving on the nightly hunt from their den area. Today at about 4:45 p.m., as we started to head in that direction, we spotted very fresh tracks of 2 wolves coming our way. They had to have been made since 7:00 this a.m. Thus the wolves were either late heading back for the day toward a den to the west or early heading away from a den to the east, but we had no way of knowing which. Because all the other information pointed to the den being to the east, we assumed that the wolves had left their den early, thus thwarting our plan to watch them leave tonight.

However, we backtracked the wolves some 5 miles and then realized that if they had left a den to the east early, they would have passed close enough to a geologists' tent camp to have struck it. We decided to talk to the geologists. As we approached, the young man and woman came striding toward us excitedly. We could tell from a distance that they had either seen the wolves or worse that the wolves had hit their camp.

It was the latter. The wolves had torn one of their tents within the last 2 hours and peed on it, despite a small wire fence to protect their camp. So this was the proof we needed. At this time of day, the wolves would be leaving their den area, thus confirming that the den was in the direction (east) we had concluded it was. We consoled the geologists with the news that they had really helped us, and we checked to make sure they had everything they needed to repair their tent. We also told them how better to “wolfproof” it. And we left elated that we had the proof we had been seeking.

For tomorrow: Our challenge will be how to try to find the den even though it has to be farther away than we wanted to go.

DEAN: After an evening of sitting on a large sand hill cursing the mosquitoes when the wind died down, we felt optimistic that this evening would be the one where things would happen. The wolves had not been to the weather station, where we first saw all three wolves, for two days. We also did not see any tracks on the road leading to the station. Given their regular use of the road and their station visits, odds were good a visit might happen tonight. We headed out after 4 p.m. with the intent of getting to the sand hill lookout in time to see wolves that were expected to leave their den in early evening. Getting a direction from where they were coming from would be key to making progress in finding the den and the pups.

No sooner had we started out on the road than we saw a very fresh wolf track coming towards the airstrip and weather station. We looked back over the tundra to see if we could see a wolf that we missed. No such luck. We advanced just a bit farther down the road and now saw a second wolf track in the sand along with the first. We examined farther ahead to see if a third wolf was present, but it didn't look like it. If three wolves had traveled down the road, there was little point going to the sand hill observation point. However, we decided to continue on as it would also be informative to see if the wolf tracks continued for the entire 10.8 km length of the road. We saw a scratch in the sand at one point along the road, suggesting to us it was a male. We had seen the male do this the other night when the "nursing" female was around. So, we assumed that the pair of wolves traveling the road was the breeding pair. The third wolf, the one we think is perhaps a yearling female, could still be at the den. We did see fresh wolf tracks at intermittent spots along most of the road. There were 2 geologists camping past the end of the road and up Remus creek. We had met them before. If our hypothesis was right about where these wolves were denning, it was likely these wolves would have traveled past the geologists. If the geologists were in, they may have seen them and could confirm how many wolves there were and perhaps give us a direction the wolves came from. If the geologists were away, I joked with Dave that maybe we could look at their tent poles and see scent marks (from the pee).

No sooner did we turn the corner to the tents, when the two geologists ran up to greet us. I figured they had some news to tell us. Sure enough, wolves had come by. The geologists had just returned to camp, perhaps 10 minutes before we arrived, and they saw their trip alarm fence broken and one of their tents had a rip or tear. There was also a pee mark on one tent! One of the geologists assumed the scent mark was no older than 2 hours because it hadn't evaporated yet. The geologists were in good spirits and somewhat amused at it all, too. Their bad luck was our good fortune as we now had a time-based direction of travel which was consistent with a den far out to the east. We indicated that it could have been worse, and it was likely that the wolves would visit again. We suggested they drape flagging tape or other tape as "fladre" over their trip wire fence to help deter the wolves. They agreed and set it up.

Dave and I went up the sand hill lookout area and spent the better part of the evening watching for a wolf to leave the den or, less likely, seeing the two wolves from the road returning to the den. We saw nothing but couldn't help but wonder what we would have seen had we only been here watching about 2 hours sooner. . . .

