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Katie Davidson
February 14, 2008
SEA-DISC
Save the Gray Wolf!
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The Gray Wolf, scientifically called Canis Lupis, like so many creatures are
misunderstood and feared. The Gray Wolf could, at one time, be found throughout all of
North America, but were killed off at an astonishingly fast rate by the mid-1930’s. Due to
fear of the animal, severe habitat loss, and specific food requirements of the animals this
magnificent creature has found itself on the endangered species list. The Gray Wolf is a
vital part of our ecosystem and if we continue on this deadly trend we may lose one of the
most beautiful animals of our time.
Getting Acquainted
Demographics
The Gray Wolf is a proud predator and the largest member of the wolf family.
They have narrow chests and neutrally colored fur that vary according to their habitat. Its
fur comes in a range of colors, varying from gray to reddish brown, to white, or black.
(The Wild Ones, 2000) They weigh an average of 55 to 130 pounds, but can grow to be
as large as 175 pounds. Males are typically taller and heavier than females. They stand
anywhere from 26 to 32 inches tall at the shoulder. The further north, the larger the wolf.
Their normal trot speed is about 5 mph. They can reach up to 45 mph in a short sprint but
can also run 25 mph for several miles (Defenders of Wildlife, 2008).
Gray wolves are very social and live in packs of two to 15, but usually four to
seven other wolves, usually family members. The strongest and largest wolf is the leader
who is dominant over the entire pack. Gray Wolves are not brutal killers, unlike many
people believe. In fact they often demonstrate deep affection for their family and may
even sacrifice themselves to protect their family. (The Wild Ones, 2000)
Range and Communication
Historically, Gray Wolves have the largest range of any land mammal. According
to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Gray Wolves once roamed everywhere in the U.S.
except for a part in California, the southwest corner of Arizona, and the red wolf ange in
the southeastern U.S. In the mid 1930s, Humans had killed off most of the gray wolves
and sadly in 1974, the gray wolf was listed as Endangered. Today their range includes
parts of Canada and Alaska, Idaho, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Wisconsin and
Wyoming.
Gray Wolves have adapted to every, except for tropical rainforest and true desert.
Due to the fact that Gray Wolves travel up to 50 miles a day they need a very large
amount of space to live. Before humans invaded their habitat and took away the majority
of their homes, Gray Wolves were flourishing in a variety of biomes within North
America including boreal forest, temperate deciduous forest, and temperate grassland.
(U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 2007) The Gray Wolf is not only adaptive to different
habitats, but also to different names. For instance, in the Arctic it is known as the Arctic
Wolf.
Just like humans, the gray wolf develops strong social bonds and close
relationships with his/her pack. They often demonstrate deep affection for their family
and may even sacrifice themselves to protect the family unit. Though they are social
amongst themselves, they try to avoid human contact for their own safety because believe
it or not, we pose a threat to them.
Wolves communicate through howling, barks, whines, growls, body language,
and scent. Howling is used to assemble the pack, talk to other packs, and to assert
territorial claims. They use urine and feces to mark their territory as well. Wolves, like
us, use their facial expressions and tails (unlike us) to indicate their emotion and status in
the pack. (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 2007) While they don’t howl at the moon, they
do howl more when it’s light at night, which occurs more often than the full moon.
(Defenders of Wildlife, 2008) On a quiet night, howls can be heard from as far as 120
miles away.
Reproduction
When a Gray Wolf finds a mate, they are together for life. The gray wolf has a
short mating season during the months of January and or February. (U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, 2007) The average gestation period is 63 days, or about 2 months. Then
the pups arrive! A litter size is 4-7 pups large. These adorable little puppies are born blind
a defenseless so the pack cares for the pups until they are about 10 months old. For the
first six weeks, pups remain and are cared for inside the safety of the den. For that first
month of life, they depend solely on their mother’s milk for nourishment. Then they are
gradually weaned off the milk and are fed regurgitated meat brought to them by members
of their pack. At seven to eight months of age the pups get the hang of things and begin to
travel and learn to hunt with their pack. When they reach one or two years old they leave
their pack to find a life-long mate and start a pack of their own. Wolves will live to about
13 years old and can reproduce past 10 years old. (Defenders of Wildlife, 2008)
Diet and Eating Habits
The gray wolf is mostly a carnivore, but at times has been known to scavenge for
its food as well. The Gray Wolf may travel up to 30 miles in one day searching for prey.
They have excellent hearing and super smell, which is great for seeking out prey. The
gray wolf feeds mainly on large hoofed mammals like elk, deer, moose and caribou.
However they have also been known to eat beaver, rabbits and other small prey. On the
occasion that they scavenge for their food, they eat animals that have died due to other
causes like starvation and disease. (Defenders of Wild Life, 2008)
Importance in the Environment
As a keystone species, the Gray Wolf is crucial to the ecosystem it inhabits.
Wolves support a wide variety of other animals, especially scavenger species. Ravens,
foxes, wolverines, coyotes, bald eagles, and even bears have been found feeding on the
remains of carcasses of animals killed by gray wolves. Wolves are key in helping
maintain the balance between hoofed animals, such as deer, elk, and goats and their food
supply, which in turn leaves more food for other plant-eaters such as beavers and small
rodents. (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 2007)
Wolves are one of the primary controllers of deer, moose, and elk populations.
One wolf eats about 15 to 20 adult deer per year. If the wolf population drops it would
cause a huge rise in the deer population, ultimately leading to the deer’s demise. There
are about 2,500 wolves in Minnesota and if they were to all die that would leave an
excess of about 36,000 deer. With so many deer, there isn’t enough food to go around
and so then the deer population would starve and then their population would plummet as
well. (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 2007) In an ecosystem it is important to remember
that all organisms are interconnected and any one disturbance disturbs everybody.
