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.