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Close Encounters With Canis Lupus
June 02, 2008 12:37 PM
Since its reintroduction to the northern Rockies in 1995, the wolf has been the center of a swirling conflict of human interests. For some, the recent removal of the wolf from the endangered species list represents a stupendous success story – some 1500 wolves now roam across Idaho, Montana and Wyoming up from the original 66 reintroduced to the region starting in 1995.
For others, like some ranchers and hunters, 1500 is too many. Wolves have attacked livestock and threatened livelihoods. Some claim elk and deer herds are vastly reduced. Still others find 1500 to be too few to ensure that wolves will be able to thrive and reproduce successfully. A group of conservation organizations have initiated a lawsuit to return the wolves to the endangered species list and strict federal control. But for now, the management of the wolf resides with state fish and wildlife departments.
As part of 'Nightline's' reporting on the debate over removing the wolf from the endangered species list, I spent a day with Jason Husseman, a regional wildlife biologist for the Idaho Department of Fish and Game. Based out of Salmon, Idaho, Husseman's job includes keeping track of the wolves in his area and counting them. He needs to make sure the number of breeding pairs – two adult wolves who successfully raise at least two pups to the end of the year - stays above at least 10 pairs to comply with the new regulations.
In the spring, Husseman tracks down the den sites for the packs in his region to document reproduction rates and litter size. The day before I met up with Husseman, he had taken a flight over the area to try to track down wolves in the area that he had previously radio-collared in order to get a general location for where a particular pack's den might be. Based on what he found, he thought the den would be about a half-hour hike from a narrow dirt road deep in the forest southwest of Salmon.
Bumping along the dirt roads with Husseman the next morning he explained his strategy for locating the den. "Hopefully there will be a radio-collared animal there that we can key in on and using the radio telemetry equipment, hike in and try to get ourselves in a position where we can get a look and see if they have pups... Try to get an idea of litter size and hopefully get a look at other adults, see how many adults are in the pack."
As we drove deeper into the forest he pointed up a steep slope to my right that we were going to scale to begin the search. "Obviously you need to have a little bit of woodsy skills. Using the wind to your advantage. Trying not to get upwind from them." Looking up at that slope I was glad I had had a big breakfast. "You really have to kind of stand back and look at the situation and put yourself in a place where you are not going to be seen, where they are not going to wind you, which can be pretty difficult."
I was beginning to get the idea this was going to be more than a half hour hike. Before we started 
hiking in, Husseman first drove to the top of a nearby hill. He wanted to verify that there was a radio-collared wolf in the area where he thought the den was. Waving about a light weight antennae, he dialed up the frequencies for the various collared wolves in the pack on his hand-held radio. Faint beeps showed the male was way off in another direction. Stronger beeps in the direction of the possible den got Husseman’s attention. "Sounds like mom’s there. That’s a good sign."
By 12:30 p.m. we had parked the truck on the side of the road, crossed a stream flowing with water from recently melted snow, and had started up the backside of the slope he had indicated driving in. Husseman paused frequently, checking the radio telemetry readings and wind direction. At times we followed a narrow path lined with wolf tracks going in both directions, but more often we stayed clear of any known path, breaking our own trail up to the rocky, pine-covered ridge.
In an hour, we reached the top and could see down into the valley below. Husseman’s telemetry was indicating that somewhere down below to our right was the collared female. We perched on that ridge top, scanning the meadows and open spots below with our binoculars. Husseman wanted to be quiet, to simply listen. "Just trying to hear if we can hear the pups playing" he whispered to me. "They are pretty rambunctious at times and so a lot of times you can listen for them and they will tell you right where they are at."
After an hour or so, and not having heard anything, Husseman made the decision to move on. With the female down to our right, we headed down to the left, trying to stay downwind of her. We crept quietly, which was a challenge – the ground was littered with rocks and dried twigs just waiting to be stepped on.
At the bottom, we crossed a wet meadow and began to climb up to the next ridge, thinking we would circle above the possible den site and come down on it from the opposite side. Progress was slow. We would walk slowly and quietly for a few minutes, then Husseman would check his telemetry. Then we’d walk some more... stop and listen again for any sounds of the puppies... nothing. Frustration and worries about a wasted day began to mount. Ticks and flies became more agitating in the heat.
Five hours after we had started hiking, Husseman and I sat on a small open bump of terrain deep in the trees. We had circled around where the telemetry indicated the radio-collared female wolf was, and indeed there were rub marks in the dirt around us from where wolves had recently lain. 
Suddenly, from just in front of us, the playful yips of puppies at play cut through the trees. I turned to Husseman and quietly gasped "Puppies?" Almost immediately there sounded a deep, snarly woof. "Discipline," Husseman translated.
Now we knew there was a den out there for sure. "You’re sitting about 75 yards from a wolf pack," Husseman whispered.
