STOP THE WOLF HARVEST FOR STATE OF MINNESOTA

with the public through various media outlets, wolves live a

“feast or famine” existence, eating little for up to two weeks at a

time. And they end up surviving primarily on the less fit or most

vulnerable individuals in the deer population…the very young,

old, sick, injured, or nutritionally compromised...because those

are the ones they can catch.

But the wolves’ limited success in preying on healthy deer

is probably more a reflection of this prey’s exquisite skills in

avoiding wolf predation rather than of the inadequate predatory

abilities of the wolf. White-tailed deer are highly vigilant animals,

able to forage almost continuously during feeding bouts, and

yet, respond very quickly to the sights, smells, and sounds of

wolves and other predators. Once wolves begin hunting in a

specific area, deer become increasingly vigilant, and when a wolf

is detected and the decision to flee is made, a healthy deer can

reach a top speed of at least 56 km per hour (3 miles per hour)

and can hurdle obstacles as high as . meters (8 feet). The bare

ground or shallow snow cover typically found during northern

Minnesota’s early November firearm season is most

favorable to

the deer’s escape from wolves, and consequently, wolf predation

r

An additional factor may be whether a given hunting area lies

within typical winter range for deer versus their spring-summerfall

range. From radio-tracking the locations of our study deer, as

well as deer in northeastern Minnesota (Nelson and Mech), we’ve

determined that most deer in north central and northeastern

(approximately 75%) are seasonal migrators. This means that

WHITETALES

ates on them are very low

recently completed a comprehensive 15-year study of whitetailed

deer that involved, among other things, monitoring the

movements, survival, and specific causes of mortality of about

50 radio-collared, female white-tailed deer on four study areas…

mostly does at least one year old, but including many fawns, even

newborns, beginning at several hours to about seven days old.

My team and I also similarly monitored about 55 radio-collared

wolves from seven to eight packs with established territories

covering the deer study areas. We’ve learned a great deal from

the data generated from this long-term study, as well as from

anecdotal observations documented during extensive hours of

fieldwork, on the ground and from fixed-wing aircraft.

The overwhelming preponderance of evidence based on our

findings, as well as on those that have come before from studies

elsewhere in Minnesota and North America, does not support

the notion that wolves move into an area and come to dominate

portions of the woods in the fall (or any other season) by either

preying on large numbers of the resident deer or causing them

to flee clear out of that area.

Wolves are not particularly effective hunters of white-tailed

deer. Despite the fact that deer outnumber wolves in Minnesota’s

forest zone by some 175 : 1 (600,000 deer : 3, 00 wolves),

wolves must range and search widely over large pack territories

(5 to 555 km ( 0 to 1 mi ) to obtain the number of deer

(15 to 0 adult-sized deer per wolf) they require to sustain their

numbers over time. Indeed, studies have shown quite clearly

that most of their hunting attempts are brief and unsuccessful,Results from the 2013 wolf survey continue to demonstrate that Minnesota’s wolf population is fully recovered from its once threatened status and the population is responding naturally to the availability of deer, wolves’ primary food source,” said Dan Stark, DNR large carnivore specialist.

One of the primary factors influencing the wolf population estimate was a 13 percent increase in average wolf pack territory size to about 62 square miles. The increase in territory size likely is caused by fewer deer per square mile, which has declined 25 percent since 2008 in the forested region of Minnesota.

A 12 percent decrease in the average number of wolves per pack from 4.9 to 4.3 also contributed to the lower population estimate. John Erb, DNR research biologist, said the reduction in average pack size likely is a combination of reduced prey and the harvest of wolves in the two months immediately preceding the mid-winter wolf pack counts.

Survey data is collected in mid-winter before pups are born. The birth of pups significantly boosts the wolf population each spring. With an estimated 438 packs in Minnesota and an average litter size of six, as many as 2,600 wolves were added to the population when pups were born this spring.

“This is part of the annual population cycle for wolves in which many pups are born each spring and then the population declines through the rest of the year through various sources of mortality until the next whelping season the following spring,” Erb said.

The DNR periodically conducts comprehensive wolf population surveys and annually monitors wolf population indicators such as carnivore scent post surveys, winter track surveys and wolf depredation trends. Survey data allows wildlife biologists to assess the population’s status and help ensure the long-term survival of the wolf in Minnesota

The DNR will more closely monitor pack and territory sizes in the next few years. More frequent radio collaring of wolf packs will provide additional data on the population’s response to wolf season harvest.

