Fauna Series No. 5

Fauna of the National Parks — No. 5 The Wolves of Mount McKinley

CHAPTER TWO:
WOLF (continued)

Home Life (continued)

SAVAGE RIVER WOLF FAMILY

In 1939 a pair of black wolves and some black pups were reported on Savage River and apparently the same pair was there the next year. Although it was evident that a wolf family was living on Savage River in the spring of 1940, I could not afford to take much time to search for its habitation since I was then busy making observations at a den on East Fork River. But on August 14, near the head of Savage River, I discovered the family. All along, on the gravel bars, wolf tracks had been plentiful. It was evident that pups and adults had traveled much up and down Savage River for a distance of 6 or 7 miles. In some stretches there was a definite trail in the gravel, and fresh trails had been made through vegetation, leaves and stems having recently been tramped down. Here and there a scat was found.

I first had a glimpse of the head of an adult black wolf on the edge of an extensive growth of willows bordering the bar. After watching me a few moments the animal disappeared, but by climbing a slope, I obtained a view of it running off, a half mile away. I continued up the bar to some old caribou corrals and, about 3 hours later, returned to the willows where I had seen the wolf. There were many pup tracks in the sand and a number of scats, so that the spot appeared to be a rendezvous. Presently I heard low growling in the willows just ahead of me. I knew it was a wolf or grizzly, but in either case I did not wish to disturb it, so I backed away cautiously, moved slowly toward a ridge nearby, and then climbed a short distance up the slope. Down river I heard a wolf howl, and a little later from the slope where I was screened by willows I saw a black wolf running. A half mile away it stopped to bark so I was sure the pups were near me. Presently a black pup passed an opening in the willows near the place where I had heard the growling and a short distance away on the bar other pups were discovered feeding on the remains of a large bull caribou. There were six pups, all of them black. Some were lying down, some feeding, some walking about aimlessly. One carried a piece of caribou across the bar, possibly to cache it. Two played briefly. Those walking about wagged their tails slowly. They seemed too full for much playing. Later another black adult joined the first one. Both barked, sometimes a series of barks, terminating in a long howl. The parents moved up a knoll across the narrow valley and watched. At 5 p. m. I departed, without disturbing the pups, which for 3 hours had been oblivious of my presence about 200 yards from them.

The following day I hiked the 9 miles up the bar in hopes of getting moving pictures. Carefully I made my way to where I had watched the pups feeding on the caribou and arrived there at about 10:30 a. m. After watching a half hour I saw a black wolf galloping down a tributary on the other side of the valley. It was coming toward a knoll on which I saw another black wolf. The latter was lying about 30 feet above a narrow bar covered with willows 7 or 8 feet tall. After lying there for 15 minutes, frequently looking around, it moved out of sight. Soon the wolves howled in chorus.

I waited until 1:30 p. m. hoping the wolves would return to the carcass. At that time rapidly moving heavy clouds were rising above the horizon so I decided to approach the wolves for a picture before the sun disappeared. As I neared the mouth of the side stream where I had seen them a pup scurried across the gravel from one clump of willows to another. Two other pups scurried across openings. Continuing slowly through the willow-covered bar, I saw two adults and two pups running away in the distance. For a better view I climbed the knoll where the wolf had been lying. I continued climbing and presently saw the two adults returning toward me at a gallop. One was a large gray animal. They barked at me, then moved down to where the pups had been. Later I saw two black adults galloping downstream a half mile below me. The pups had dispersed; one of them I heard howling later 2 miles down stream.

During the winter a trapper saw a band of seven black wolves and one gray one on lower Savage River, not far from the park boundary, 17 or 18 miles north of where they were seen in the summer. These were probably the group I had observed at the head of Savage River. Somewhere along Savage River is a wolf den which apparently is used year after year.

The Savage River family was of special interest because of the presence of three adults, all concerned over the welfare of the pups. The sex and age of the extra adult was not known so its relationship was not determined. There could have been two families living together, but the uniformity in the appearance of the six pups indicates that they were of one litter. The extra wolf may have been a pup of the previous year, but judging from the relationships at the East Fork den, where there were extra adults, it seems likely that the extra wolf was not a yearling but was an adult living with the pair year after year.

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Last Modified: Thurs, Dec 20 2001 10:00:00 pm PDT
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