Richard A. Hook

“ The objectives of the research project were to determine whether (1) wild wolves could be moved to a new location, (2) such translocated wolves could remain in the new area, (3) they could learn to find and procure enough food in the new area, (4) they could tolerate and survive human activities, and (5) they would breed and help to re-establish a new population in Upper Michigan.
As background we had the results of three previous attempts to transplant wolves to new areas. In 1952, one male and three female zoo wolves were released on Isle Royale (Mech 1966) . ”

“ It is unlikely that members of the Baraga County group killed the experimental wolves, for it would be extremely difficult for anyone to deliberately hunt down and kill a wolf. Most wolves that are shot anywhere just happen to be seen by a few of the hundreds of thousands of hunters that are afield or by local residents who keep a gun handy. ”

“ They would have to be released in the most inaccessible area we could find and encouraged to stay there. To maximize their chances of breeding, we would have to try to obtain animals with already established social ties, that is, members of the same pack. Approval was obtained from the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources to live-trap up to five wolves in Minnesota, and a permit was granted by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources to release up to five in Upper Michigan. ”

“ There then followed widespread national and international concern and support for preserving natural wolf populations. Substantial scientific and ethical arguments exist for preventing the extinction of a species or subspecies of any plant or animal. ”

“ The habitat in Upper Michigan apparently is adequate to support wolves, in terms of food and cover, for the carcasses of the two experimental wolves that could be examined intact had maintained or improved their condition during their 6-to-8-month residence in Michigan. ”

“ The two females examined post-mortem were in good physical condition indicating that food supplies were adequate in Michigan.
Human-caused mortality was responsible for the failure of the wolves to establish themselves. Therefore recommendations for a more successful re-establishment effort include a stronger public-education campaign, removal of the coyote bounty, and release of a greater number of wolves. ”

“ The Huron Mountain yard continues to be overbrowsed, with high deer mortality expected in severe winters. Many other northern deer yards of the Upper Peninsula are also overbrowsed and are dwindling in area. Thus we expected that numbers of vulnerable deer (Pimlott et al. 1969; Mech and Frenzel 1971) would be available to wolves.
Beavers (Castor canadensis) are an important food source for wolves in many areas during summer (Mech 1970) , and they are common throughout the Upper Peninsula. ”

“ In Michigan, a $15–$20 bounty still exists on coyotes, so these animals are commonly shot and trapped. Because many people cannot distinguish wolves from coyotes, and because wolves are often caught in the same kind of trap sets made for coyotes, wolves might be killed accidentally.
Whether the killing of the translocated wolves was deliberate or accidental is unknown except in the case of No. 11. No. 11 was caught accidentally in a coyote trap, but was killed deliberately when the trapper thought the animal might attack him. ”

“ Male No. 12 was the only wolf that would stare directly at a person approaching the pen. He was bolder and more direct in his actions than any of the other animals. This is the wolf that mated with adult female No. 11 while penned in Minnesota, and thus can be considered the "alpha male," or pack leader.
When approached by humans, all the wolves would urinate and defecate ”

“ The only substantial population left inhabits northern Minnesota (Fig. 1) . The estimated wolf population in the Superior National Forest of northeastern Minnesota in winter 1972–73 was about 390 (Mech 1973) , and a tentative population estimate for the entire state is 500 to 1,000 (Mech and Rausch 1975) . A well known population of about 15 to 30 wolves is also found in Isle Royale National Park, Lake Superior, Michigan (Mech 1966; Wolfe and Allen 1973; Peterson 1974) .
Fig. 1—Original and present range of the Easter Timber Wolf
In the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Hendrickson et al. ”

“ It is well known that wolves generally choose the easiest routes of travel (DeVos 1950, Stenlund 1955, Mech 1966) .
Possible Homing Tendencies
Some of the movements of the wolves during the Directional Movements Phase could in part have resulted from a tendency for the animals to home, that is to return to their home territory. Packs have been observed to travel 45 miles (72 km) in 24 hours in Minnesota (Stenlund 1955) , Alaska (Burkholder 1959) and on Isle Royale (Mech 1966) . ”

“ Nevertheless, experiments are for learning, no matter what the answers may be. We are convinced that the answers provided by this project will ultimately be most helpful in future attempts to restore endangered animals to parts of their native ranges where they can begin again on the road to recovery. ”

