Among Wolves: Gordon Haber's Insights into Alaska's Most Misunderstood Animal

by Haber, Gordon

  They also include a well-structured aboveground layout of play areas for the pups, rest areas with beds and lookouts for adults, areas where the entire group socializes (especially for hunting departures and arrivals), interconnecting trails, and more, all of which may be spread over an area of up to fifty acres.

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  June 30, 2009

  Another den visit with Toklat family. Bunch of adults+excited, yipping pups howled a great rollicking 4-min chorus for me from pond area.

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  Both dens and rendezvous sites are situated in strategic, sometimes fortress-like, locations: most are elevated, on a prominent bluff or ridge with commanding views, so that the wolves are less likely to be surprised by intruders and can use their extraordinary eyesight to pick out potential enemies and prey from afar. Burrow entrances, and the sites in general, commonly face southward, allowing for earlier thawing in spring. Almost always there is a river, creek, or pond within a few hundred yards, and soils are well drained. Most sites are also found in areas of relative prey abundance.

  Virtually all of the homesites are very old; several being used at present are known to have been used periodically since the 1920s and looked old even then. All of the fifty or so homesites I have examined since 1966 are well worn. Most likely go back at least a century or two and may date back thousands of years. Given that Interior Alaska escaped the Pleistocene glaciations and that modern wolves have probably been here for at least a million years, some homesites may date back far longer than even thousands of years.

  Wolves are intelligent hunters—they choose homesites for most of the same reasons as do human hunters, and we would predict use by both species alternatively, at some sites. This in fact has been the case at three known human campsites in Denali that date back three to ten thousand years: Teklanika, Highpower Creek, and Lower Toklat.

  Each family maintains many homesites—I have counted thirteen for the Savage River family and at least thirty for Toklat–Wonder Lake families. Typically a family uses at least several sites in sequence each summer. Many established homesites are arranged in clusters, so that when based at one of the sites in a cluster, the wolves can visit or move to one or more other sites. This pattern appears to be related to prey changes, temporary fouling of a site, training for the young via short moves between safe destinations, and disturbance by aliens, especially humans.

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  June 15, 2009

  Weather improved so went to den for the evening. Wolves resting out of view but did howl real nice for me. Heard female call pups to nurse.

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  Usually within days if not hours after the sexual activities in March, and sometimes even before, the pair and others go to an established natal den where they may work together for hours cleaning it out, despite any lingering deep snow and even though they won't occupy the den for another couple of months. Sometimes the wolves mate right at a den. This suggests that they are able to associate their sexual activities with the birth of young several months later.

  All the wolves are involved in preparing the den, demonstrating reproductive altruism—and LT, the beta male of the Savage River group, was again a diligent helper. During the sixty-three-day gestation period, the wolves continue to evaluate and clean out a number of their established dens, but with a growing sense of urgency during the last week or so. I was able to follow the Savage River group closely during this final period and was struck by LT's unswerving determination to find a suitable den, even though he was not mating.

  As the group traveled from site to site with LT leading and the female following directly behind, sometimes alternating the lead with him, he always seemed to be pressing the pace. Most of the others, including the alpha male—the father-to-be—stopped often for play and frequently lagged several hundred feet behind. The female behaved with an urgency similar to LT's, by joining him in examining the burrows at each den site and by arousing the group from any rest period afterward. Nonetheless, it was LT who left me with the strongest impression that he had an objective and wasn't about to be slowed in reaching it.

  This was in the winter of 1970–1971, one of the most severe winters ever recorded in Denali, when snow cover lingered well into May. Over the course of several days, the Savage River family scouted virtually the entire east-west band of homesites in their territory. With lingering snow preventing moose from returning to this area, the wolves demonstrated their knowledge of their territory and prey patterns, as well as their ability to adapt to changing environmental conditions: they made a shift in the final week before the pups were born to a site that provided the best access to caribou migration.

  The homesite that stands above all others as my favorite is one of Toklat's oldest and most elaborate. It anchors a cluster of at least six other sites within eight miles. It was occupied in 1966 when I began my research and is known to have been used in at least nineteen summers since the late 1950s, as well as in earlier years of the century.11 There is no doubt in my mind, nor was there any in Ade Murie's mind when he examined it with me in 1966, that it has been used by wolves for a much longer period—for centuries if not millennia, although perhaps with a break during the wolf population low in 1906–1925.12 If there was ever a candidate for a truly ancient site, this is it.

  Covering an area of five to ten acres primarily of spruce forest, it sits along a glacial river. The braided channels form a gravel bar over a mile wide in a beautiful valley surrounded by five- to six-thousand-foot mountain peaks. At larger group sizes, adult resting areas at this den site have extended to include more than fifty acres.

