Minor habituation to repeated experimental approaches in Scandinavian wolves
Abstract Large carnivores may become dangerous if they habituate to humans. We repeatedly approached wild wolves Canis lupus throughout a year to test their individual response to human encounters ( N = 141 trials). None of the at least 25 wolves present during the study visually or vocally exposed...
| Published in: | European Journal of Wildlife Research |
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| Main Authors: | , , |
| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
2014
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10344-014-0841-0 https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10344-014-0841-0.pdf https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10344-014-0841-0/fulltext.html http://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10344-014-0841-0 |
| Summary: | Abstract Large carnivores may become dangerous if they habituate to humans. We repeatedly approached wild wolves Canis lupus throughout a year to test their individual response to human encounters ( N = 141 trials). None of the at least 25 wolves present during the study visually or vocally exposed themselves. The wolves fled at a mean distance of 248 ± SE 11 m (range, 35–488 m). Their tolerance was most strongly influenced by the presence of site-dependent pups, while the distance at which they were initially alerted was most strongly influenced by detectability of human (wind and noise). The mean alert distance was 324 ± 19 m in the first and 264 ± 17 m in subsequent within-day trials, while tolerance distances showed no such trend, neither within a day nor throughout the year. The study indicates a high level of individual plasticity, making habituation difficult to predict. |
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