“Fladre” (flagging tape) is used in some regions with reported success to deter wolves from harassing or attacking fenced-in livestock. The wolves of the high arctic have never been persecuted by humans as wolves have in other regions of the world. Therefore, they exhibit little or no fear of people. Some individual wolves may be a bit wary, but they generally appear to be merely curious about the strange two-legged creatures in their domain. They can trash a campsite with great glee, ripping up sleeping bags and tugging at clothing they find lying about. It’s impossible to know exactly why they do this, but to all appearances, it’s a diversion and a game. Wolf adults play “games” like tug-of-war with the growing pups, and the pups engage in this sport with each other. The contested object might be a piece of old hide or even a large bone. The wolves seem to have a good time with this competition, but clearly it is yet another way that the pups increase their strength and endurance during the first months of rapid growth and development. Hanging on to one end of a piece of hide at age 8 weeks becomes refusing to let go of a struggling prey animal later on in adulthood. The “game” prepares them for survival.

DAY 10 (Continued)

Saturday Night, July 12, 2008

DAVE: Bad news for today. This afternoon, we managed to get the helicopter and searched the area several miles to the east and some to the northeast for 35 minutes but found no wolves. If they were where we searched, we are convinced we would have seen them. So they must be somewhere else, but where that could be is beyond us. So we will now have to concentrate on what we can learn when the wolves come to the vicinity of our campsite near the weather station, something they do almost daily. If an occasion arises where we can follow a wolf back toward the den or rendezvous site, of course, we will try to use that opportunity. But, for the moment, it’s useless to continue our hunt for the place where the pups might be because we are at a loss as to where to look.

This is a bewildering and somewhat disheartening turn of events. But it is possible that even with the low-flying helicopter, the pups may have been invisible from the air. At this age (perhaps 7 weeks as Dave and Dean predict), they are a light beige color, and they blend perfectly with the landscape. If the adults were away from the den or rendezvous site, the pups may have been securely tucked in a hole or under some boulders.

Friday, July 11, 2008

Day 9

DAVE: We didn’t really accomplish a thing today. We sat on a high sandy hill from 5:45 to 10:45 waiting for wolves to show as they made their way from the den toward the place where they have been showing up several nights in a row. We were positioned between the putative den area and their usual route of the last several nights. We saw nothing except a large arctic hare that came hopping by, acting interested in what in the world we were doing on his/her hill.

The fact that we saw no wolves leaving is not evidence contrary to our notion that we have the right area where they are denning. This is because on our way back to camp, we checked all the loose sand and dust where the wolves have been coming to each night and found no fresh tracks. That could mean that tonight they left the den in a different direction from the usual one, and thus we would not have been able to see them. We’ll have to try this spot again for the next couple of nights. At least the weather was quite comfy with high enough wind to keep the mosquitoes away.

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Day 8

DAVE: We accomplished 2 things today. 1) We backtracked yesterday’s 3 wolves and found they had basically come from the east and only approached for their last half mile from the northeast – thus NOT contradicting earlier evidence, and 2) checked all the remaining areas between camp and 12 kilometers to the east. Thus, our current hypothesis is that the pups are 12 km to the east, that is, beyond where we last checked to east a few days ago, farther out on the desert. The beauty of this hypothesis is that it is consistent with all our evidence and not contradicted by any except our amazement that they are that far away.

We plan to start testing this notion by sitting on a large hill in the areas 10 km to the east and watching in the evening to see if we see the wolves heading out of the suspected areas. Otherwise, we will also try to get use of a helicopter headquartered her for various other research projects and fly the area. That could take a few more days to arrange.

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

Day 7

DAVE: Another day of finding where the wolves are not. We headed several miles up Remus Creek to an area where the wolves denned in 1989. It was very tough driving with the ATV’s, plus it was hot, and there were many mosquitoes. We howled in several places and scanned wide valleys and high hills with binoculars again, but no wolves.

