Gray Wolf (Canis lupus) Movements and Behavior Around a Kill Site and Implications for GPS Collar Studies

Global Positioning System (GPS) radio-collars are increasingly used to estimate Gray Wolf (Canis lupus) kill rates. In interpreting results from this technology, researchers make various assumptions about wolf behavior around kills, yet no detailed description of this behavior has been published. Th...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Canadian Field-Naturalist
Main Author: Mech, L. David
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: The Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club 2012
Subjects:
Behavior
Gray Wolf
Canis lupus
Muskox
Ovibos moschatus
global positioning system collar
GPS radio-collar
predation
Ellesmere Island
Nunavut
Canada
gray wolf
muskox
ovibos moschatus
Online Access:https://www.canadianfieldnaturalist.ca/index.php/cfn/article/view/1263
https://doi.org/10.22621/cfn.v125i4.1263
Description
Summary:Global Positioning System (GPS) radio-collars are increasingly used to estimate Gray Wolf (Canis lupus) kill rates. In interpreting results from this technology, researchers make various assumptions about wolf behavior around kills, yet no detailed description of this behavior has been published. This article describes the behavior of six wolves in an area of constant daylight during 30 hours, from when the pack killed a Muskox (Ovibos moschatus) calf and yearling on Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada, to when they abandoned the kill remains. Although this is only a single incident, it demonstrates one possible scenario of pack behavior around a kill. Combined with the literature, this observation supports placing a radio-collar on the breeding male to maximize finding kills via GPS collars and qualifying results depending on whatever other information is available about the collared wolf’s pack.

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