Research Opportunities

There are many opportunities for independent wolf research at the reserve although all of them depend on certain criteria. Some require snow for tracking, others depend on whether pups were bought that year and more simply, many activities necessitate funding for equipment. The work which can be carried out varies from year to year and it is always best to check before you decide to come if projects are going ahead or not. However, below is a summary of potential research proposals which may be possible to implement during your stay.

• 1) Wolf Pup Development


• 2) Wild Wolf Interactions with Captive Wolves


• 3) Ecology of a Closed Habitat (Long term)


• 4) Success of Rehabilitation Program


• 5) Wild Wolf Howling During Breeding Activity

1) Wolf Pup Development

Year-round

There are many project which can be carried out regarding pup development, namely:

• Wolf pup interactions between both themselves and adults


• Wolf pup diet and hunting/foraging skill development


• Wolf pup vocalizations and their relationship to behaviour (June to October)

Aims:

To observe and record the progress and development of pup behaviour from acquisition to release

Background:

The observations from the above projects will be used to understand more about the best methods to raise the pups based on their behaviour. The research is ongoing.

2) Wild Wolf Interactions with Captive Wolves

Year-round

Aims

• To determine the response of wild wolves to captive wolves within an enclosure on their territory


• To establish whether a captive wolf placed in an enclosure on a wolf packs’ territory can entice the wolf pack to investigate. If this occurs it would mean that wolf packs could be studied in terms of number and pack composition without the need for tracking.


• Individual identification of wolves within the area

Background

It has previously been noted by Vladimir Bologov that wild wolf packs habitually visit enclosures where captive wolves are present, established through a large number of tracks encircling the enclosure. The behaviour and interactions of the wild wolves with the captive wolves may give some indication of the interactions which may occur once the captive wolves have been freed. As well as this, the packs’ presence could provide a useful non-invasive method of recording wolves in the area.

Methods

An infra-red camera would have to be set up to record the interactions and analysed later. The tracks could also be recorded as they could potentially be used in other studies in the field to identify individuals.

3) Ecology of a Closed Habitat (Long term)

Assessment of changes to territory borders requires snow (Dec – April) The general stages of the project (ie monitoring of kills) are done year-round

Aim

To determine the interactions (both direct and indirect) between wolves, humans and prey within and around a wolf pack territory.

Background

Wolves and humans are essentially ecological competitors. They capture the same prey and occupy the same space, and it is this competition which eventually leads to conflict. A long term study over a period of several years could result in valuable information regarding prey fluctuations caused by either wolves or humans, and movement of the wolves in response to these fluctuations. Other aspects could also be studied such as the indirect effects humans have on wolf behaviour through activities such as logging and agriculture. The analysis of the close proximity of wolves to human settlements (by noting tracks near villages) will provide information on whether increasing wolf presence is correlated with domestic animal predation.

Methods

• The first phase of this project will involve the mapping of the study area. A wolf-pack territory needs to be determined (this will be done with help from Vladimir Bologov who has prior knowledge of wolf distribution within the area) by analysing tracks and establishing a territory based on area use. The centre of the territory will be determined as the area most often used by the wolves.


• Once the territory boundaries have been established a digital map of the area can be generated using GIS, showing roads, streams, territory border, human settlements within the area, temporary roads (for example tracks used only in winter), clear cuts, fields and their use etc. This will enable an indication of wolf movement based on landscape ecology and changes.


• The final aspect of this project will be to record annually prey species and number (this can be done in winter based on track numbers), kills made both by humans and wolves (both wild and domestic), changes to the landscape (such as agriculture and human settlement changes), territory expansion or reduction and pack changes. Within a few years patterns of human and wolf movement should begin to emerge.

4) Success of Rehabilitation Program

Depends on wolf numbers released- but would be an ongoing study from the time of release in April

Aim

To establish the success of the rehabilitation program through the monitoring of released pups.

Background

Between 2001 and 2004 some 10 wolves have been released into the wild after being hand-reared by Vladimir Bologov. Two of these were killed by wild wolves; however for the rest no information is available. There is some information regarding their survival through tracks but no other information can be gleaned such as diet, territory and migration. If GPS collars can be acquired then their behaviour after release can be recorded as well as variations between their behaviour and wild wolves.

Methods

If GPS collars can be acquired it would be a simple task to collect the data and plot it on a map, super-imposed data collected from wild wolf tracks can then be used to assess the difference in movement.

5) Wild Wolf Howling During Breeding Activity

May to Aug/Sept

Aim

To establish the howling activity of wolves during the breeding season and assess whether different breeding packs can hear and respond to each other.

Background

It is well known that wolves howl, however, what is little studied or known is why they do. In order to hear the howls humans need to be in fairly close proximity to the wolves. In order to get a more accurate picture they need to be in close proximity for a lengthy period of time, not always easy as wolves move around, this makes the breeding season between May and September an ideal time to study them as there is no danger of the wolves moving half-way through the study. Wolves howl less during the breeding season but it is not known whether breeding packs hear and respond to each other as their dens are so far apart it is impossible for the human ear to distinguish responses (approximately 20-30km apart). By staying near the dens, time, duration, frequency and of howling can be recorded and compared with notes from other dens to establish whether a pattern of howling activity emerges.

Method

A minimum of 2 volunteers per den will camp between 500m and 1km away from different dens to record the frequency, time, duration and location of wolf howls over the same time period. This data will be collated to establish if a pattern emerges. The howls could be recorded using a microphone to establish more information.

To read article "New wolf pups of season 2005" by laetitia Becker, November 12, 2005.