Could we get closer? Could I get a picture of them? Husseman started guiding us back up a slope we had come down thinking we could look down on them now that we knew more about where they were. As we crept along, I heard the snap of a stick being stepped on, turned and saw the back half of light colored wolf lope off into the trees. We froze. Slowly we lifted our binoculars to our eyes. And down through the deep brush and branches we could barely make out two adult female wolves with several puppies scampering about. Too far away for the weak zoom lens on my camera, but for a few moments we saw them playfully nuzzling and nursing, and then they faded back into the undergrowth.
Frustration gone, exhilaration replacing fatigue, we crept out of the area. Husseman later explained that he was very concerned that we not disturb the wolves and scare them off this particular den site. "In years past where they have denned, they have denned right on top of grazing cattle and we have seen livestock depredations because of it. Having that proximity and that temptation right there generally doesn’t bode well for either livestock or wolves. Hopefully where they are right now, they are far enough away from cattle that hopefully that will reduce the conflict level."
Conflict. To some the wolf is a demon, attacking cattle and sheep. To others a deity, a freer, purer relative of man's best friend. And to still others, he is simply a creature like all others trying to find its place in the world.
While the humans work through their conflicts, the wolves will continue to do their thing, and biologists like Jason Husseman will continue to monitor and document their activities. "When you’ve got a full day invested, try to get in there and get a quick peak, yeah it can be frustrating. Talking sometimes ten, twelve hours of hiking and sitting in the hot sun and bugs and mosquitoes and what not. Yeah, it can take a while but it’s usually pretty exciting when you get in there and get to see them."
June 2, 2008 | Permalink | User Comments (7)
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i can't believe this has zero comments.
in mn they talk about 2500 give or take being a stable population.
yet in the mid 1800's in our cental mn county there is a record of 2 men bringing in 1000 wolf plets over a period of 10 years...that was just 2 men. i was researching family history when i found this out. i did not look at the entire count in mn for that time...just what i found out made me sick.
the point being that for the best of my knowlege any species of anmial needs between 3000 and 5000 members to maintian any kind of genetic diversity.
however i would suggest you read a book by ian mcallister...the last of the wild wolves ghosts of the rain forrest.
copyright 2007
it talks about the huge difference in genetic diversity found in those wolves. it also talks about how you can get alot more information and distrub the wolves less if you collect scat and hair samples.
it also talks about some of the horrific way people still treat wolves.
but even more than that how we even in developed countries we still are willing to distroy things before we understand them.
people hear rain forrest and automatically think tropical. this is
in britsh columbia.
it also talks about how after this research team helped a film crew film this virtually unknow pack they recieved a letter from an outfitter saying that "thier precious wolves no longer existed because he had just shot as many of them as he could."
there were other stories of people killing them and chopping them up to put in crab pots.
and how one guy's favorite method of killing wolves was to bait a halibut hook so that when the wolf when for the bait the hook would rip its guts out.
i don't write this so that you go there...obviously that kind of noteritee is fatal to the wolves.
just i just wrote because i could not believe no one else had and because i think the book should be read.
Posted by: northstar | Jun 8, 2008 2:37:59 AM
Just maybe it's time for ranchers to understand that their arrogant disregard for all other life forms that effect their bottom line can't understand human terms of acceptable behavior. Are they not WILD animals? what meaning does a fence or property line have to them? -none obviously. Wild animals have a right to coexist with the human made mess of the environment. They are adapting to OUR game. Many ranchers use PUBLIC lands for their financial gain, with that privilege comes the risk that some of the wild inhabitants make a meal of their herd. Too bad! Don't use public lands for personal gain. Don't expect wild animals to understand your reasoning. Food is there, it's plentiful, and they'll eat some. Get over it and stop crying about a few lost grazing animals. According to statistics, there are more than 6 million sheep and tens of millions of cattle, losing a few of either will have little impact, but again there are just 1,500 wolves....
Posted by: James M | Jun 21, 2008 2:08:37 AM
Just watched your story about the wolf recovery.Unfortunatly many facts were overlooked such as the fact that wolf depredation is resposible for 1% or less to livestock production.Coyotes are responsible for more loss as well as feral dogs.The number of Elk taken in Idaho by hunters in 2007 was greater than ever before and research has shown that wolves take out the animals that are past their prime breeding age. Hunters, not being able to ascertain a weakness usually take animals in their breeding prime.in the long run much more of an impact on the harvestable population.Also wolves are a self regulating species as is well documented on Isle Royal. Dr. Mech's study over decades has kept a relativly stable population of approx.30 animals in 3 seperate packs.
Posted by: William E. Liggett | Jun 21, 2008 3:30:09 AM
Do these ranchers have dogs such as border collies working with them? Seems to me that you would be better able to control your herds with a little extra help from man's 4 legged friend. They'd be able to find lost sheep faster than a human ever could. I'd loan you my border collie, but living in PA makes the commute bad. Plus, she herds the neighbors sheep who keep getting on my property.
