Timber Wolf Research Articles

Advancing Wildlife Policy of Eastern Timber Wolves and Lake Sturgeon through Traditional Ecological Knowledge

Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) is becoming more prominent in wildlife management decisions and policy making. The cooperation of TEK and Western science paradigms have been beneficial for conserving our natural resources and wildlife populations. However, there are still concerns with accepting TEK as part of wildlife management, policy, and regulations. With increasing challenges to wildlife conservation, it is vital to implement Indigenous TEK to form more robust and holistic approaches to wildlife management. Here, we present two case studies in the upper Midwest region of the United States involving the Ojibwe tribe that show the importance of TEK collaboration and how that knowledge can be used for the betterment of ecologically sensitive species—lake sturgeon and eastern timber wolves.

Wolf howls encode both sender- and context-specific information

Loud, long-distance calls serve varied functions across animal species including marking territory, attracting mates and signalling one's identity. Here, we examined the types of sender- and context-specific information encoded in the howls of captive timber wolves, Canis lupus. We analysed 913 howls from nine individuals across three packs and investigated whether howl structure varied consistently as a function of phenotypic factors (age class, sex, pack and identity of the caller) in addition to the context in which the call was produced: specifically, whether the call was produced in a ‘spontaneous’ context just after sunrise or was ‘elicited’ by the absence of a group member. Calls were correctly classified by individual identity and production context, but not by any other factors. Principal components analyses indicated that individual differences were primarily associated with frequency-based measures, whereas acoustic variation between production contexts was associated with a variety of frequency-, intensity- and energy-based measures. Recognition of individual differences in vocalizations is likely to be important for navigating social relationships in wolves and further work is required to determine which life history factors may shape these individual differences. Differences resulting from production context are suggestive that these howl variants may serve different functions. The extent to which these individual and contextual differences are understood by receivers remains an open question.

Asking After You

Asking After You Damian Caudill (bio) Predictable as blocking the driveway with your truckso I can't leave, or will have to trundle through the yard. Damn daffodils. Damn lilac. What kept us running:the yellow-bellied yield in me or those gentle nights when you could still be tugged into sleep—simple syrupof cum in moonlight, resignation to the crater of our sink. Daniel, this could never work, not in this first lifetimestuck between the medicine cabinet and back to bed until afternoon rots, tequila-blonde at our window.How blown to bits we always were. Remember timber wolves in the road on the drive to Tacoma? Remember duis?Was that '08 or '09? Your birthday or mine? I only remember the wall-mounted telephone in our bathroom, the little balconywhere I'd sit and watch your friends, the cops, console you. Daniel, it's been morning all day here and the birdsstill call me by my old name. It's no wonder they miss you, summer nights we woke them with our first song: Chuck Berryon the record player in the kitchen, our good days the best argument against sleep. Us, they're saying to me now—we we we. [End Page 106] Damian Caudill Damian Caudill is pursuing his PhD at Florida State University. His work has appeared in the Cincinnati Review, Ninth Letter, Pleiades, and Best New Poets 2015. Copyright © 2018 University of Nebraska Press

Adolescent and adult perceptions of traditional and novel smokeless tobacco products and packaging in rural Ohio

ObjectiveAs smokeless tobacco (ST) marketing increases and new products emerge on the market, very little is known about consumer perceptions of ST products. To inform development of future ST counter-marketing...

An Account of the Taxonomy of North American Wolves From Morphological and Genetic Analyses

AbstractThe available scientific literature was reviewed to assess the taxonomic standing of North American wolves, including subspecies of the gray wolf, Canis lupus. The recent scientific proposal that the eastern wolf, C. l. lycaon, is not a subspecies of gray wolf, but a full species, Canis lycaon, is well-supported by both morphological and genetic data. This species' range extends westward to Minnesota, and it hybridizes with gray wolves where the two species are in contact in eastern Canada and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. Genetic data support a close relationship between eastern wolf and red wolf Canis rufus, but do not support the proposal that they are the same species; it is more likely that they evolved independently from different lineages of a common ancestor with coyotes. The genetic distinctiveness of the Mexican wolf Canis lupus baileyi supports its recognition as a subspecies. The available genetic and morphometric data do not provide clear support for the recognition of the Arctic wolf Canis lupus arctos, but the available genetic data are almost entirely limited to one group of genetic markers (microsatellite DNA) and are not definitive on this question. Recognition of the northern timber wolf Canis lupus occidentalis and the plains wolf Canis lupus nubilus as subspecies is supported by morphological data and extensive studies of microsatellite DNA variation where both subspecies are in contact in Canada. The wolves of coastal areas in southeastern Alaska and British Columbia should be assigned to C. lupus nubilus. There is scientific support for the taxa recognized here, but delineation of exact geographic boundaries presents challenges. Rather than sharp boundaries between taxa, boundaries should generally be thought of as intergrade zones of variable width.

