Brutus Immortalized at Weather Station

In honor of Brutus' contributions to science, he has been mounted and placed on display at the Eureka Weather Station along with a plaque explaining his background.  A map of the GPS locations his collar provided will be mounted nearby.

The plaque reads:

Brutus
Canis lupus arctos

The breeding male of an arctic wolf pack that often denned near the Eureka Weather Station, Brutus first caught the attention of the staff in 2003 when he began coming regularly to the facility. The regal young wolf was a standout, and he and his family were frequent and fascinating visitors to the station over the years. He sired at least 5 generations of pups, and at approximately age 9, he became a celebrated pioneer in wolf research. From July 2009 to April 2010, he wore a collar tracked by satellite, and his far-ranging travels with his pack were recorded by wolf researchers and followed on an Internet blog by thousands of people. In April 2010, data from the collar reported no new locations, raising concerns that Brutus had died. Weather station personnel launched a search, and on a snow-covered hillside, they found the big wolf's body. A necropsy determined that he had died of natural causes. Brutus lived a very long life as a hunter and pack leader in one of the most challenging environments on earth. To honor his contribution to the world's knowledge of wolves and to preserve their countless personal memories, the staff brought Brutus home to Eureka.

We are still awaiting word from geneticists about whether the last batch of pup scats included one from the last of the 5 pups we studied last summer. The pups are doing well as the accompanying photo of them by WS staff shows.

Thanks.

Dave