Gray Wolves

Meet Project W.O.L.F.F.

Posted: by michael

By Janet Kearsley, WWO Education Project Coordinator and Tiffany Bishop, Project W.O.L.F.F Coordinator.

The students in the Cle Elum middle school have been exploring the wild-side of Eastern Washington by participating in an exciting new curriculum called Project W.O.L.F.F. (Wildlife Observational Learning and Fieldwork Fundamentals) initiated this year by Western Wildlife Outreach, the Woodland Park Zoo and the Yakima Basin Environmental Education Program, with assistance from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. The Yakima Basin was specifically targeted for this innovative approach to teaching about carnivore/prey relationships because it includes habitat for endangered grizzly bears as part of the North Cascades ecosystem, has a newly established pack of wolves in the Teanaway basin just outside Cle Elum, and has many other carnivores and their prey such as elk, mule deer, and mountain sheep so the students are relating to wildlife literally living in their own “backyard”.

The initial curriculum in use in the classroom was modified from the International Wolf Center’s Gray Wolves, Gray Matter, a resource that goes beyond biology to analyze the human aspects of the wolf’s survival. This curriculum helps educators address a true environmental controversy in a holistic, objective manner. The program has been modified to include other major carnivores in the region: grizzly bears, black bears, cougars and bobcats in addition to wolves. Some elements of the WDFW-developed Project Cat, (another highly successful school program focusing on cougars) were also incorporated into Project W.O.L.F.F. Tiffany Bishop, field coordinator for Project W.O.L.F.F, is working alongside teachers and students in the classroom, assisting students with their own science-based examinations of the animals. College students from Central Washington University out of Ellensburg are also providing assistance in the classroom.

The program is being developed as a hands–on, experiential learning curriculum which will eventually be available to schools throughout the region. The students have an opportunity to touch and explore real carnivore and prey species’ pelts, bones, antlers and hooves plus simulated items like casts of paw prints and scat. Students are learning how to make their own examinations, take measurements, and record their observations. This experience plus exposure to the work of scientists studying carnivores and their prey in the Yakima Basin, will prepare students for more advanced science studies in wildlife biology and ecology and provide them with tools to help them identify their own ideas about how human communities can coexisting with carnivores. The program is participating with Department of Fish and Wildlife to track the movement of elk that have been collared in the Yakima Basin and to learn about the DNA testing being done on the carnivore hair samples collected from “hair corrals” being installed along wildlife corridors in the North Cascades.

Western Wildlife is currently seeking funds to develop a hands-on K-3 curriculum with a carnivore reading trunk and a high school intensive field program as well as expanding the program in the Yakima Basin as well as to other parts of the state and region. Funds will be sought to hone the curriculum, align the curriculum components with specific education requirements for Washington State students, and to conduct teacher training workshops and purchase classroom supplies.

8th Wolf Pack Confirmed in Washington State

Posted: by Darrell Smith
Many of Washington’s residents are thrilled to see that our native gray wolf population is showing signs of recovering and expanding their range. For the most part, it has been a peaceful return and the wolves are finding natural prey and keeping away from humans. But what should we do when ranchers in remote areas find predation has occurred on their animals as was reported to occur at a ranch in “The Wedge,”  an area of recent wolf activity in Stevens County near the Canadian border between the Columbia and Kettle Rivers, the same area occupied by Washington’s newest wolf pack?  Even though wolf recovery is very popular with a majority of Washington residents, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife has a fine line to walk in implementing the State’s new Wolf Conservation and Management Plan adopted by the State’s Fish and Wildlife Commission and the Department last December. Local staff from the Grizzly Bear Outreach Project who live and work in the ranching communities will be listening to concerns voiced by the community and cooperating in efforts to find enduring solutions.  The story below from the Seattle Times discusses Washington’s newest wolf pack–one they will be monitoring now that they have collared an adult male. Department personnel hope that non-lethal means can be employed to harass any wolves approaching livestock.  However,  one Stevens County rancher has been issued a kill permit if he sees a wolf approaching or harming his cattle.  For more information on the Wolf Conservation and Management Plan, please visit http://wdfw.wa.gov/conservation/gray_wolf/ or our own information at  https://westernwildlife.org/gray_wolf/gray-wolf-canis-lupus/
SPOKANE, Wash. —
Wash. wildlife officials: 8th wolf pack confirmed
seattletimes.nwsource.com
Washington Fish and Wildlife officials say they’ve confirmed an eighth wolf pack in the state.  An adult wolf believed to be the pack’s alpha male and a pup were caught Monday in northwestern Stevens County near the Canadian border. The adult got a monitoring collar and the pup got an ear tag.