ACUTE GRANULOCYTIC ANAPLASMOSIS IN A CAPTIVE TIMBER WOLF (CANIS LUPUS OCCIDENTALIS)

A 2-yr-old male captive timber wolf, kept in an outdoor enclosure in Austria, presented with anorexia, depression, and fever in June. Tick infestation was reported despite monthly acaricidal treatment. The microscopic examination of a blood smear revealed elementary bodies and morulae suspicious for Anaplasma phagocytophilum. Polymerase chain reaction confirmed the infection by the G-variant of the pathogen, also found in horses and humans but not in wild ruminants. The wolf seroconverted within 2 wk, and antibodies persisted thereafter. Therapy was started with doxycycline for 10 days, and the wolf recovered within 24 hr. Clinical symptoms and temporary changes in blood parameters (thrombocytopenia, lymphopenia, mild anemia) in this wolf show high similarity to granulocytic anaplasmosis seen in dogs. This is the first report on granulocytic anaplasmosis in a wolf, indicating that A. phagocytophilum might cause clinical disease in the wolf.

Timber Wolf by C. Pignat

Pignat, Caroline. Timber Wolf. Markham, ON: Red Deer Press, 2011.Print. The first book in this series, Greener Pastures, won a Governor General’s Award in 2009. This volume doesn’t meet that bar. When we enter the world of Timber Wolf, it is through the eyes and person of someone who has woken up in the snow at the bottom of a cliff, not knowing who or where he is. He just knows that he is injured and cold. Readers do not know where the character is in time or space, except that he is in a forest. As the story unfolds, the reader learns more as the protagonist gradually remembers and eventually reveals the whole story. The book is young adult fiction and is designed to grab and hold young readers’ attentions. The action moves quickly and Pignat keeps the reader hungry for the next bit of information. While Pignat has clearly done her historical research and attests to this in the end-notes, there are many unlikely scenarios. In fact there are so many unlikely events that I expected the book to progress to full magic realism or to reveal itself as the hallucinations of a man dying of a head-injury and hypothermia at the bottom of a cliff. But it did neither, so I presume that Pignat meant the reader to accept that a wild wolf would or could rescue a drowning man who had fallen through the ice of a frozen lake, would bring him game to cook and would allow itself to be petted. Pignat has the young man step into a bear trap and get out of it with mere flesh wounds. Given the technology of bear traps in the mid-1800’s, it is unlikely that he would not have had broken bones and probably faced amputation. While Pignat has consulted with indigenous people to ensure that depictions are accurate, it is unlikely that indigenous trappers would have taken an injured person home, nursed him back to health, and then deliberately shot him in the back with an arrow, but not shot to kill, requiring that they heal him all over again. Not only would that have required additional resources, but it would have also wasted a perfectly good arrow. There is so much violence in the few months covered by the book, that it, too, is unlikely. The young man, who eventually remembers that he is Jack Byrne, (and hence a character from Greener Pastures) also remembers accidentally chopping of someone’s fingers, seeing his friend drown and finally remembers that he was beaten until he fell off the cliff. His hands are frozen, he nearly drowns, he is attacked by a bear, caught in a bear-trap, captured by a man who has been grotesquely disfigured by fire, knocked unconscious as a form of anesthetic, has his wounds cauterized with hot steel, is kept tethered in leg irons and is shot with an arrow. One wonders how much more trauma one young man could survive. Historical “adventure” fiction doesn’t need to be violent to be exciting. Timber Wolf is a gripping read and entertaining, if you can ignore the jolts of the unlikely events and maintain your suspension of disbelief. Many young adult readers will probably be able to do that and will enjoy the book. Recommended with reservations for public and school libraries. Recommended: 3 out of 4 starsReviewer: Sandy Campbell Sandy is a Health Sciences Librarian at the University of Alberta, who has written hundreds of book reviews across many disciplines. Sandy thinks that sharing books with children is one of the greatest gifts anyone can give.

