collaring

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The success of our research on Isle Royale wolves and moose depends on periodic handling and radio collaring of a few wolves in the population. By handling wolves, we gain valuable information about the potential impact of several diseases on the population. By radio collaring wolves, we are able to find them during aerial surveys conducted each winter. Being able to locate the wolves facilitates our ability to census the wolf population and to monitor the number of moose killed by each pack during our annual winter survey of kill rates.

Our goal is to maintain one collared wolf per pack at any given time. This past winter only the Middle and East Pack had one collared wolf each. This Spring our goal was to draw blood (for disease screening) and place a radio collar on two wolves from the Chippewa Harbor Pack. Because each wolf has, on average, a 25% chance of dying each year (from natural causes), we aimed to radio collar two wolves, and hope that one radio-collared wolf is still alive by the time of our next winter survey.

Below are images from our effort to place radio collars on two wolves in Isle Royale National Park.

Because the winter of 2002-03 was especially cold, ice still floated in many of the harbors of Isle Royale in late April and early May. Every morning we boated through these icy waters from our base camp (Bangsund) to the trap line (see images below).

After an initial period of scouting along some of Isle Royale's hiking trails, we found a several mile stretch of trail with intense wolf sign, including tracks and scat. The image to the left shows the track of a wolf from the Chippewa Harbor Pack traveling on the opposite direction of a print from John Vucetich's boot.

Within 10 days of our first arrival we had handled and collared two wolves from the Chippewa Harbor Pack. One wolf was a 66-pound, year-old female (above), and the other wolf was a 78-pound alpha female (right).

Bob Irmiger joined our crew this year. Bob is a doctor of veterinary medicine, and contributed valuable expertise on sample collection and drug administration of canids. In the image to the right Bob (right) is sharing some of his expertise with Rolf Peterson (left).

The image to the left shows the alpha female of Chippewa Harbor Park immediately after receiving a radio collar.

The 2003 radio-collaring

crew, from left to right, Bob Irmiger, John

Vucetich, Rolf Peterson, and Erin Parker.