By Adam Gebauer
Cover photo courtesy of WDFW
This past spring I got to accompany a wolf biologist as he was attempting to collar a wolf in a pack in Northeast Washington. This pack already had a collared pack member, but that collar was malfunctioning, so using the data already collected he set forth to capture another wolf in the pack. During our windshield time we got to swapping stories of wildlife work, backcountry trip leading, and I got to pepper the bio with questions about working with a species of wildlife that—perhaps more than any other in North America—raises the hackles of some and is elevated above all by others. I came to realize that when working with such a contentious, elusive, complex, and endearing species, one must perfect a kind of art along with knowing the science.
Know Thy Wolf
To be an effective wildlife biologist, you must know the habits of the animals you study. Wolves are highly social animals that are wary of people. They can range widely in a day, and, if a wolf is a disperser (not associated with a pack), they can travel miles looking for another pack or a mate. In Washington, the average pack size is 4.4 with territories of around 257.7 square miles, but pack size and territories change over time. Washington’s wolves also can and do disperse outside the state. In 2024, seven wolves made their way to British Columbia and Idaho. Biologists use a lot of this information to determine where the animals’ denning and rendezvous sites are. These are the areas where the wolves will return to frequently, and, if there are pups about, they will be bringing food back. These are also great places to set camera traps and areas to try to trap wolves to attach a tracking collar.
To understand wolf populations, biologists look at multi-year trends and use winter pack surveys, known dispersals, tribal hunting reports, poaching reports, natural deaths (from other wolves or cougars), and add a conservative percentage to account for unknown individuals. Up until last year, there has been an average of 20 percent increase in the wolf populations. Pup survival averages just 25 percent. This is in part why population surveys are done in winter, counting pups that survived from the spring and are likely to become adults. At this time, poaching of wolves dispersing to Washington’s Southern Cascades is the main limiting factor keeping pack establishment in that recovery zone and delaying delisting of wolves from the state endangered species list.
Tracking and Trapping
How do you know you are looking at a wolf track? Wolves have big feet—3 ½ to 4 inches. There are some livestock guardian dogs that can have similarly-sized feet, but typically wolf tracks are much larger than your average pet dog. Wolves travel long distances, and they do it efficiently. Their tracks are straight and rarely deviate. Dogs, on the other hand, will zigzag, sniff, and mark anything and everything. Stride length is the last sign that can help determine if it is a dog or a wolf. A wolf will have a stride of 24 to 38 inches when walking. That stride can be up to 6 to 8 feet when running. Accounting for stride length, pad size, and a straight track, a seasoned tracker can be confident in identification.
The innate behavior of wolves determines how you can trap them. They will not cross a road to investigate a scent. They will take the insides of a corner, because that is the most efficient path. Wolves try to be quiet roaming the woods, so they won’t step on sticks when investigating a scent. All of these considerations must be taken into account for success when setting traps for research and monitoring.
Wolf Medicine in the Field
A wolf biologist also needs to know the baseline vitals for these animals. Wild animals generally run hotter than their domestic counterparts, and, when humans are handling them, they can become very stressed. The wolf we worked with had a pulse oxygen monitor attached to its tongue and regular temperatures were taken. Often the tranquilizer drugs used have multiple effects, including lowering heart rate and changing blood pressure.
There have been a variety of different medications used on wildlife to immobilize them over the years. Some of these are controlled substances and have the potential for abuse (think ketamine). States also have different laws on how these drugs are stored, administered and licensed. When I was knocking out porcupines in New Mexico early in my career, a licensed vet had to administer the drugs. A wolf biologist has to know the correct dosage, how to load the needle or dart, and where to administer it.
Talking Wolves to People
Finally, a wolf biologist, along with others that work with large predators, needs to be diplomatic when they work with the public. Ranchers work on thin margins and care for the well-being of their animals—more so than just their financial worth—so any additional impacts can create emotional reactions. Similarly, on the other end of the wolf love-hate spectrum, there are those who think wolves have more importance in the ecosystem than any other species. Their notion of wildness and their resemblance to our family dogs can elicit strong feelings from others. It is hard to have a nuanced conversation about wolves on the landscape, because the opposing sides are so loud, but that is precisely a wolf biologist’s job.
There may seem to be many glamorous aspects of being a wolf biologist—handling large predators, cruising the woods looking for tracks and hanging out of helicopters for winter surveys. But there is also the building of nuanced knowledge that can take years, and the ability to navigate the political and emotional nature of working with predators and the public.
Adam Gebauer is excited to get back on his bike as the weather cools. He also is totally, absolutely sure he will do some training for ski season this year.