Wolves, Dogs, Rearing and Reinforcement: Complex Interactions Underlying Species Differences in Training and Problem-Solving Performance

Frank and Frank et al. (1982-1987) administered a series of age-graded training and problem-solving tasks to samples of Eastern timber wolf (C. lupus lycaon) and Alaskan Malamute (C. familiaris) pups to test Frank's (Zeitschrift für Tierpsychologie 53:389-399, 1980) model of the evolution of information processing under conditions of natural and artificial selection. Results confirmed the model's prediction that wolves should perform better than dogs on problem-solving tasks and that dogs should perform better than wolves on training tasks. Further data collected at the University of Connecticut in 1983 revealed a more complex and refined picture, indicating that species differences can be mediated by a number of factors influencing wolf performance, including socialization regimen (hand-rearing vs. mother-rearing), interactive effects of socialization on the efficacy of both rewards and punishments, and the flexibility to select learning strategies that experimenters might not anticipate.

Social interactions and non-invasive stress monitoring in captive timber wolves (Canis lupus)

Social interactions and non-invasive stress monitoring in captive timber wolves (Canis lupus)

How the Gray Wolf Got Its Color

The Report “Molecular and evolutionary history of melanism in North American gray wolves” (T. M. Anderson et al. , 6 March, p. [1339][1]) suggests that the KB gene for black coat color was introgressed from dogs ( Canis lupus familiaris ) into North American gray wolves ( C. lupus ). However, the authors fail to consider an alternative hypothesis: The KB gene may have originated in the historic black wolves of eastern North America ( C. niger, C. rufus , and C. lycaon ). The potential for gray wolf and eastern wolf introgressive hybridization ([ 1 ][2]) provides a mechanism to move an eastern wolf–derived variant into C. lupus during the Wisconsin glaciation (11,000 to 18,000 years ago). The only evidence for the KB gene in coyotes is in the range of the eastern wolf where hybridization between the two species ( C. lycaon x latrans ) has occurred ([ 2 ][3]) and not in more western geographies where gray wolves, dogs, and coyotes overlap. These coyote samples, however, were excluded from the analysis of the most recent common ancestor. If the selection hypothesis for black coat color in forested habitats is true, the prevalence of black pelage in the original timber wolves of the eastern temperate forests of Canada and the United States makes the inclusion of eastern wolf specimens critical for assessing the three possible evolutionary histories proposed by Anderson et al. We suggest that a more complete examination of black canids from eastern North America be conducted before conclusions of introgressive hybridization from dogs to gray wolves are drawn. 1. [↵][4] 1. T. Wheeldon, 2. B. N. White , Biol. Lett. 5, 101 (2009). [OpenUrl][5][Abstract/FREE Full Text][6] 2. [↵][7] 1. C. J. Kyle 2. et al ., Conserv. Genet. 7, 273 (2006). [OpenUrl][8][CrossRef][9] [1]: /lookup/doi/10.1126/science.1165448 [2]: #ref-1 [3]: #ref-2 [4]: #xref-ref-1-1 View reference 1 in text [5]: {openurl}?query=rft.jtitle%253DBiology%2BLetters%26rft.stitle%253DBiol%2BLett%26rft.issn%253D1744-9561%26rft.aulast%253DWheeldon%26rft.auinit1%253DT.%26rft.volume%253D5%26rft.issue%253D1%26rft.spage%253D101%26rft.epage%253D104%26rft.atitle%253DGenetic%2Banalysis%2Bof%2Bhistoric%2Bwestern%2BGreat%2BLakes%2Bregion%2Bwolf%2Bsamples%2Breveals%2Bearly%2BCanis%2Blupus%252Flycaon%2Bhybridization%26rft_id%253Dinfo%253Adoi%252F10.1098%252Frsbl.2008.0516%26rft_id%253Dinfo%253Apmid%252F18940770%26rft.genre%253Darticle%26rft_val_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Ajournal%26ctx_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ctx_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Actx [6]: /lookup/ijlink/YTozOntzOjQ6InBhdGgiO3M6MTQ6Ii9sb29rdXAvaWpsaW5rIjtzOjU6InF1ZXJ5IjthOjQ6e3M6ODoibGlua1R5cGUiO3M6NDoiQUJTVCI7czoxMToiam91cm5hbENvZGUiO3M6MTA6InJveWJpb2xldHQiO3M6NToicmVzaWQiO3M6NzoiNS8xLzEwMSI7czo0OiJhdG9tIjtzOjIxOiIvc2NpLzMyNS81OTM2LzMzLmF0b20iO31zOjg6ImZyYWdtZW50IjtzOjA6IiI7fQ== [7]: #xref-ref-2-1 View reference 2 in text [8]: {openurl}?query=rft_id%253Dinfo%253Adoi%252F10.1007%252Fs10592-006-9130-0%26rft.genre%253Darticle%26rft_val_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Ajournal%26ctx_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ctx_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Actx [9]: /lookup/external-ref?access_num=10.1007/s10592-006-9130-0&link_type=DOI