Then we headed back toward camp and tried a new spot. We drove the ATV’s as high as possible and then began climbing to the crest of the hill, only to find that each time we crested the hill, a new crest appeared farther up. After 7 such false crests, I called it quits, and we howled from there. The climb down was almost as grueling as the climb up. Then began our lookout in the area around camp where the wolves tend to come in most nights. Sure enough, about 9:00 p.m., Dean radioed me that he had 3 wolves in view. I zoomed over to him, a 5-minute drive, and we began following the wolves. Eventually they headed into a deep valley north of the airstrip where the planes land to bring supplies to the weather station, and out across the wide valley to the northeast. Suddenly they jumped an arctic fox pup, chased it, and it got away. But then we noticed one of the wolves beginning to eat something around the same den area. We believe it had caught a second pup that we had not seen.

The wolves included the breeding female, the breeding male and probably a yearling, and they had come in from the northeast, whereas the female had come in from the east before and had left to the east/northeast. Thus the directions roughly jibed, but not precisely. Nevertheless, we will be searching a quadrant from the northeast to the east tomorrow.

DEAN: We still haven’t found the den, but not for lack of trying. Today we went up Remus Creek into some fairly hummocky terrain. Sure got our innards shaken up on the ATV’s! We howled in a bunch of places but no success. Once evening rolled around, we drove back to the airstrip area. Dave and I split up to watch different areas. We really need to see that nursing female again and get another clue on the direction she travels.

I started watching around 8:30 p.m., and 45 minutes later, I saw something white move on the tundra. It seemed small, and I was expecting it to be an arctic hare. When I viewed it though my binoculars, it clearly was a wolf coming head on. As I reached for the radio to inform Dave, I saw a second wolf appear near the first. I radioed Dave to say that I saw two wolves coming toward me. While I waited for Dave to reply, a third wolf came into view with the other two. When Dave replied, he asked me to confirm that I saw 2 wolves. Somewhat chuckling, I said, “Well, Dave, I now have THREE wolves in sight, and they’re heading in my direction!” Of course, that got Dave all excited, and he said he was coming over to join me. It turned out the wolves were the dominant male (RLU’s galore, and he scratched at the ground) and the lactating female. We suspect the third wolf is that other young wolf, like a female, we saw on the first day.

The three wolves soon left the area together and presumably continued hunting. We saw one wolf run a bit in one direction, and it appeared to catch something. I thought it might be a chick, but I saw no birds flying above the wolf. Just then, Dave and I saw a small animal dash to a small rock outcrop. We suspect it was an arctic fox pup, and that site must be a fox den. Perhaps that wolf killed a fox pup that didn’t make it back to the den in time. The wolf was at that spot for several minutes and looked like he was eating something. Soon after, the three wolves moved west and went out of view.

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Day 6

DAVE: Skunked 2! We struck out again today. We backtracked the wolves much farther over the mud flats of the Remus Creek drainage and up various dried creek beds in the sandy desert, a total now of about 10 – 12 miles from where we saw the breeding female. Every half mile or so, we would climb a hill and howl, but we got no replies. Finally, after losing the tracks because of the lack of good tracking ground, we continued in the direction the tracks had been coming from for several more miles, howled several more times and then posted ourselves on hills and watched from 9:00 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. hoping to see a wolf emerge from some distant spot and begin its nightly hunt. But no such luck. We then began the long drive on our ATV’s back to camp while pondering where our reasoning could have gone wrong.

These negative results made us begin questioning our assumptions, among them (1) the 5 miles we backtracked the breeding female should have led us toward the den because in the evening, usually a wolf would be coming from the den, and (2) the many other old and fresh wolf tracks along the same route also indicated wolves traveling to and from the den. If either of these two assumptions is wrong, that could explain why we could not find the den. The only hard information we have about the den is where we saw the breeding female, as she almost certainly was returning to the den to nurse the pups. This, of course, is another assumption but a very good one because the female had been away from the pups for at least 10 hours.