Wildlife officials say this is being called the “Wedge” pack, named for the wedge-shaped part of Stevens County between the Kettle River and the Columbia River.

Just last month, officials said the agency had confirmed a seventh Washington wolf pack, this one in southern Stevens County, north of the Spokane Indian Reservation. They’re calling that one the Huckleberry pack.

Woodland Park Zoo Bear Affair and Big Howl for Wolves, June 9, 2012

Posted: by gmacd_admin
Lorna Smith, Executive Director, GBOP, and Dr. Fred Koontz, Field Conservation Director and VP of Woodland Park Zoo with the Bear Resistant Container still intact! Photo: GBOP

Every year, the Grizzly Bear Outreach Project teams up with Woodland Park Zoo to stage an event that is not only fun for bears and people, but helps to demonstrate some things NOT to do if you live and recreate in bear country. Zoo staff arranged the aftermath of a children’s birthday party with left-over pizza boxes and remnant birthday cake, and of course a few hotdogs strewn around. Keema and Denali, the zoo’s two 700+ pound grizzly bears, were allowed to arrive on the scene as if the human participants had all gone back inside the house and left the goodies, now available to foraging bears. 

Lorna Smith, Executive Director of GBOP, and her wildlife biologist husband Darrell Smith who volunteers for GBOP, were on hand to narrate the bear’s behavior for a fascinated audience. GBOP also had lots of visitors to their display table in the bear grotto where free “bear safety” and bear natural history information was handed out to the public. 

Ray Robertson, GBOP Field Representative and wolf expert also had a display table adjacent to the wolf enclosure. He shared some very exciting footage of Washington wolf pups, the first to be seen in the region in nearly 100 years. Thanks also to volunteers Mandy and Alan Shankle for a very professional job at the GBOP information table!

Woodland Park Zoo crew setting up the "aftermath" of a children's birthday party for the bears to bash. Photo: GBOP
Denali in the bear pool standing upright to scratch his back on the glass, "marking" it as a bear would do in the wild. Photo: GBOP
Denali looking for remnant food in a child's beach pail. Photo: Dennis Dow.

 

GBOP volunteers Darrell Smith, Mandy Shankle and Alan Shankle at the GBOP information table. Photo: GBOP
750 pound Keema resting after all the hard work. Photo: GBOP

Signs of Wolves

Posted: by Darrell Smith

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Wolf Tracks

Wolf track
Wolf track

Track Comparison

Because wolves are elusive and are rarely seen, finding their tracks can be an exciting experience. The charts and information below illustrate some of the characteristics that distinguish wolf tracks from those of their close relatives, coyotes and domestic dogs. Each species has four symmetrical toes on the front and hind feet, with the front track slightly longer and broader than the hind. Claw marks are usually evident and the front of a wolf’s foot pad is single-lobed. The differences are not always clear so look for a combination of characteristics before coming to a conclusion.

Relative track size differences in wolves, domestic dogs, and coyotes:

Track size measurements (NOT including claw marks):

Wolves Compared to Coyotes

Adult wolf tracks are larger and more robust than adult coyote tracks. Young wolves’ feet grow large very quickly, and by the time they are about three months old (around July) even young wolves’ tracks are larger than most coyote tracks. Because wolves are much heavier animals than coyotes their tracks will show some spread in their toes, especially on the front track, more often than those of coyotes. In wolves, claws on the front feet are longer than the hind but generally register distinctly in both.

Wolves Compared to Domestic Dogs

Wolf tracks are larger than those of all but the largest breeds of domestic dogs, the genetic descendents of wolves. While many dog tracks can be easily distinguished from wolf tracks, some domestic dogs have tracks that are very similar to wolves, making them indistinguishable in some instances. Use the guidelines below to help in track identification. However, keep in mind that tracks alone cannot distinguish domestic dogs from wild canids with complete certainty.