Compared to previous years, wolf populations had added mortality as a result of the 2012 wolf season and higher than normal livestock depredation control but continue to thrive. Wolves are widely distributed throughout their range and total wolf range has expanded in several areas along the southern and western boundaries since the last survey in 2008.

The DNR will continue to monitor and regulate the take of wolves, to ensure that human-caused mortality will not exceed safe levels for long-term population sustainability.

The DNR’s fall and winter 2013 wolf season will be based on the framework established for the 2012 season. Season details along with application information for prospective hunters and trappers will be available in late July once DNR biologists develop a final proposal and tribal authorities are consulted on the season framework.

The DNR’s goal for wolf management, as outlined in the state’s wolf management plan, is to ensure the long-term survival of wolves in Minnesota while addressing wolf-human conflicts that inevitably result when wolves and people live in the same vicinity. The DNR’s wolf management plan includes wolf-specific population and health monitoring, research, depredation management, public education and law enforcement efforts.

Average mid-winter pack size as estimated from radio-marked packs was ~ 4.3, down 12% from

4.9 in 2007 and the lowest since surveys began. Fuller et al. (2003) estimated the average

reported pack size for wolf populations preying primarily on deer to be 5.66, though many of the

populations analyzed were from protected or expanding wolf populations. Pack size may

decline for a variety of biological or anthropogenic factors that modify survival, recruitment, or

immigration/emigration rates. Although the correlation between winter pack size and prey

density is not as strong as the prey density – wolf territory size correlation, prey density certainly

has an influence on pack size particularly via changes in pup survival (Fuller et al. 2003) and the

observed decline in prey biomass may have contributed to the decline in average pack size.

we project that the 2012 pre-hunt wolf population was likely around 2,600,

Furthermore, the 2011-12 winter preceding the current wolf survey was one of the mildest on

record, with average winter temperatures the warmest in the last 100 years and weekly snow

depths typically ranking near or often well below the lower 20

th percentile of historic conditions

(MN DNR State Climatology Office). This in turn likely reduced vulnerability of deer to wolf

predation (Nelson and Mech 1986, Fuller 1991, DelGiudice et al. 2002), and may have caused

nutritional stress for wolves that ultimately affected wolf pup condition and survival in summer

2012. Evidence from wolf depredation control activities in summer and fall 2012 suggests that

wolves may have been nutritionally stressed and pup recruitment may have been lower than

average. Finally, a record number of wolves were removed during wolf depredation control

activities in 2012 and an additional 413 wolves were harvested in Minnesota’s first regulated

wolf season. Given the timing (i.e., early winter) and very limited period of time between wolf

harvest and mid-winter pack counts (i.e., ~ 1.5 months), no recruitment from reproduction would

have occurred, limited opportunity for compensatory mortality existed, and any emigration of

wolves into Minnesota from other jurisdictions during this short interval is not likely to be

significant. Hence, we believe that these anthropogenic mortality factors certainly contributed

as well to the decline in average pack size this winter. Based on location data collected from

harvested wolves, ~ 50% of radio-marked wolf packs had at least 1 wolf harvested from within

their delineated territory.

The current population estimate of 2,211 is ~ 700 wolves less than in 2007. Although the

confidence interval for the current population estimate overlaps the confidence interval from

2007, and hence is not statistically different, we believe the totality of information (i.e., lower

prey density, larger wolf pack territories, lower pack size, and limited opportunity for any

population response following a harvest season) indicates the 2012-13 mid-winter population

was lower than the estimated population during the 2007 survey. However, total wolf

distribution appears to have increased and the area occupied by packs remains similar to 2007,

with wolves remaining widely distributed throughout Minnesota’s forest zone.

It is important to note that although the population estimate still represents a mid-winter estimate

With an estimated 438 wolf packs in

2,

average winter temperatures the warmest in the last 100 years and weekly snow

Average mid-winter pack size as estimated from radio-marked packs was ~ 4.3, down 12% from

4.9 in 2007 and the lowest since surveys began. Fuller et al. (2003) estimated the average

reported pack size for wolf populations preying primarily on deer to be 5.66, though many of the

populations analyzed were from protected or expanding wolf populations. Pack size may

decline for a variety of biological or anthropogenic factors that modify survival, recruitment, or

immigration/emigration rates. Although the correlation between winter pack size and prey

density is not as strong as the prey density – wolf territory size correlation, prey density certainly

has an influence on pack size particularly via changes in pup survival (Fuller et al. 2003) and the

observed decline in prey biomass may have contributed to the decline in average pack size.

Furthermore, the 2011-12 winter preceding the current wolf survey was one of the mildest on

record, with average winter temperatures the warmest in the last 100 years and weekly snow