“ Our pride is bittersweet, however. The experiment was a complete success in providing the information sought: What might happen when a pack of wolves is transplanted to a new area where the native population has been all but exterminated by Man? ”

“ We also tracked the wolves from the ground whenever interesting or significant activities were observed during flights or were reported by ground observers. Carcasses of prey animals were investigated from the ground after consumption was complete and the wolves had left. Deer eaten by the wolves were considered killed by them if the ground check revealed fresh blood or flesh, or signs of a struggle. Scats were collected along the tracks of the wolves in the snow whenever possible. ”

“ Habitat Use
The relative percentages of various habitats in which the translocated wolves were found during aerial locations (Table 7) did not indicate a preference for any particular habitat type. Evidently the animals chose their travel routes and ranges on some basis other than forest habitat, or at least habitat was not of any overriding importance in their movements. ”

“ Furthermore, by breeding season in late February the wolves might already have settled into an area. Then the entire breeding cycle might take place outside captivity and stand a better chance of succeeding.
CONCLUSIONS
Three principal conclusions can be drawn from the results of this experiment: (1) It is possible to transplant a pack of wild wolves into a new range. That new range, however, must be large enough to permit some initial wandering. The animals cannot be expected to establish a home range centered on or even including the point of release. ”

“ It is not clear why the wolves were not killed by humans during these periods when they appeared so vulnerable. Perhaps the novelty of the transplant coupled with the awareness that frequent aerial checks were being made of the wolves had some effect. Furthermore, spring is not generally a season of intensive hunting and trapping. ”

“ Fig. 13.—While in captivity, the wolves were fed primarily on road-killed deer (Photo by Don Pavloski)
The subsequent locations of the wolves were then checked intermittently through aerial radio-tracking (Mech 1974) , with a receiver and antenna from the AVM Instrument Co., Champaign, Illinois, used in a Cessna 172 and a Piper Colt. We made two flights each day for the first 2 days after release, one each day when weather permitted, until April 20, three per week in May, approximately two per week from June through September, and three per week in October and November. ”

“ Because results of the earlier attempts at translocating wolves suggested that pen-reared wolves did not fare well in the wild, we decided to use wild wolves that were accustomed to fending for themselves and avoiding people. ”

“ Two male and two female eastern timber wolves (Canis lupus lycaon) , live-trapped in Minnesota were released in March 1974 near Huron Mountain in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Their movements were monitored by aerial radio-telemetry. ”

“ This fact, plus the results of her blood tests indicate a high degree of stress, which probably explains why she never produced pups.
The possible interference of the drugs used can be ruled out, for they were chosen because of their known lack of effect on pregnancy (Seal et al. 1970) .
The radio collars placed on the wolves had no noticeable effect on the animals. Radioed wolves are regularly accepted back into their packs in Minnesota, where they also reproduce and function normally (Mech and Frenzel 1971; Mech 1973, 1974) . ”

“ The two male wolves (No. 12 and No. 13) were allowed into the pen with the two females on February 4. No. 13 remained in the original adjoining pen and did not move in with the females immediately, but No. 12 did. There were no signs of aggression among any of the four wolves. No. 11, 12, and 13 moved freely around the pen while in Minnesota, but No. 10 most often lay in one corner by herself.
Trapper Himes first observed vaginal bleeding in female 11 on February 7. He observed Wolves 11 and 12 mating (with normal coupling) on February 12 and 16. ”

“ Mech and Frenzel (1971) found that the average daily straight-line distance traveled in Minnesota by three lone wolves was 2.0, 1.0 and 2.9 miles (3.2, 1.6, and 4.6 km) , and a pack of five averaged 2.5 miles (4.0 km) straight-line distance per day. A pack of eight wolves in Ontario traveled actual distances of 0.0 to 13.2 miles (21.1 km) per day during winter with an average movement of 4.4 miles (7.1 km) per day (Kolenosky 1972) .
Fig. 24.—Straight-line distances between consecutive locations for (A) Wolves No. ”

“ However, she may also just have used the release pen as a reference point in a generally unfamiliar area, or may have been attracted by the remains of carcasses left there.
Effect of Captivity and Human Contact
The necessary capture, captivity, translocation and contact of the experimental wolves with humans had an unknown effect on the wolves. They had been exposed to humans for over 2 months while in captivity. ”

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