Genetic Characterization of Hybrid Wolves across Ontario

Four ‘‘races’’ of wolves have been described in Ontario as follows: 1) Canis lupus hudsonicus inhabiting the subarctic tundra, 2) A race (Ontario type) of the eastern timber wolf (Canis lupus lycaon) that inhabits the boreal forests, 3) A second race (Algonquin type) of C. l. lycaon that inhabit the deciduous forests of the upper Great Lakes, and 4) A small wolf (Tweed type) in central Ontario that has been proposed to be a hybrid between the Algonquin type wolf and expanding coyotes, Canis latrans. Using mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control region sequences and 8 microsatellite loci, we developed DNA profiles for 269 wolves from across Ontario. The distribution of mtDNA was predominantly coyote and the eastern wolf, Canis lycaon, in Algonquin Park and the southern Frontenac Axis with a combination of these mtDNA and gray wolf mtDNA in northern Ontario. Bayesian clustering grouped northern Ontario wolves independent of mtDNA with a second grouping of eastern and Tweed wolves from Algonquin. Individual clustering identified 3 groups represented by 1) northern Ontario wolves, 2) eastern wolves, and 3) Tweed wolves from the Frontenac Axis. Genomic representation analyses indicate that the Tweed wolves are hybrids between the coyote and the eastern wolf and represent the Ontario distribution of the eastern coyote, whereas the wolves in the upper Great Lakes region represent products of historic and/or continuing hybridization between C. lycaon and C. lupus. There was low structuring among wolves in these regions, and Algonquin suggesting a larger northern connected metapopulation with gene flow between the Ontario and Algonquin types.

Effects of Variable Sampling Frequencies on GPS Transmitter Efficiency and Estimated Wolf Home Range Size and Movement Distance

Global positioning system (GPS) technology has greatly improved the ability to investigate animal ecology at fine spatial and temporal scales but many GPS telemetry-based investigations may be underutilizing the technical capabilities of modern transmitters. We estimated eastern timber wolf (Canis lycaon) movement distance and territory size using variable GPS transmitter sampling frequencies to evaluate the effect of programming details on estimated movement patterns, territory size, and transmitter performance. Estimated movement distance decreased exponentially as sampling frequency was reduced from 1 location every 5 minutes to 1 location every 24 hours, implying that intense sampling frequencies were required for accurate measurement of fine-scale wolf movements. Wolf territory size estimates using 95% minimum convex polygons declined with decreasing sampling frequency, whereas estimates using adaptive kernel methods were comparable across a range of sampling intensities. Estimated transmitter battery longevity increased as the interval between fixes was lengthened but transmitter efficiency, defined as the number of successful fixes obtained during battery lifespan of the transmitter, was highest with fix intervals of intermediate length. Although GPS transmitters are effective for documenting fine-scale movements of animals, we argue their performance is strongly dependent upon transmitter programming and scale of analysis. Effective use of GPS transmitters will require study-specific assessment of the trade-offs between sampling needs versus transmitter efficiency and longevity.

