The Gray Wolf has different color morphs and I have observed most of them; white or very light gray, black, dark gray and mottled. They run in packs from 2- 12 or more, which cover hundreds of square miles. On our ridge I have never seen more than two together, but one night we were serenaded by at least 4-8 wolves. It was a cold, quiet, moonlit night, Mary and I were awakened by the "coral group" who were about thirty yards behind our house. I looked out the window and the full moon had the classic wisps of clouds, forming shadows across the yard and trees. Each wolf seemed as it was howling in harmony, producing tones from mellow basses to rich Irish tenors.
The fall of 2003 when Mary and I were building our house, we lived in our garage. There were many September and October nights when we heard wolf packs howling on the next higher ridge. An unforgettable sound... once you hear it, you never forget it.
All the wolves I have seen on our ridge have varied in size. Books tell you their weight varies from 50 - 145 lbs. The largest I have seen made a paw print about the size of my hand and his back would reach the height of the bottom of a car window. You don't realize how tall the wolf is until you meet one eyeball to eyeball on a forest trail.
Wolf Track
This week marks the one year anniversary of my most interesting wolf encounters. The first one was on a Sunday morning when the wind chill was off the charts, -45 to -52 below zero. The saying I most agree with is, "There is no bad weather in Minnesota, just bad clothing." So, donning my Thinsulate predator gear, I ventured up my trail to check on my buddies the Red-breasted Nuthatches and chickadees. I took up my post below the huge white pine on the corner of our property and the Superior National Forest. The wind was roaring and sounded like a constant moving train; according to the new wind chill charts, it was between -45 and -52 below zero. I stood there with my back to the wind, waiting for any birds to drop out of the trees to my seed filled hand. In a few minutes, my feathered friend Norris landed in my hand. He perched in my hand for many seconds, devouring hulled seeds, sheltered from the wind by my body.
I was startled by three deer bolting by me in different directions. One ran directly at me, stopped and stared down the trail I just walked up. It was a doe and she was standing in that locked, danger position, with her ears cupped forward, intently looking down the ridge. I knew something other than the fierce wind had spooked her and the other deer. I looked down the ridge and in the brush I saw a brown movement, for a split second I thought it might be another deer. I didn't bring my binoculars with me because of the intense cold, plus I wasn't about to do my usual 3-6 hour stint in the forest.
To my surprise, it was a timber wolf standing on the trail I just walked up minutes ago. His head would go down and most of his body disappeared behind a fallen tree. There was so much brush between me and the wolf, it made it difficult to see what was going on. When his head went down, I would step closer to the trail. Finally I got back on the trail so I could see what he was doing. I could tell he was off the trail struggling with something quite large. I got my camera out of my parka and adjusted the telephoto lens and modes on the move. It was difficult to photograph in the wind chill but I finally got in position to snap a photo of his head peering above a fallen tree. The wolf gave a lurch behind the downed tree and pulled a deer out from behind it; he had killed a small doe right on my trail.
Timber Wolf
I kept taking photos as long as I could stand having my gloves off. I decided to try to get closer, since I had taken photos of what I could see in this position. I knew he couldn't see me, hear me or get my scent because of the roaring cross wind. I moved slowly and finally knelt to take some closer shots. The wolf must of sensed my presence, because he moved out of the area in a slow trot. He made a large semi circle below me and checked me out, finally leaving via the protection of the giant white cedars.
Wolf Kill
Standing above the deer, it was hard to believe what one wolf could do in that short period of time. I have seen the results of many deer kills, but never first hand and I had no idea how fast they could kill and eat a deer.
My hands were very cold, so I took a few photos of the carcass and went home to download the photos. I didn't have a clue how they would turn out because of the conditions in which they were taken.
To my amazement, after downloading the photos, I saw the wolf had a collar. Mary and I decided it was a radio transmitter collar attached to a live trapped wolf. I immediately sent an email to the International Wolf Center in Ely, MN, telling them the story of my findings.