  In 1966 and 1967, I crawled into the underground network and mapped it in detail, shown on the next page. Each of the two major chambers contained enough underfur from two different adults to cover about half its floor with a soft lining—indicating that in that year, two females had birthed together, producing the thirteen pups I had observed, and each had pulled some of her own fur to provide a bed lining for the newborn pups. All of the burrows and chambers were free of kill remains, fecal matter, debris, loose dirt, and water. Over the years the only changes were when a major river channel washed away part of the south side; the wolves later renovated by excavating a higher entrance on the south side.

  Another significant den site, mapped on page 57, is one that was used alternately by both Savage River and Toklat family groups—and previously by humans. In 1960, geologists found artifacts and other evidence of early human activity here and concluded that it was used as a campsite, game lookout, and possibly for human habitation beginning about twelve thousand years ago, until it was abandoned about eight thousand years ago.

  Wolf occupancy of this site clearly extends over at least several centuries. It is likely to have remained beyond the reach of glaciers during the last ice age, and thus could have been used by wolves and other hunters before the date of first known human occupancy. There are remnants of at least twenty-four burrow entrances here along a forty-foot section of slope, with old trails extending eastward. In fact, one of these early wolf-fox-human trails may have evolved into the present-day Teklanika Campground trail.

  The Pups Emerge

  In late May and early June, the older wolves eagerly await the first emergence of the pups. Up to that point, usually only their mother and perhaps a cooperatively nursing female have interacted with them.

  During the winter, the top female generally plays an active, aggressive role in helping to detect and capture prey. But during the spring and summer, when the wolves hunt nightly from a den site, her duties are more domestic. Most of her time is spent at the den caring for pups. After late May, however, when her young first emerge from the den, she begins to turn some of the pup-tending duties over to one or two subordinate male or female adults or yearlings. Occasionally, she even leaves the pups with a babysitter and lightheartedly trots off with the other adults for a fling on the nightly hunt.

  When the p
ups finally come out, the other adults and older siblings dote over them with obvious affection. They cuddle and clean them, and lie down and let them crawl all over their heads and bodies.

  This begins to wear off in a few weeks as the pups grow big enough to tug and chew a little too much with their razor-sharp pup teeth and become too insistent with wolves that have just returned from a hunt and want some sleep. The affection still shows but is more controlled and comes with some reprimands.

  One or two adult attendants always remain close to the pups, but the other adults rest in areas separate from the pups' play areas. In 2007 I observed the seven Lower Savage III pups flopped out together in some brush, resting on a hot afternoon—with a few quizzical looks at the airplane circling above. Their parents were likewise resting, at a comfortable distance about a hundred yards away. These pups were being raised by only three adults, which is impressive not only because there were seven of them but also because they were so large for their age; obviously the older wolves were doing a good job of it.

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  Field notes #74

  May 2000

  355 appears on bluff above burrow. Looks down intently at burrow, then trots straight down to lower burrow. Sticks his head and shoulders inside for 15 sees, then pulls out and immediately 5 pups burst excitedly out of that burrow after him—they jump all over his face and under him, tails wagging excitedly. He then walks to the ledge between upper & lower burrows about 15 ft to the N where 801 often nurses and walks up and down, allowing the pups to follow and swarm all over him with excitement, which he obviously enjoys. As they jump & climb all over him he tries to clean several of them licking their backsides and faces.

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  As the pups grow they range farther, but reprimands teach them to avoid the areas where adults rest. At one homesite, the adult resting area was in a heavy patch of willows about one hundred feet south of the burrow complex. Many times I watched pups stare intently at this patch when older wolves were there, but they were always hesitant to venture over to it. Once, while the alpha male rested in those willows, two pups did timidly enter, but after a minute or two came running back out with their ears back and little tails tucked beneath their bodies.

  Sometimes, however, the adults are playful with the pups. I once watched a high-ranking male return from a hunt and go straight for the pups with his tail wagging. He began nuzzling and licking them affectionately, then he gently picked one up, with his jaws almost entirely around its little body, and carried it off to the rest area. He was simply in an affectionate mood and wanted to play with the pup for a while.

  The extreme cooperation that one sees among family members and occasional newcomers in raising young pups makes it largely meaningless to distinguish between parents and nonparents at this time of the year; they all act like parents. This cooperation includes nursing the pups, which continues until the pups are about a month and a half old. Mothers nurse each other's pups interchangeably. Non-mothers also lactate, sometimes even one-year-olds, despite the fact that wolves do not normally become sexually mature until they are twenty-two months old.

  In 2009 the Toklat wolves produced at least nine pups. At least two and probably three females nursed them! the dominant female and two likely daughters, a large, submissive young adult and a two-year-old. I saw nipples on the third female and am fairly certain that a female I observed nursing alongside the dominant female on one occasion was not the second large female.

  I also observed some interesting displays of extra affection by dominant and other family members for the lactating females and by the lactating females for each other. Ranking individuals who would normally assert their dominance seem more inclined to act affectionately toward these females at this time of the year, especially with kissing and unmistakable body language. There seems to be an understanding of their importance in the early care and provisioning of the pups.