A Northern Vision: Frontiers and the West in the Canadian and American Imagination

An Englishman-become-Canadian named Robert Service was the favorite poet of Ronald Reagan, notes Daniel Francis in his book on myth, memory, and Canadian history. (1) Service, who was a ranch hand and later a bank teller, moved to the Yukon in 1904, soon after the Gold Rush ended, and reinvented that recent history in poetry. His first poem was Shooting of Dan a frontier tale of the sort that inspired Reagan, the cowboy actor and president. In the poem, Service set up a classic Western barroom scene, with music and booze, two gun-slinging frontiersmen, and the none-too-respectable woman caught between them. (2) It starts: A bunch of the boys were whooping it up in the Malamute saloon; The kid that handles the music-box was hitting a jag-time tune; Back of the bar, in a solo game, sat Dangerous Dan McGrew, And watching his luck was his light-o'-love, the lady that's known as Lou. When out of the night, which was fifty below, and into the din and the glare, There stumbled a miner fresh from the creeks, dog-dirty, and loaded for bear. He looked like a man with a foot in the grave and scarcely the strength of a louse, Yet he tilted a poke of dust on the bar, and he called for drinks for the house. There was none could place the stranger's face, though we searched ourselves for a clue; But we drank his health, and the last to drink was Dangerous Dan There's men that somehow just grip your eyes, and hold them hard like a spell; And such was he, and he looked to me like a man who had lived in hell; With a face most hair, and the dreary stare of a dog whose day is done, As he watered the green stuff in his glass, and the drops fell one by one. Then I got to figgering who he was, and wondering what he'd do, And I turned my head--and there watching him was the lady that's known as Lou. As the poem goes on, the strange miner from the wilds of the Yukon takes over the piano and plays a savage Northern tune. The poem's narrator says: Were ever out in the Great Alone, when the moon was awful clear, And the icy mountains hemmed in with a silence most could hear; With only the howl of a timber wolf, and camped there in the cold, A half-dead thing in a stark, dead world, clean mad for the muck called gold; While high overhead, green, yellow and red, the North Lights swept in bars? Then you've a hunch what the music meant ... hunger and night and the stars. The stranger's music ends with tones of revenge and a lust to kill. At the end of the poem, in good Western fashion, gunplay erupts, and the reader is left with the body count. And the stranger turned, and his eyes they burned in a most peculiar way; In a buckskin shirt that was glazed with dirt he sat, and I saw him sway; Then his lips went in in a kind of grin, and he spoke, and his voice was calm, And Boys, says he, you don't know me, and none of care a damn; But I want to state, and my words are straight, and I'll bet my poke they're true, That one of is a hound of hell ... and that one is Dan McGrew. Then I ducked my head and the lights went out, and two guns blazed in the dark; And a woman screamed, and the lights went up, and two men lay stiff and stark. Pitched on his head, and pumped full of lead, was Dangerous Dan McGrew, While the man from the creeks lay clutched to the breast of the lady that's known as Lou. These are the simple facts of the case, and I guess I ought to know. They say that the stranger was crazed with hooch, and I'm not denying it's so. I'm not so wise as the lawyer guys, but strictly between us two- The woman that kissed him and--pinched his pok--was the lady known as Lou. …

Mitochondrial DNA extracted from eastern North American wolves killed in the 1800s is not of gray wolf origin

We analysed the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) from two historical samples of eastern North American wolves: the last wolf reported to have been killed in northern New York State (ca. 1890s) and a wolf killed in Maine in the 1880s. These wolves represent eastern wolves, presently classified as the gray wolf (Canis lupus) subspecies Canis lupus lycaon, which were present well before the expansion of western coyotes (Canis latrans) into these regions. We show the absence of gray wolf mtDNA in these wolves. They both contain New World mtDNA, supporting previous findings of a North American evolution of the eastern timber wolf (originally classified as Canis lycaon) and red wolf (Canis rufus) independently of the gray wolf, which originated in Eurasia. The presence of a second wolf species in North America has important implications for the conservation and management of wolves. In the upper Great Lakes region, wolves of both species may exist in sympatry or interbreed with each other, which impacts the accuracy of estimates of numbers of wolves of each species within this geographic region. Furthermore, the historical distribution of the eastern timber wolf (C. lycaon), as revealed by these skin samples, has important implications for the reintroduction of wolves into the northeastern U.S. states, such as New York and Maine.

