This report briefly summarizes wolf monitoring activity from
April through June 1998. A more thorough report on spring/summer
trapping, radio-telemetry monitoring, and howl surveys will be
prepared in the fall.
Numerous people were involved in wolf population monitoring.
DNR pilots monitoring wolves from the air included; Phil Miller,
Joe Sprenger and Paul Anderson. Wolf trapping, collaring and
ground monitoring was done by Bruce Kohn on the Highway 53 project
in northwest Wisconsin, with. help from Paul Keenlance . Ron Schultz
trapped and collared wolves in other portions of northern Wisconsin
with help from Mirjam Mettke and Northland College students. Dick
Thiel and Wayne Hall conducted monitoring activity in central
Wisconsin. Kerry Beheler-Amass coordinated disease and health
testing for wolves, and Dr. Nancy Thomas of the National Wildlife
Health Lab conducted necropsies on dead wolves. Bob Willging and
Kelly Thiel of USDA-Wildlife Services coordinated depredation
control activity with trappers Buck Follis, Jim Rollman, and Ed
Zydzik. Dr. Jack Stewart and students of Northland College
conducted ground radio-tracking and wolf activity scouting
throughout northern Wisconsin. Mirjam Mettke of Germany and Lesa
Shuldt of Madison did intense monitoring of wolves in the Chase
Brook Pack in relation to depredation activity.
Funding for wolf population monitoring was provided by
Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WDOT) (Highway 53 Wolf
Project ) , Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Project W- 154 -R ( P. R .
Funds), Chequamegon and Nicolet National Forests, Wisconsin
Endangered Resources Fund, and Timber Wolf Alliance Adopt-a-Wolf-
Pack. Collars were purchased by Timber Wolf Information Network
and Gregg Topp. Other contributions for wolf population monitoring
were accepted from the general public.
Twenty-six wolves in 21 packs were monitored during the
quarter (Table 1). Forty-six packs with about 180 wolves were
found in the state last winter; therefore, collared wolves occurred
in 46% of state packs and 140 of wolves had active collars during
the quarter. The highest concentration of collared packs as found
in the Highway 53 study area being researched by Bruce Kohn.
Wolves being monitored include 8 adult. males, 9 adult females, 3
yearling males and 6 yearling females. Four collared wolves were
lost during the quarter including the loss of radio signals in 3
(246M, 278M and 289F) and death occurred for wolf 265M near Cameron
in Barron County from emaciation due to loss of left hind foot from
an unknown accident (probably human caused).
Eight wolves were live captured and radio-collared during the
quarter including 4 yearling females (x wt. 59 lbs.), 1 yearling
male, 1 adult male, 1 adult female, and 1 pup male that would have
turned 1 year old shortly after his capture. The mean weight of
yearling females was 9 lbs. more than the mean of 3 yearling
females caught last year. Wolf 246M and 281M were captured a
second time on May 17 and 18, respectively, after they caused
depredations on a beef farm and were relocated to Forest County.
Wolf 724F was also captured at this farm on May 14, but she was
returned to a nearby area because she had pups at a den.
Along with the death of wolf 265M mentioned above, a yearling
female was found shot on April 8, 1998 near Dairyland in Douglas
County; the wolf's head was removed and it may have been wolf 263F
that disappeared from the Track Trail Pack the previous week. On
June 23 a male wolf was killed on Highway 53 by vehicle collision
south of Minong; this is the first confirmed wolf kill on the
highway since the road reconstruction in the last 4-5 years.
A total of 38 reports of "possible" and "probable" wolf
observations were received during the quarter (Table 3). The
observation rate was the same as last quarter (38) and for similar
to the same quarter last year (34). The highest report rates were
for Bayfield and Price Counties.
One depredation on a pet, 4 cases of wolf depredation on
livestock, and 1 case on a deer farm occurred during the quarter.
A beagle dog was killed northeast of Butternut, in Ashland County
on April 2 by the Chippewa River Pack. Wolf depredation was
confirmed on one calf on a farm west of Park Falls in Price County
on April 15, possibly by the Log Creek Pack. One calf was found
killed by wolves on a farm north of Danbury in Burnett County on
April 28. In May, 3 calves were confirmed killed by wolves on the
Forengo Farm north of Danbury, and 5 additional possible wolf
depredations were found, all involving the Chase Brook Pack. A
single calf was killed by the Hay Stack Pack in Rusk County on May
3. A yearling buck was apparently killed by a wolf on a deer f arm
southwest of Ashland in Bayfield County. Reimbursement will be
provided for the beagle and calves killed, and live-trapping was
used on the Forengo Farm and on the deer f arm . Two males were
moved from the Forengo Farm to Forest County, and the alpha female
(wolf 724F) was caught on the farm but released near her den 3
miles away. No wolves were caught on the deer farm.
Intense monitoring had been done on the Chase Brook Pack since
late January by Mirjam Mettke (Jan-May) and Lesa Skuldt (May-
August). Urine from strange wolves and a remote recorder playing
wolf howls were used to try to divert wolves from the farm. When
the scents and sounds were first applied in mid-April, the pack
moved further north than previously recorded, and the alpha female
seemed to have relocated her den from near the farm to about 3
miles away. After a while the wolves did seem to ignore these
devices. When the female was released back to the area she was
fitted with a dog shock collar. Lesa Skuldt was successful in
diverting wolf 724F from the farm for most of June .
Fifteen collared wolves were monitored in the Highway 53 Study
Area by Bruce Kohn (155M, 210F, 246M, 265M, 266F, 267M, 268M, 277M,
278M, 279F, 280M, 281M, 288F, 289F, and 724F). Six additional
wolves were caught and collared in the study area during the
quarter. Collared wolves occurred in all packs, although the
signal disappeared from the Shoberg Lake Pack (previously Mud Lake
Pack) soon after capture. The first mortality of a wolf along
Highway 53 was documented during the quarter.
PLANS FOR NEXT QUARTER
Additional live-trapping and collaring will be done in packs
outside the Highway 53 Study Area. Howling attempts will be made
in most packs to determine pup production and summer homesite
distribution.
Note: This report is a preliminary progress report and figures
contained in the report should not be cited without
contacting the authors.
