Wolves of the World: Perspectives of Behavior, Ecology and Conservation (Noyes Series in Animal Behavior, Ecology, Conservation, and Management)

495 Pages·1983·27.16 MB·English

by  Fred H. Harrington

WOLVES OF THE WORLD
NOYES SERIES
IN
ANIMAL BEHAVIOR, ECOLOGY,
CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT
BenjaminB. Beck, Ph.D., ConsultingEditor
A series of professional and reference
books in ethology devoted to the better
understanding ofanimal behavior, ecol
ogy, conservation, and management.
WOLVES OF THE WORLD: Perspectives of Be
havior, Ecology, and Conservation.
Edited by Fred H. Harrington andPaul C. Paquet
IGUANAS OF THE WORLD: Their Behavior,
Ecology, and Conservation.
Edited by Gordon M. Burghardt and A. Stanley Rand
HORSE BEHAVIOR: The Behavioral Traits and
Adaptations ofDomestic and Wild Horses, Includ
ing Ponies.
By George H. Waring
GAZELLES AND THEIR RELATIVES: A Study
in Territorial Behavior
By Fritz R. Walther, Elizabeth Cary Mungall, and Gerald
A. Grau
THE MANAGEMENTANDBIOLOGY OFANEX
TINCT SPECIES: PERE DAVID'S DEER
Edited by Benjamin B. Beck and Christen Wemmer
WOLVES OF THE WORLD
Perspectives of Behavior, Ecology,
and Conservation
Edited by
FRED H. HARRINGTON
Mount Saint Vincent University
Halifax, Nova Scotia
Canada
and
PAUL C. PAQUET
Portland State University
Portland, Oregon
U.S.A.
NOYES PUBLICATIONS
Park Ridge, New Jersey, U.S.A.
Copyright ©1982 by Noyes Publications
No part ofthis book may be reproduced in any form
without permission in writing from the Publisher.
Library of CongressCatalog Card Number: 82-3397
ISBN: 0·8155·0905·7
Printed in the United States
Published in the United Statesof America by
NoyesPublications
Mill Road, Park Ridge, New Jersey07656
10Q8 7 6 543
Libraryof CongressCataloging in Publication Data
Main entry undertitle:
Wolves of the world.
Most ofthe papers included were originally
presented at the 1979 Portland International Wolf
Symposium.
Includesbibliographiesand index.
1. Wolves--Congresses. I. Harrington, Fred H.
II. Paquet, Paul C. III. Portland International
Wolf Symposium (1979 : Or.)
QL737.C22W65 599.74'442 82-3397
ISBN 0·8155·0905·7 AACR2
Preface
"Only a mountain has lived long enough to
listen objectively to the howl of a wolf"
-Aldo Leopold, Game Management, 1933
Aldo Leopold was mistaken. We have lived and interacted with
wolves from prehistoric to modern times, certainly ample time to
comprehend and view them rationally. Exactly how long our ac
quaintance has endured is uncertain, but our association probably be
gan when our ancestors first immigrated to the northern hemisphere.
There, we encountered our ecological counterpart and perhaps most
direct competitor, the wolf. Our lives intertwined to such an extent
that we selected the wolf (or were selected by it) as our first domes
tic companion. Yet despite countless opportunities over untold gen
erations, our perceptions of wolves reflected our prejudices more
than reality.
Our fancied notions about wolves finally began to erode in the
1940s when Adolf Murie, Rudolf Schenkel, Ian McTaggart Cowan
and Sigurd Olsen pioneered modern, scientific study into the an
imal's ways. During the following decade, insights continued to accu
mulate, although investigators were few and the research lacked a
consistent direction. Near the end of the 1950s, however, two pro
jects were conceived which would soon provide the needed direc
tion.
Durward Allen recognized that Isle Royale was theperfectwilder
ness laboratory-isolated, relatively small, yet teeming with wolves,
moose and beaver. For two decades he guided a line ofgraduate stu
dents through a series of ground-breaking studies. At the same time,
Douglas Pimlott saw the potential of Algonquin Provincial Park.
Pimlott's students, like Allen's, broke ground in a number of areas,
includingthe introduction ofthe radio-collar in wolfresearch.
By 1970, the stage was set for synthesis. David Mech, the first of
Allen's students on Isle Royale, gathered together what was then
v
vi Preface
known into The Wolf. The book provided an immediate focus for
subsequent research efforts which, until then, had been somewhat
diffused. At the same time, Mech brought the radio-collar to north
ernMinnesotaand initiateda study which would become a model and
standard for future work. The effects were staggering. Currently,
field studies using radio-telemetry are being pursued from Alaska
south to Minnesota and Montana, in Europe, the Middle East, and
perhaps soon in Asia. At present, observations of wolves are out
strippingourability to synthesize and place them into perspective.
The 1980s should provide us with a more complete and refined
picture of wolves, a picture with sufficient complexity to encompass
the extensive variation now seen amongst them. This book is part of
that process. Most ofthe chapters included were originally presented
at the 1979Portland WolfSymposium, Portland,Oregon. That meet
ing brought together the majority of wolf researchers from around
the world. Our originalhope was that the conference would generate
an updated synthesis of wolf ecology and behavior. We now realize
that our hope was premature. As more data have accumulated, the
less secure our previous generalizations about wolves seem. More
data are required, datafrom diverse areas undervaried environmental
conditions. We must avoid hurrying our observations toward prema
ture conclusions that so easily, and erroneously, imply "this isTHE
WOLF."
At present, there is an unspoken urgency as wolf researchers
pursuetheir quarry. So often, intriguing observationsareleftdangling
as wolves, packs, or even populations succumb to civilization's on
slaught. Our studies are no longer esoteric exercises in biology and
psychology. What we learn may, or rather must, be used eventually
to ensure that wolves continue to exist. Thus, the papers in thisvol
ume sample areas which we feel are necessary ifwe are to secure this
planetfor the wolves.
The first two sections survey the areas ofecology and behaviorin
the wild. Because an animal's behavior is dependent on its ecology,
we have made no effort to segregatethese two areas. Rather, we have
made our division between "disturbed" and "undisturbed"habitats.
Studiesofwolves in North Americaprovide aview ofwolvesasclassic
predators of big game in relatively undisturbed wilderness habitat.
Here we can patiently attempt to disentangle the complex web of
interrelations that characterize "natural" communities. As we learn
more about the workings of these systems, we can make wiser de
cisions on management necessitated by our society's appetite for
minerals, lumber and energy. Studies of wolves in Eurasia can then
provide an important and necessary contrast, and perhaps a glimpse
into the future prospects of wolves in areas still pristine by 1980
standards. Eurasian wolves have managed to survive in habitats long
altered by us. Ifwe canunderstand how they have managed to adapt
to the drastic alterationswe have made in their environment, we may
have an idea ofhow greata shockwolves canwithstand, and whatwe
can do to lessenthat shock.
Preface vii
The third section provides a sampling of behavior studies con
ducted in captivity. Captive studies have often been maligned be
cause they inevitably must confine a wide-ranging animal to a mere
fraction of what it might normally traverse. Butwide-rangingwolves
are also elusive. Captive studiesallow us to focus onthose rarely seen
aspects ofwolflife and permit usdeeper insights into other areasjust
glimpsed in the field.
Conservation is the subject of the fourth section. With wolfpop
ulations variously labeled as "threatened", "endangered" and "ex
tinct", and further inroads being made into wolf habitat day by
day, it may soon not be enough to merely set aside refuges for the
remaining populations. As several papers inthis section pointout, we
must use ourknowledge ofwolf behaviorand ecology to balance our
demandsfor the wolf's habitatwith our goals for wolfpreservation.
We conclude thebookwith two perspectives onwolves, and wolf
study,from observersoutside the typicalbiologist/psychologistframe
of mind. As philosophers of science have pointed out for years, our
observations as scientists are biased by our cultural, sociological and
scientific backgrounds. A recognition and understanding of other
viewpoints can only serve to open our eyes wider and allow us to
"see" phenomenato which we might otherwise have been blind.
Although we have presented the major areas ofpresent-day wolf
research, our collection is by no means exhaustive. Some areas have
been underrepresented and others, unfortunately, are absent. The
areas which are included, however, should provide an overview indi
catingwhere the study ofwolves is headed duringthe 1980s.
Halifax, Nova Scotia Fred H. Harrington
Portland, Oregon Paul C. Paquet
April1982

