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