WINTER SEVERITY AND WOLF PREDATION ON A FORMERLY WOLF-FREE ELK HERD

We studied wolf (Canis lupus) predation on elk (Cervus elaphus) in Yellowstone National Park from 17 March to 15 April 1997 (severe winter conditions) and from 2 to 31 March 1998 (mild winter conditions) 2-3 years after wolves were reintroduced to the park. Elk composed 91% of 117 kills. Data compar...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Mech, L. David, Smith, Douglas W., Murphy, Kerry M., MacNulty, Daniel R.
Format: Text
Language:unknown
Published: DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska - Lincoln 2001
Subjects:
Canis lupus
Cervus elaphus
elk
nutritional condition
predation
snow
winter severity
wolf
Yellowstone National Park
Animal Sciences
Behavior and Ethology
Biodiversity
Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Environmental Policy
Life Sciences
Recreation
Parks and Tourism Administration
Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology
Online Access:https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/usgsnpwrc/337
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/context/usgsnpwrc/article/1359/viewcontent/Mech_JWM_2001_WINTER_SEVERITY.pdf
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Summary:We studied wolf (Canis lupus) predation on elk (Cervus elaphus) in Yellowstone National Park from 17 March to 15 April 1997 (severe winter conditions) and from 2 to 31 March 1998 (mild winter conditions) 2-3 years after wolves were reintroduced to the park. Elk composed 91% of 117 kills. Data comparisons for 1997 versus 1998 were: hunting success rate, 26% versus 15%; kill rate, 17.1 kg/wolf/day versus 6.1; percent of kill consumed in first day, 7 versus 86; percent femur marrow fat of adult kills, 27 versus 70; calf:adult ratios of kills, 2:33 versus 17:23; sex ratio of kills, 14M:19F versus 17M:6F; mean age of elk killed, males 6.1 years, females 15.2 versus males, 4.8, females 13.0. Winter severity influenced the wolf-elk relationship more than the naivete of the elk herd to predation by wolves.

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