Bully Boy's Shotgun Lottery

FICTION Bully Boy's Shotgun Lottery____________ Carl B. Jarrell DORSETT DROPPED THE BLAZER down into first and started up the last steep incline to the mine parking lot. The headlights shone upward on the mountain at a sixty-degree angle, illuminating the poplar, hickory and oak that held these ancient peaks together. After a slipping, sliding one hundred feet final climb (the Blazer in four-wheel drive), the headlight beams leveled off upon the four late model pickup trucks that crowded the small gravel parking lot. Dorsett backed the Blazer into a space directly opposite the inclined access road. Dorsett always showed up for work an hour and a half before the shift started: wanted to be darned sure he'd get a good space, even if he didn't do another darned thing all day long. Dorsett exited his Blazer, not bothering to lock it, with his lunch box and two Stanley thermos bottles of hot black coffee. He'd drink one bottle of the coffee before they went in, and the other bottle would be done before dinner. Dorsett believed in taking a lot of coffee breaks, even if they interfered with his production. He walked out into the yard (which was eerily illuminated by the copper glow of the iodine lights) and the noise of the intake fan three hundred feet past the track portal. One thing he did do, every morning in the winter, at least, was to start the fire. They didn't pay him for that—he just did it out of the goodness of his heart. He dropped his lunch box and bottles off beside the fifty-gallon oil drum in front of the old house trailer that served as an office, and began scouring the yard for trash to burn. Pine halfheaders , a discarded cable reel and a couple of lumps of coal (spilled from number one belt), went into the drum. Then Dorsett walked into the office for the day's accumulation of trash, which would serve as kindling. He was careful not to wake the dispatcher, Billy-Boy Braddock. Let sleeping dogs lie was the best policy for Billy-Boy. They paid Billy-Boy forty-five thousand dollars—plus a lot of Union benefits—to come here every night and sleep on that desk. The bosses wereplumb scared to death ofBilly-Boy, and sowas Dorsett. Hehadheard that Billy-Boy threw a pool table at some feller at the Timber Wolf Club, and he also had heard about Billy breaking his wife's arms for Christmas. But Dorsetthadbeen there the night of the Thousand Dollar Dog and had seen with his own eyes what a mean son-of-a-bitch Billy-Boy was. 36 Dorsett enjoyed going out coon hunting with some of the boys on Saturday nights. He didn't have any dogs of his own, and he rarely went out for the kill, but he liked to sit beside the fire they always made and take the occasional pull off of the bottle of George or Jack or Jim that always showed up. The most avid coon-hunters (Wet-Hen, Stinkbug and Tommy from the mine were among the regulars) had big money in their dogs, and they were always bragging about who had the best. Some of the dogs had cost five hundred bucks. But then BillyBoy started coming out to these hunts, and it wasn't longbefore he had answered an ad in Field and Stream and had sent a thousand dollars to Tennessee for a guaranteed trained Walker coon hound. Billy-Boy said he reckoned that if his dog cost twice as much as the best the other guys had, then it was probably twice the dog. "You get what you pay for, boys," he said. Old Billy had to drive to Charleston and meet his new dog at the airport. Wet-Hen asked if he flew him in first class! The next Saturday night Billy-Boy was at the camp with the Thousand Dollar Dog, and the first thing the dog did was get after a deer. He ran it for two hours, but nobody said a word to Billy-Boy, because they could tell...

Elevated urinary cortisol in a timber wolf (Canis lupus): a result of social behaviour or adrenal pathology?

In a previously published report, a male timber wolf (Canis lupus) was identified as having significantly elevated urinary cortisol to creatinine ratios relative to other males in the pack. This second-ranking animal, whose social status was being challenged, was involved in far more aggressive interactions than any other pack member. The wolf died 3 years later from gastric and splenic torsion. Necropsy revealed a unilateral adrenal tumour identified by histology and electron microscopy to be a cortical adenoma. This finding is based on the presence of abundant lipid and no evidence of neurosecretory granules. Whether the increased cortisol levels in this wolf were the result of social stress, as originally suggested, the tumour, or both is uncertain.

Progress towards the experimental reintroduction of woodland caribou to Minnesota and adjacent Ontario

Woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) are native to Minnesota but started to decline in the mid 1800s and disappeared from the state by 1940. Their demise had been attributed to extensive timber harvest and ovethunting; but more recently mortality from the meningeal worm, Parelaphostrongylus tenuis, carried by white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), and increased prédation by timber wolves (Canis lupus) and black bears (Ursus americanus) have been suggested as additional causes. We describe a current initiative to explore feasibility of restoring caribou to the boundary waters region of Minnesota and Ontario. Feasibility studies have been conducted under the guidance of the North Central Catibou Corporation (NCCC), a non-governmental organization with representation from relevant state, federal, Native American, and Canadian agencies. Results indicate a) Within Minnesota the most suitable site for woodland caribou lies within the eastern sector of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW), and this is contiguous with a similarly suitable sector of Ontario's Quetico Provincial Park: Together these comprise the recommended 1300-km2 Boundary Waters Caribou Region (BWCR); b) Vegetation in the BWCR has changed little since the 1920s when caribou were last present other than effects of fire suppression; c) Level of white-tailed deer, hence the meningeal worm, is so low in the BWCR that this factor is unlikely to impede survival of re-introduced caribou; d) While wolf numbers within the wider region are relatively high, their impacts may be minimized if caribou are released in small, widely scattered groups; in addition, an abundance of lakes with islands affords good summer-time prédation security; e) Threat to calves from black bears, probably more numerous than in earlier times, appears lessened by the security of lakeshores and islands; and f) A simulation model, combining knowledge from elsewhere with the BWCR assessment, suggests that released animals have a 0.2 to 0.8 chance of increasing in numbers during the first 20 years post-release. Strategies for maximizing success are identified. NCCC has concluded that the only practical approach that remains for determining restoration feasibility is through experimental releases or caribou. While promise of eventual success appears only moderate, the NCCC feels that costs and uncertainties associated with the experiment are justified by the environmental benefits from a success. Even if the effort fails, valuable knowledge would accrue for conservation biologists in general. An action plan is outlined, and progress and problems in selling the caribou initiative are discussed.

Assessing Potential Gray Wolf Restoration in the Northeastern United States: A Spatial Prediction of Favorable Habitat and Potential Population Levels

The northeastern United States was previously identified under the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA) as a potential location for restoration of a population of the endangered eastern timber wolf or gray wolf (Canis lupus). The gray wolf has been protected under the ESA since 1974. We used Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and a logistic regression model based on regional road abundance to estimate that the Northeastern states from Upstate New York to Maine contain >77,000 km 2 of habitat suitable for wolves. Using current habitat distribution and available ungulate prey (deer and moose), we estimate the area is capable of sustaining a population of approximately 1,312 wolves (90% CI = 816-1,809). This estimate is equivalent to new, much higher potentials estimated for northern Wisconsin and Upper Michigan, where wolves are rapidly recovering in the U.S. Midwest. Potential wolf densities vary from a low of 53,500 km 2 ) is capable of supporting approximately 1,070 wolves (90% CI = 702-1,439). Such large areas are increasingly rare and important for wolf recovery if populations large enough to have long-term evolutionary viability are to be maintained within the United States. However, large-scale restoration of a top carnivore like the wolf has other consequences for overall forest biodiversity in eastern forests because wolf recovery is dependent on high levels of ungulate prey, which in turn have other negative effects on the ecosystem. In the United States, planning for wolf restoration in the Northeast should take advantage of experience elsewhere, especially the upper Midwest.

Developmental changes in the sequential behavior of interacting timber wolf pups

We used information statistics to quantify first-order sequential dependencies in the social behavior of two sibling wolf pups ( Canis lupus). Sequential dependencies in the behavior of the individual pups increased between the first sample (18–32 days of age) and two later samples taken from 34–53 days and 64–106 days of age. Sequential dependencies between pups were greatest during the second age sampled. We relate these findings to changes in the importance and style of interactions. In the first 32 days, social co-actions primarily involved mutual mouthing and pushing. Between 34 and 53 days, when interactions frequently became aggressive, pups were most responsive to the actions of their partner and tail-raising predicted biting. By 64 days, play-chasing was the mode. By this age pups had formed a relationship, were less attentive to the specific actions of their partner, and biting was no longer predicted by tail-raising. These results illustrate the importance of considering demand characteristics in distinguishing capabilities from performance, and suggest that changing social organization may underlie developmental changes in behavior. We also speculate that during these play-like interactions, pups may gain control over expressive displays.

Developmental changes in associations among timber wolf ( Canis lupus) postures

I examined developmental changes in associations among components of timber wolf ( Canis lupus) postural communication in two hand-reared pups between 15 and 85 days of age. The frequency with which select postural components co-occurred was scored from 180 randomly sampled frames of video records of these pups made during social interactions. I used this index of association as the basis for multidimensional scaling and cluster analyses. Relations among postural components became more structured with age. Two-dimensional models were found to account for associations among postures displayed at 69–85 and 32–67 days of age but not at 15–32 days of age. I interpret these orthogonal dimensions as continua of dominance to submission and seriousness to playfulness. These data suggest the intended messages contained in postural displays may depend on the specific combinations of components used.