Conceivably when we first saw her, she was NOT coming directly from the den but perhaps from an old kill or some other attraction, in which case her backtrack could have misled us. So tomorrow we begin searching and howling in the new area where the female disappeared.

This dispatch demonstrates the necessity of strategy when researchers are trying to find “needles in a haystack” – or in this case, wolves in a landscape so huge that one can see for seemingly endless miles in every direction. Although the land is treeless, the terrain is rugged, with gullies and dips and high ridges and valleys. Dean and Dave have learned through years of observation that wolf packs have established patterns and routines when they are raising pups. The adults are tied to the den and/or rendezvous site until the pups are old enough to travel and to hunt with the pack. It is this routine of hunting and returning to bring food to the youngsters that holds the key to finding where the wolves have established their summer “home.”

Monday, July 7, 2008

Day 5

DAVE: Skunked! We found lots more places where the wolves are not, and we pretty well know now where they must be, but that is not good news. They appear to be way at the end of fiord, but how far across there we still don’t know. We checked all the hills above the ancient remains of a Thule village and ruled them out. Also found more evidence that the wolves have been coming from farther away than that area. It all leads across a creek and into the desert. Tomorrow we should be able to track them across the sand, and we can only hope they are not too far away. We’ve also revised the ages of the pups. They should be about 7 weeks old now because Mom was away from them at least 10 hours last night. Based on a publication I did in 1992, that indicates they are about 7 weeks old and getting close to weaning. Anyway, we are still having great fun, and tomorrow should indicate how easy or hard it will be to work with this pack.

Ellesmere Island is very dry. Wildlife tends to congregate in large thermal oases where sufficient water sustains the sparse vegetation that nourishes muskoxen, arctic hares and other animals. Although snow does accumulate during the long, dark arctic winter, it must not come too early in the autumn if healthy numbers of muskoxen and arctic hares are to survive. If the snow comes too early, it will cover the vegetation, and the muskoxen will not have enough to eat to build up the reserves they need to survive the bitter cold and depleted food supply in winter. This is life on the edge.

Sunday, July 6, 2008

Day 4

DAVE: Disappointment! We checked the gully where the male disappeared yesterday, hoping it was the den or a rendezvous site, but unfortunately it had only been a temporary resting spot for the male. But we did have a big breakthrough! We saw the real breeding female today and stayed with her from 9:00 p.m. to 4:30 a.m. Glad it’s light all night! We could see at least 6 well-used nipples, indicating she’s still nursing pups and probably 3 – 6 of them. Dean got some good pictures of her and was able to backtrack her about 5 miles in the sand and dust while I stayed with her waiting for her to return toward the den. When she did head out, however, she did some fancy maneuvering and gave me the slip after a mile. I spotted her again with binoculars a couple of miles away and lost her again. One thing interesting is that she did not backtrack the way she had come but rather paralleled that route about 1.5 miles to the north. So the question is: Will the backtrack help us find the den, or would it be better to search where I lost her as she returned? We will first try the backtrack because that is where there are many tracks of many wolf trips.

Dean took a picture of a female wolf with dark, swollen nipples. (See photo) It is obvious she has pups. If the den or rendezvous site is close to the researchers’ base, the pups could be quite young, perhaps 5 weeks old. At that age, they need to nurse about every 5 hours, and the mother would not leave them to travel a great distance. Young as they might be, however, they are active and robust and growing rapidly. They are beginning to eat solid food regurgitated by the breeding pair and by the older siblings that have remained with their natal pack. Trying to figure out where the rendezvous site is located is part of the frustration and part of the fun of field work. Ideally, a rendezvous site is situated where the adults can leave the pups while they hunt. This “wolf pup nursery” provides shelter and protection from predators. It is located near a water source if possible. Sometimes an older brother or sister will remain behind to babysit while the other adults search for food.