Gray Wolves

Gray Wolves

By: Kelly Martz

Eastern timber wolves aka gray wolves, or canis lupis, are majestic mammals that used to span almost the entire United States. Throughout the years, their numbers have been diminished greatly due to many different factors affecting the populations. To save these beautiful creatures, we have to understand these wolves and their tendencies.

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About the Eastern Timber Wolf

Timber wolves typically range from 80 to 100 pounds, but in some extreme cases they can grow to be up to 200 pounds (Gray). They are very advanced predators with bodies that are built to track prey and kill them efficiently. Their jaws are believed to have around three times as much biting power as the average canine (Gray). Gray wolves live in packs of around 7 to 8 members. The packs include the mother and father wolves, the alpha animals, their pups, and the grown offspring. The mother and father are the ones that hunt and track prey, choose dens, and establish the pack's territory (Basic). Packs typically inhabit an area of 20 to 214 square miles and tend to be territorial towards other packs in the area (Recovery). A wolf pack can be seen below.

 

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Habitat

Eastern Timber wolves used to inhabit most of the United States, they were only not found in the southeastern region. As of now, they can only be found in the northwestern region, and in some parts of Minnesota and Michigan, which is only just a fraction of where they used to live. They do well in these areas because there is low density of humans. Below, you can see the current range of gray wolves in the United States compared to the area they used to inhabit.

http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/campaigns/gray_wolves/map2.html

Main Threats

The decline of the Gray Wolf population started a long time ago. According to Goldman (1944), the decline of the eastern timber wolf population in the United States was caused by six main factors.

  1. Intensive human settlement of the land

  2. Direct conflict with domestic livestock

  3. A lack of understanding about the animal’s ecology and habits

  4. Fears and superstitions about the animal

  5. Overzealous control programs designed to exterminate it

  6. Perceived competition for deer and moose.

Recovery Plan

Gray wolves are currently listed as “threatened” in Minnesota, and as “endangered” in the other lower 48 states. The goal of the plan is to recover the wolf population enough to reclassify them as just “threatened”. This plan was implemented in 1992 and had an estimated recovery date of 2005.This plan is specifically for the Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan area. According to the recovery plan, this species cannot survive without large areas of wild land with a low density of humans and the availability of adequate prey such as ungulates and beavers. These criteria were best met in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan, so that’s why that was the area chosen for recovery. For a wolf population to be changed to “threatened” in Wisconsin, there must be a stable wolf population of 80 or more individuals for at least three consecutive years. For the wolves to be considered “recovered”, there needs to be two viable populations, one in Minnesota and one outside Minnesota. To reach this goal, several steps were taken. First off, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife services plan to increase public education on wolf restoration programs. Next, they are going to monitor wolf populations, their habitat conditions, and their prey. By monitoring the habitat, they will be able to maintain the proper conditions to sustain a larger population. Next, they will try to minimize the loss of domestic animals to wolves. Finally, when the wolves are making a recovery, they will contemplate possibly expanding the plan to New York. Hopefully, all those steps will be able to bring back the majestic wolf population (Recovery).

Personal Action

Since the recovery plan has been mostly successful, the U.S. has removed many of the protections that the Gray Wolves used to receive. They are now able to be hunted, which I do not think is right. There is a constant battle between conservation groups and court. Even though the populations have increased, they are have not been restored to their full potential, even though it was found that and increase would be beneficial to the ecosystem. There are groups that support protecting the wolves. For my personal action, I would join the center for biological diversity in their quest to help the wolves. I will join their volunteer network and keep up to date on opportunities to speak up and help these creatures.

Extra link to visit:

http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/campaigns/gray_wolves/index.html

Works Cited

"Basic Facts About Gray Wolves." Defenders of Wildlife. N.p., 14 Mar. 2012. Web. 28 Nov. 2015.

"Gray Wolf." Wolf Facts and Information. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2015.

"Recovery Plan for the Eastern Timber Wolf."EASTERN TIMBER WOLF (n.d.): n. pag. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services, 1992. Web. 27 Nov. 2015.