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

Howling Arctic Wolves, Eureka 08Jul2009

After Brutus recovered and the wolves prepared to leave the area, there seemed to be some disagreement. The wolves stopped, and each began howling. Eventually, however, they headed back toward the den.

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.