Toes and Claws

Large dogs often spread their toes with all four toes radiating outward. Spread is less common in wolves and, if it exists, usually only the outer two toes spread. Wolves’ front claws are longer and more strongly apparent in tracks than the hind claws, but can appear distinctly in both. The appearance of claws in dog tracks is variable.

Track Size

The front feet of domestic dogs often have a round appearance with the length and width similar in size. Wolves’ front feet are often more rectangular in overall shape, longer than wide, unless the outer toes have spread. Track size of domestic dogs is highly variable but most dogs leave tracks that are less than 3.5 in. (9 cm) in length, where wolves’ tracks are 3.5 in. (9 cm) and above. Only a few breeds of dogs such as Great Danes, St. Bernard’s and Blood Hounds leave tracks longer than 4 inches. The tracks of German Shepherds, Malamutes, Retrievers and Setters are usually less than 4 inches long.

Wolves Compared to Cougars

Cougar tracks are often confused with wolf tracks. Distinguishing features of a mountain lion track are its roundness, the shape of the planter pad (main foot pad) and asymmetry of both the foot and the individual toes.

Because cats have retractable claws, mountain lion tracks do not usually show claw marks. This is not always true, however, as cougars sometimes use their claws to increase traction on steep or slippery terrain. Claw marks may also be present if the animal is traveling fast. If claw marks are visible, they will be directly joined to the toe, while the wolf track exhibits a 1/4-inch separation between claw and toe.

Appearance of nearby scats and proximity to people should be considered when large canid tracks are encountered. In some remote areas, large canid tracks may result from the practice of using hounds to hunt mountain lions.

Wolf Scats

Wolves produce scats, or droppings, which are usually composed of hair, bone fragments, and other signs of their carnivorous diet. Coyote scats, often smaller than wolf scats, typically contain small mammal remains, berries, or insects, but there can be some overlap in contents and appearance. Domestic dog scats are generally more uniform in texture and shape without noticeable hair or bone fragments. Never touch scats to avoid contracting parasites.

Wolf Scats

  • long and tubular – often strong in smell
  • range from 1 to 1.5 inches (2.45-4 cm) in diameter

Coyote Scats

  • twisted and irregular
  • range from .5 to 1.25 inches (1.5-3 cm) in diameter

Wolves often prey on large animals such as deer and elk. They have very powerful jaws so look for characteristic feeding signs of bone fragments and cracked bones near a carcass. Wolves as well as scavengers will eventually drag off parts of the carcass. Burying an entire carcass is a practice typical of cougars and occasionally bears, but NOT of wolves. If you find a carcass move away from it – bears may take control of a carcass and can be very aggressive.

Please report suspected wolf and wolf track sightings to the Washington Wolf Reporting Hotline at 1-888-584-9038.  
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Poaching Hotline 1-877-933-9847

Visit the Products page to see our Identifying Washington’s Wolves brochure.

Celebrate Wolf Awareness Week 2011

Posted: by colleen

Since 1990, the third week in October has been deemed Wolf Awareness Week.  In 2011, Governors in 26 states declared October 16th-22nd National Wolf Awareness Week, providing a great opportunity to learn more about wolves and their role in their surrounding ecosystems, to dispel misconceptions about wolves, and to unravel new truths about the carnivores.

Wolves were once plentiful in Washington and Idaho, but were extirpated as settlers moved west and were thus added to the Endangered Species List.  Wolves in Idaho, Wyoming and Montana were recently delisted by an act of Congress, their management left to state control.  Part of the Northern Rocky Mountain population falls into eastern Washington, and so is considered federally delisted.  Washington State is keeping the wolf state listed in eastern Washington, and they remain federally listed in western Washington.

There are currently 5 known wolf packs in Washington state (click here to see map), and many more in the bordering Selkirks of Idaho.  The wolves move from Washington to Idaho to British Columbia, but are managed differently in each area.  In each ecosystem, the wolves play a role in maintaining ecosystem health.

Check your local library for special Wolf Awareness Week presentations and events, and please click here to learn more about wolf biology and behavior, management in Washington and Idaho, tips for coexistence and more.