Posted by: Ann M | Jun 22, 2008 10:28:55 AM
Oh boy don't we ranchers just love going to a legitimate article on a legitimate website and seeing talking points from our favorite wolf advocacy groups demonizing us for everything under the sun.
Dang those ranchers and hunters they just hog everything, and abuse everything, and hate every living creature, and harm stuff just becuase they are evil.
The only hatred I see day to day are posts like those above. The ranching communities and hunters are working on the issue trying to make things work in a situation that has become untenable that they didn't ask for. What do we get for it? Demonized by orchestrated well funded wolf advocacy groups that want livestock grazing and hunting ended.
Posted by: Janice | Jun 22, 2008 8:40:36 PM
Dear Northstar,
The "Our public land" only line is bogus, as is, unfortunately about all of the rest of the "informational" propaganda put out by extremists who attempt to destroy others with abandon for their own self-aggrandizment.
The land agencies, USFS, BLM etc's biggest secret is that ranchers actually own, do not lease from the public, the water rights, the forage these cattle waters service and easements covering most if not all their allotments. For the Truth, look up Hage v. United States, the final part of this trial ended 6/6/08,(the Supreme Court has upheld these rights for almost 100 years. U.S. v. New Mexico made it very clear that the State, not the Feds, owned the stock grow rights which they passed on to the settlers through the 'beneficial use'doctrine governing property title acquisition in the west.
Compensation for the Forest Service keeping Hage off of his resources for over 10 years,I believe, came to over 4 million dollars that says ranchers definately DO have property interests in their allotments, sometimes as split estates with the State and the Fed. Gov.
If this causes disbelief in some, that ranchers OWN their resources, it would be fairly accurate to let any disbelief or cognitive dissonance which occurs be a measure of the falsehoods being propagated by "special" interests.
Maybe it's time for the public to understand that the arrogant disregard and callousness toward both nature and their fellow man evidenced by these so called 'environmentalists' has been abusive to both wolves, and other animals and humans.
This is human landscape, not the mythical 'wild'. That is the most destructive myth to hit our landscape ever! People have been on the land across north America ever since they and the newly forming forests followed the retreating glaciers north 12,000
or so years ago. (read the real history at sosforests)
I could go on but the real story is so different from the evil and destructive propaganda would all have to be told.
Right now the greatest threat to our forests in the West is the powerful special interest threat posed by the current campaign to remove all human interaction and even most entry to our forests. The Mega fires of today are not 'natural' and 'renewing' our forests. Many huge forest areas have been totally genetically destroyed as the heat from fires in forests where the symbiotic human stewardship (yes, many times humans do it right) has been removed is too intense for genetics developed for many thousands of years in an anthropogenic landscape.
If you want to know, don't be foolish and listen only to those with agendas so far from the truth they must flagrantly lie about it all.
Posted by: Mary Macnab | Jun 23, 2008 10:14:32 AM
Dear Northstar,
The "Our public land" only line is bogus, as is, unfortunately about all of the rest of the "informational" propaganda put out by extremists who attempt to destroy others with abandon for their own self-aggrandizment.
The land agencies, USFS, BLM etc's biggest secret is that ranchers actually own, do not lease from the public, the water rights, the forage these cattle waters service and easements covering most if not all their allotments. For the Truth, look up Hage v. United States, the final part of this trial ended 6/6/08,(the Supreme Court has upheld these rights for almost 100 years. U.S. v. New Mexico made it very clear that the State, not the Feds, owned the stock grow rights which they passed on to the settlers through the 'beneficial use'doctrine governing property title acquisition in the west.
Compensation for the Forest Service keeping Hage off of his resources for over 10 years,I believe, came to over 4 million dollars that says ranchers definately DO have property interests in their allotments, sometimes as split estates with the State and the Fed. Gov.
If this causes disbelief in some, that ranchers OWN their resources, it would be fairly accurate to let any disbelief or cognitive dissonance which occurs be a measure of the falsehoods being propagated by "special" interests.
Maybe it's time for the public to understand that the arrogant disregard and callousness toward both nature and their fellow man evidenced by these so called 'environmentalists' has been abusive to both wolves, and other animals and humans.
This is human landscape, not the mythical 'wild'. That is the most destructive myth to hit our landscape ever! People have been on the land across north America ever since they and the newly forming forests followed the retreating glaciers north 12,000
or so years ago. (read the real history at sosforests)
I could go on but the real story is so different from the evil and destructive propaganda would all have to be told.
Right now the greatest threat to our forests in the West is the powerful special interest threat posed by the current campaign to remove all human interaction and even most entry to our forests. The Mega fires of today are not 'natural' and 'renewing' our forests. Many huge forest areas have been totally genetically destroyed as the heat from fires in forests where the symbiotic human stewardship (yes, many times humans do it right) has been removed is too intense for genetics developed for many thousands of years in an anthropogenic landscape.
If you want to know, don't be foolish and listen only to those with agendas so far from the truth they must flagrantly lie about it all.
Posted by: Mary Macnab | Jun 23, 2008 10:15:38 AM
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