CAMP RIPLEY -- You've probably heard stories of domestic dogs that were lost on camping trips and then journeyed hundreds of miles to their owner's home. The canine homing instinct is legendary and little understood by humans.
If a domestic dog can find its way home from a hundred miles away what might a timber wolf be capable of? Would you believe 612 miles round trip?
That's how far a 2 1/2-year-old female timber wolf traveled in 1998. The wolf was radio collared in Camp Ripley in the winter of 1998. It left the military reservation on March 26 and went east, eventually crossing into Wisconsin. It journeyed to near Green Bay, arriving on April 13. It then went south as far as Wisconsin Dells before turning west and passing near La Crosse. From there the wolf went north around Eau Claire before heading west again and crossing the St. Croix River and into Minnesota on June 19 at a point just a few miles from where it crossed the river on its eastern journey. It spent the remainder of the summer in east-central Minnesota before returning to Camp Ripley on Sept. 21.
That wolf's long journey was some of the information gathered in the first phase of the Camp Ripley Gray Wolf Project, completed in 1999.
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The first wolf captured by the DNR wildlife researchers was a 65-pound female. She was quickly muzzled and blindfolded. The wolf was found to be in good health and was outfitted with a radio collar.
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Until the early 1900s wolves lived throughout Minnesota. But indiscriminate killing by humans steadily reduced their numbers and range. By 1974 the remaining population was limited to far northern Minnesota and was in danger of extinction. Wolves finally were placed on the endangered species list that year and since then their numbers have recovered. In 1994 a breeding pair was known to occupy Camp Ripley.
In 1996 the Camp Ripley Gray Wolf Project began. The goal was to determine how many wolves lived in the reservation, their territory size, the location of their dens and the age, sex and condition of the deer they killed. Later, the study was expanded to determine where the wolves dispersed to when they left Ripley and also what effect military training procedures had on the animals.
It was learned that wolves do not prefer any specific type of cover and that the pack roamed throughout the 53,000-acre reservation. The pack probably peaked at about 15 animals in 1997. Today it's estimated at 10 to 12 animals, which appears to be the approximate holding capacity of the reservation.
Interestingly, gunfire and other military activity doesn't frighten wolves. When guns boom in the vicinity of radio-collared wolves the animals either remain nearby or moved toward the gunfire. This included guns ranging in size from .22 pistols to 155-millimeter Howitzers. Evidently wolves are curious critters or perhaps very willing to defend their territory.
If wolves are highly tolerant of human activity within the reservation they also are vulnerable once they leave. Collisions with automobiles and bullets fired by humans are the leading causes of death outside Camp Ripley. Yet despite a tendency to roam off the reservation the Ripley pack isn't in danger of extinction, said Sam Merrill, a DNR animal survey coordinator.
"Population trends suggest that wolves will exist at Camp Ripley long into the future," Merrill said. "Even if all the wolves in Camp Ripley were to disperse or die, it's highly probable it would be naturally recolonized in a short period. However, there's little reason to suspect the wolves in Camp Ripley will fare poorly in the future."
Wolves will continue to be monitored in Camp Ripley at least until they are removed from the endangered species list and perhaps beyond, said Marty Skoglund, Camp Ripley Environmental Supervisor.
On Thursday, Jan. 18 two adult timber wolves were captured with helicopter net guns. One was the 100-pound alpha male and the other was a smaller female that weighed 65 pounds. Both were outfitted with a radio collars and released. The animals were not sedated, so when the muzzles and blindfolds came off they quickly sprang to their feet and romped off through the woods, where they would shortly rejoin the pack. The alpha female member of the pack is already collared.
Notes:
-- In addition to capturing wolves the DNR's Camp Ripley staff also wanted to replenish radio-collared deer for its Whitetail Deer Research Project. Eight deer were lost in the past year to vehicle collisions and hunters. A low cloud ceiling (700 feet) made it difficult for the scout plane to do its job, and only four deer were captured Thursday. The crew returned Friday for another attempt, and clear skies made it almost certain they accomplished their objective.
-- The DNR hoped to collar a mature buck with a new elastic collar with an extra section of foam. "The last time we tried to collar a buck he stuck his hoof into the collar," Skoglund said. "This year we will sedate the animal before installing the collar and hopefully it won't be a problem." The Brainerd chapter of the Minnesota Deer Hunters Association helped pay for the collar.
