After making pretty extensive use of their recent range on the Fosheim Peninsula of Ellesmere and on eastern Axel Heiberg, the wolves may be heading on a new foray. At least, their Jan. 25 location in the lower right of the map certainly suggests another southeastward trek. On their earlier trek to and from the southeast, from January 19 to February 1 (see last few blogs), they seem to have made some kills in the new area. Time will tell if this is a repeat.
Dave
How typical or atypical is it for the pack to make these "probes" into areas outside their traditional territory? And are there other wolf packs in these areas that they must avoid to hunt these newer areas?
ReplyDeleteI'm also curious about weather... where I live in the eastern U.S. we've had a colder and longer winter than normal. What is the trend on Ellesmere this year (colder, longer too?) And how might longer or shorter winters affect the pack?
How about linking the positions so we can follow the tracks?
ReplyDeleteDoes the pack stop travelling during blizzard conditions as indicated by the Eureka weather reports?
thewxvan,
ReplyDeleteOK, will link. No way of telling about travel in blizzards. Sorry.
Dave
DeLene,
ReplyDeleteGood questions, but this is the first time we have ever had info like this. Thus we don’t have the answers. We were surprised at the long foray southward. Also we know that there is another pack at the north end of Ellesmere and probably another in the Lake Hazen area, both several hundred miles away. But that is all we know about the area. Also, the only way of knowing whether the winter in the area is harder than usual will be to compare this winter’s temps with the average winter temps. That can’t be done till winter is over, in May or June. You might want to check the links on our blog to the Ellesmere weather site, where you can monitor daily temps and go back and look at earlier temps for other years.
Dave