Population
There used to be as many as 2 million gray wolves, but due to many factors, their
population has dropped to the mere size of 200,000 total in 57 countries around the
world. (Defenders of Wildlife, 2008) There are an estimated 7,000 to 11,200 wolves in
Alaska and more than 5,000 in the lower 48 states; there are about 4,000 wolves in
Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan. The good news is that Gray Wolves are coming
back worldwide; due to research and recovery efforts. (PBS, 2008)
Reasons for Endangerment
An Irrational Fear
Wolves have been feared and despised by humans for centuries. People tend to
forget that their size, strength, and large teeth are meant for hunting their prey, and not
meant for humans. Many fairy tales and myths tend to misrepresent wolves as villainous,
dangerous creatures. Like the big bad wolf that eats your grandmother and the wolf who
will huff and puff and blow your house down. Fictional characters like these have helped
to create an irrational fear that has lead to many unfair and unwarranted attacks on and
murders of the Gray Wolf. Gray Wolf attacks on humans are extremely rare, even in
Canada and Alaska where there are usually the largest of the wolf population. You are
more likely o be killed by a coconut falling off a palm tree than to be killed by a gray
wolf. In the past 100 years there have only been a few reported attacks by wolves, but no
fatalities and almost all attacks have been in areas where people fed the wolves or
attracted them with garbage. Wolves are our furry friends but they generally avoid
humans and are only a minor threat to human safety. (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
2007) Wolves can be very tolerant of human activity but they are wild animals and
should be respected as such. We need to integrate ourselves into the wolf habitat, not take
over it.
Livestock Protection
The most common cause of death for wolves is conflict with people over
livestock losses. Way back when, settlers moving westward killed huge populations of
bison, deer, elk, and moose; main food sources of the gray wolf. Wolves then had no
other choice but to turn towards the sheep and cattle that the settlers brought onto the
gray wolf’s land. To protect livestock, ranchers and government agencies began an
eradication campaign. Bounty programs initiated in the 19th century continued as late as
1965, offering $20 to $50 per wolf. Wolves were trapped, shot, dug from their dens, and
hunted with dogs. Poisoned animal carcasses were left out for wolves, a practice that also
killed eagles, ravens, foxes, bears, and other animals that fed on the tainted carrion.
However wolf predation on livestock was pretty uncommon then and still is now. So
most wolves are sought out by ranchers and killed preemptively to protect the livestock.
Lightning, accidents, loose dogs, and human vandals kill 100’s of livestock annually, far
more than wolves have killed.
Now there are some livestock owners are developing non-lethal methods to
reduce the chances of a wolf attacking their livestock. These methods include fencing
livestock, lighting, alarm systems and removing dead or dying livestock that may attract
carnivores like wolves. (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 2007)
Habitat Destruction
Human intrusion of wolf territory has lead to habitat loss for wolves and their
prey species. The main causes of habitat destruction is ranching and agriculture
(Alderton, 1998) It’s not just the gray wolf’s habitat we’re infringing on but the elks, and
deer and many other species as well. Because all organisms are interconnected the Gray
Wolfs population obviously changes with the population of its prey. Wolves have
suffered and lost so much of their population due to our harmful habits, it is only fair that
we make it up to them by trying the bring back the size of their population. (U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service, 2007)
Recovery Plans and Laws
Gray Wolves gained protection by the Endangered Species Act of 1973. The
Endangered Species Act requires the US federal government to identify species
threatened with extinction, identify habitat they need to survive, and help protect both. In
doing so, the Act works to ensure the overall health of our ecosystems and protect the
legacy of conservation we leave to future generations. (Defenders of Wildlife, 2008)
At this time only a few hundred remained in Minnesota and an even smaller
number in Michigan. Gray wolves were listed as endangered in the contiguous 48 States
and in Mexico, due to their extremely low and decreasing population. Being under the
Endangered Species Act the Gray wolf has made a remarkable comeback nationwide.
This act increased scientific research and protection from unregulated killing, along with
reintroduction and management programs and education efforts that increased public
understanding of wolf biology and behavior. The recovery system has been so successful
that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service removed the gray wolf in the western Great Lakes
area from the threatened and endangered species list. Today there about 3,020 wolves
live in the wild in Minnesota, 460 in Michigan, and about 465 in Wisconsin.
A similar program took place in Yellowstone National Park and in Idaho. The
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reintroduced gray wolves into Yellowstone National Park
and U.S. Forest Service lands in central Idaho in 1995 and 1996. Again this
reintroduction was successful, and the recovery goals for this population were exceeded.
By December 2006 there were about 1,100 wolves in the Yellowstone area and Idaho.
Wolf recovery has been so successful in these areas, it seems like it would be a fairly
easy way to continue to bring up the wolf population.
Although the Gray wolf’s successful comeback due to these great programs, there
are some dangers. The Gray wolf has been taken off the endangered species list in some
areas and may continue on this trend in other areas. According to the Fish and Game
Service; with wolf populations actually growing stronger in certain U.S. states, a move
that could make states like Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho decide to implement
“management policies" that open hunting season on wolves again. This would be very
terrible for the wolf population, especially after all of the work they have done to come
back. In the beginning of the 20th century, the U.S. government led a very successful war
on their “enemies,” the gray wolf. In 1926, the last gray wolf in Yellowstone National
Park was shot by a forest ranger. (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 2007)
Opinion
What you can do