Fauna Series No. 5

Fauna of the National Parks — No. 5 The Wolves of Mount McKinley

CHAPTER TWO:
WOLF (continued)

Home Life (continued)

EAST FORK RIVER DEN—1941

Same Pair Have Young at East Fork Den.—The East Fork den which was used in 1940 was again used in 1941. As in the previous season, the black male was mated to the gray female. On my first visit to the area on May 12 the black male was seen lying close to the den entrance. The mantled male headquartered at the den as he had done the previous year, but grandpa and the black-masked male were not seen all summer. Possibly they had been trapped during the winter. On June 21 four pups played on the bar and climbed over the father and the mantled male.

Black Female Has a Den.—The black female which helped the gray female take care of her young in 1940 was not seen at the old East Fork den early in the summer, but was several times noted in the region. On June 1 she and a large light-faced gray male that was with the band in the late summer of 1940 were traveling together on Igloo Creek. It was later learned that she was mated with this male, but her den was not found.

On June 30 two hikers saw the black female coming up East Fork River followed by a pup which, in crossing the river, was carried downstream some distance and treated a little roughly by the fast water. The hikers were able to run it down and catch it by the tail. They said that the mother barked at them from a point about 150 yards away. When they released the pup the mother continued up the river toward the den occupied by the gray female.

The following day I saw the black female coming down the bar but before I could take cover she had seen me. Instead of following down the bar she climbed a high ridge opposite me and then dropped down on the bar below me. I hoped she was on her way to her den, but if she were she changed her mind. After trotting down the bar one-third of a mile she climbed the bank, smelled about a knoll, then came back and climbed over a high ridge. I searched for her den, but did not find it. After reviewing the places where I had seen this wolf and tracks during the summer, it seemed certain that she had denned about 4 miles below the East Fork den occupied by the gray female.

On June 30 the black female and her pups were living at the den of her neighbor, the gray female. On July 9 the gray female and her mate had moved to a rendezvous a third of a mile above the den, where the pups spent much time in a clump of willows and the parents rested on the open bar nearby. On this day the black female was still using the gray female's den. On July 12 both families were together at the rendezvous. There were 10 pups—6 in one litter and 4 larger ones in the other. Gray and black pups were present in both litters.

The two families were living together at the rendezvous as late as August 3, the last day I visited the area. Besides the two pairs of adults there was one extra adult wolf at the rendezvous—the mantled male. In September a band of 15 wolves was seen about 3 miles from the den by a truck driver. These probably were the two families, still traveling together.

An incident in line with the observations on the East Fork wolves with respect to the association of two females is given by Seton (1929, vol. 1, p. 342) who writes as follows: "Thomas Simpson [1843, p. 275-76] while exploring the Arctic coast east of the Copper-mine, on July 25, 1838, encountered wolves at the mouth of a small stream near Hepburn Island, and thus refers to the incident: 'The banks of this river seemed quite a nest of wolves; and we pursued two females, followed by half a score of well-grown young. The mothers scampered up the highest rocks where they called loudly to their offspring; and the latter, unable to save themselves by flight, baffled our search by hiding themselves among the willows which fringe the stream. The leader of the whole gang a huge, ferocious old fellow—stood his ground, and was shot by McKay.'"

Behavior When Disturbed.—On the morning of July 9 I approached the wolf den with a companion and managed, without being discovered, to gain a clump of willows on the bank 100 yards south of the den and at about the same elevation. The black female was later seen a few yards above the den. I do not know that she was aware of our presence, but she trotted to the den and nimbly entered one of the three burrows. A little later a black pup emerged from some brush and waddled up to a burrow. In the afternoon the large gray mate of the black female came trotting down the den knoll. He sniffed at a pup, which then followed him. A moment after arriving at the burrows he suddenly became alert and looked intently toward us. Apparently he had heard the motion picture camera. He took a step forward and stood with muscles tense, peering searchingly at us. Then he loped up the slope out of view above us. The pups continued to move about near the den, unaware of any danger. The male soon appeared on the bar below us, about 200 yards away, and for several minutes howled and barked. While he howled at us the very tip of his tail twitched back and forth, as it does on a cat when it is waiting to pounce on a mouse. When he retreated we walked up the bar toward the rendezvous where we had seen the other pair with their pups. The male we had disturbed went ahead of us to this pair and as we neared them they all ran up the slope and out of sight. Several pups were seen and we found two of them in a clump of willows and spent some time trying to approach them for pictures, but they finally moved off and kept a respectable distance between us.

On July 12 the pups of both families were together among the willows at the rendezvous. We approached slowly, taking advantage of the scattered willow clumps along the way. When about 75 yards from the willow clump where we knew the pups to be, we saw the head of the black male near the willows. After looking in our direction he put his head down but raised it again almost at once. A second time he seemed assured but his uneasiness persisted and again he looked at us. I started my motion picture camera. He stood up to look and listen, then trotted diagonally toward us, examining us intently as he trotted nearer. Then he became certain of what we were and galloped out on the bar and began to howl and bark. The gray male was approaching in the distance, carrying what appeared to be a ground squirrel. A little later we failed to see the gray male but he no doubt was not far off. We frightened a number of pups from a clump of willows in which they had well-beaten trails and many beds in the tall grass. They disappeared in the brush along the bank, all except one which ran out on the bar toward the black male. During the hour or so that we were at the rendezvous, the black male howled and barked. He followed us up the bar when we searched for the pups.

In spite of our intrusions the two wolf families remained at the rendezvous. On July 31 a companion and I, with much crawling, managed to gain a gully adjacent to the flat where the wolves rested and played. We watched for some time from the creek which was bordered by tall willow brush. At about 1 p. m. we had planned to make a close approach on one of the wolves for pictures, only waiting for the sun to shine before starting. While waiting, the gray female appeared on the creek bank 25 feet away, passed behind some willows, and reappeared 15 feet away. She then saw us and bounded away. All the wolves were alarmed and 3 adults and 10 pups scattered over the bar. The general retreat was southward, but the pups crisscrossed so much that the bar seemed covered with wolves.

The following day the two families were again at the rendezvous, and 4 days later when the study was terminated and I left the park the wolves were still there.

Continued >>>

Last Modified: Thurs, Dec 20 2001 10:00:00 pm PDT
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