Contributors
Warren B. Ballard John C. Fentress
Alaska DepartmentofFish & DepartmentofPsychology
Game Delhousie University
Glennallen, Alaska Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
William E. Berg PatrickM. Ghezzi
Minnesota Departmentof Utah State University
Natural Resources Logan, Utah
Grand Rapids, Minnesota
Fred H. Harrington
DmitriI. Bibikov Psychology Department
A.N. Severstov Institute of Mt. St. Vincent University
Animal Evolution Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Morphologyand Ecology
DaryllM. Hebert
USSR AcademyofScience
B.C. FishandWildlife Branch
Moscow, USSR
Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada
AndersBjarvall
Robert E. Henshaw
National Environmental
N.Y. DepartmentofEnvironmental
Protection Board
Conservation
801na, Sweden
Albany, New York
Luigi Boitani
Richard A. Hook
Istituto di Zoologia,
DepartmentofBiology
Universita di Roma
Northern Michigan University
Rome, Italy
Marquette, Michigan
Susan Bragdon
ErikIsakson
Williams College
National Environmental Protection
Williamstown, Massachusetts
Board
LudwigN. Carbyn Solna, Sweden
Canadian Wildlife Service
DavidJames
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Alaska DepartmentofFish &Game
Carl D. Cheney Fairbanks, Alaska
Institute ofAnimal Behavior
DougJanz
Utah State University
B.C. FishandWildlife Branch
Logan, Utah
Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada
Rick Davies
PaulJoslin
B.C. FishandWildlife Branch
Chicago Zoological Society
Nanaimo, British Columbia,
Brookfield, lllinois
Canada
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