The next morning I went back to check on the carcass and found that it was completely devoured. It looked like a herd of cattle had been tramping down the area. The wolf or wolves had dragged the deer about twenty yards further east and dined at that spot. The raven tracks were thick, I saw mice activity, fox and smaller bird tracks... probably the Canada Jays.
I paced off from where I had originally stood and it was 86 yards to where the wolf had killed the deer. I walked back to the cedars to feed my bird friends. When I was standing in almost the exact same spot as yesterday, I heard a bleating like a sheep... it was chilling. I finally located the sound and with my binoculars, spotted a movement through the big cedars up the ridge. A deer was struggling to get up out of the snow and was making the bleating sound. It was quite unnerving and not a pretty sight. The doe got up and started running, I could see the red blood over her hind quarter as she ran at an angle through the cedars.
Thirty seconds or so, two wolves came streaking out of the same area, a big gray and a smaller black morf... hot on the deer's trail.
I knew it was not the wolf with the collar, because I recognized these two from earlier observations. I checked my watch and slowly walked over to where I could pick up the blood trail. I carry a .38 service revolver with me at all times, for the very purpose of having to put a deer out of it's misery.
I found the tracks of the chase, but no blood. I literally got down on my hands and knees, looking for minute spots of blood. The subzero weather had coagulated the blood so fast the blood sign was tiny pin head spots of blood. It took me one hour and eight minutes to find the deer. In that time, the two wolves had eaten one whole side, plus the rib cage and took the head and neck with them. It was still steaming when I found it and looked like a bomb had gone off. I took a few photos and as I was leaving, two Canada Jays flew in and sat on a branch above the deer. Nature had provided them with another food source for a long period of time.
It was hard to believe what two wolves had done to the deer in a little over one hour. Plus carry away the neck and head for their future cashe. I walked in a 50 yard circle and could not find a spot of blood or a "drag" trail of the neck and head. If you have butchered a deer before, you know how heavy that scenario is. One of them literally carried the remains away, without leaving so much of a hint of the load. The big gray was indeed a formable specimen.
One hour and eight minutes after the kill
The next day my pet buck was standing in our front yard, so I put on my jacket to feed him his corn treat. I opened the door and he had disappeared; which was odd since he eats out of my hand. Standing below our front yard was the big gray wolf and his black wolf companion was running west out of the valley. Surprise is not the proper terminology as I watched him turn and jauntily trot off after his mate.
Wolf Hunting
I went into the house, cursing the fact I didn't have my camera hanging from my neck, and the phone rings. It was a Dr. Michael Nelson from the Wolf Project (Kawishiwi Field Laboratory) Ely, MN calling. the International Wolf Center had sent my email to him and he had questions about the wolf with the collar. We talked for quite sometime about my wolf episodes and I sent him a photo of the collared wolf. He called back a couple of more times and he told me they were missing a GPS collared wolf and he couldn't be sure if this one was it. He thought it might be one they live trapped at Silver Island Lake in 2006, but he didn't know for sure. He told me he would make some calls to other agencies that transmitted wolves.
I never found out if he was the Silver Island wolf, but Dr. Nelson provided some interesting dialogue and wolf knowledge. He told me my wolf adventures are something not many people get a chance to observe.
Later that day, I went up the ridge and saw one of the wolves above the second kill, it was a glimpse and that was it. The kill area was completely void, only the stomach plant matter was left, which the wolves don't eat. Not a bone, piece of hide visible anywhere... just a coating of blown hair drifting over the snow.
"Wolf is the Grand Teacher. Wolf is the sage, who after many winters upon the sacred path and seeking the ways of wisdom, returns to share new knowledge with the tribe. Wolf is both the radical and the traditional in the same breath. When the Wolf walks by you - you will remember." ~ Robert Ghost Wolf
Nice blog :-)
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