  This cooperative pup care seems a very adaptive evolutionary trait, as more than a single lactating female likely ensures more reliable early nourishment for the pups, especially when there are many of them. This could translate into early growth advantages and help compensate for periods of potentially leaner provisioning over the next several months, after the pups are weaned, when most of what they eat depends directly on the day-to-day foraging success of the older wolves. The presence of more than one lactating female probably also allows the dominant female and others more flexibility to forage away from the den during the first month and a half and thus stay in better condition. It seems a win-win adaptive strategy.

  The pups continue nursing into late June or early July, by which time they are also beginning to eat meat. Lower-ranking adults and yearlings begin attending them closely, often staying alone with the pups as the rest of the family hunts. This frees the mother, who is generally a more experienced hunter than any of the young helpers, to join in the hunt. This is another example of apparent altruism, since the helpers forgo not only the hunt but also the chance of obtaining food.

  Helping involves enduring much harassment from the pups, and frequently when one helper is spelled by another, it shows obvious good spirits. But I have also watched helpers continue to attend the pups when it was possible to take at least a short break. In 1991 at the Toklat natal den I watched as the alpha female nursed two pups. Three other adults came out of the adjacent rest area and milled around submissively. One of these, a male who attended the pups alongside the primary helper, lay down right next to the alpha female and licked the pups while they nursed. Afterward, the other wolves disappeared but the male helper continued to lie with the pups, licking and cleaning them as they romped and climbed on his head and body.

  Another interesting observation I've seen many times at the natal den involves passing prey. The adults do need to guard very young pups from nearby potential predators such as bears, hawks, owls, eagles, and ravens. But when resting, adults will often ignore nearby prey. I've seen moose and caribou walk right through or near a homesite with wolves present but flaked out in the daytime heat. In one case a cow moose nearly stepped on a resting Savage River wolf, but both moose and wolf ignored each other, although the pups were scared as hell and ran for the burrow. In another case about fifty caribou walked casually by the main East Fork den with more than fifteen wolves present, but the wolves merely howled briefly and then ignored them.13

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  Snapshot: Teklanika Den

  Karen Deatherage

  Karen Deatherage first met Dr. Haber in 1998 when she worked for a wildlife conservation organization. With Gordon's invaluable data, she and others fought for over a decade to protect Denali's wolves from trapping and hunting outside the park boundaries. She was working as a park ranger at Denali National Park the summer she spent time with Gordon observing the wolves at the denning area.

  It was a beautiful afternoon in June 2009 as I accompanied Dr. Gordon Haber to the Teklanika denning area for wolf observations. I had heard so much about this special group of wolves over the past eleven years, so I was unspeakably excited as we drove the park road.

  Gordon counted snowshoe hare as we followed the dusty road to the Teklanika River. It had been an extraordinary few years for hare population growth, and he wanted to document his sightings. During aerial surveys, he said, he'd observed the surviving Toklat pups, whose parents had been killed, eating along a ground that literally moved with hare. He didn't believe these young, inexperienced wolves would have survived without that boon of the hare population.

  After we parked, Gordon did what he had done for forty-three years. I knew I was witnessing the routines of a scientist who, like the wolves, depended upon customs to succeed. There was exactness, an order in every detail of his actions, despite the disarray of research logs, equipment, and clothing in the vehicle.

  We set out on the trail he had made to the denning observation area. Gordon was acutely aware of each and every detail along the path, including the tiny new spruce tree I was ask
ed to walk around. He took notice of every change since his last trip and said to keep guard of the “attack goshawk” who almost scalped him during a previous hike. Wolf and bear scat was scattered along the trail, and he asked that I leave it undisturbed. He pointed out how the animals had started using the trail he'd made and he enjoyed seeing their sign. As we entered the forest, he quietly said hey bear, hey bear. He shared a terrifying story about a bear he ran into who seemed a lot more interested in him than he should have been.

  He looked at his watch and said it normally took him exactly thirty-eight minutes to get to the viewing area. He didn't stop to drink water and didn't put on bug repellent, despite the growing mosquito swarm. For Gordon, it seemed, suffering led to character, and he took every opportunity to build it. As I was dripping with sweat, mauled by mosquitoes, and dying of thirst, I explained to him that I had enough character and did not need to suffer. I stopped, and he graciously allowed it, but didn't drink any water or put on repellent himself. It took us forty-two minutes to get to the site. He grinned and said, “Not bad for the first time out.”

  When we arrived, he reached up into an old spruce and pulled down a dark green trash bag covering a folded seat-pad. He had left it in that tree all winter long, and no animals had bothered it. We sat in this spot to view the denning area across the river. We had no collar data, no signal equipment, and no dart guns. This was pure observation, just as Adolph Murie had done in wolf research back in the late 1930s.