Wolf

Generally the grey wolf is a grizzled grey but colour varies from white to black. The ears are erect and the tail is bushy and black tipped. The male is larger than the female and average weight is 55-130 pounds. The grey wolf, also known as the timber wolf, prefers the open tundra and forests of British Columbia. Although they once inhabited most of North America, now distribution occurs in only Alaska, Canada, and parts of the U.S. Human fear, superstition, and outright hatred of this animal decreased its population drastically and eradicated it from 50% of its former range in the 1950s. The wolf has been historically important for First Nations as an icon species, for pelts and as a trading commodity after Europeans settled in the area. Wolves are currently a popular hunting and trapping commodity.

In the last 30 years wolves have re-established in their historic ranges across North America. Their populations have increased to the point that they have upset the balance of the prey animals such as moose and elk. Deer are on a steep decline because of wolf predation. As the normal prey species decrease wolf predation has moved to non-typical species such as mountain caribou, mountain goat, bighorn sheep, domestic cattle and horses. Wildlife managers are now playing catch up on wolf management by increasing hunting opportunities, and initiating ungulate enhancement programs on predatory control.

General issues across the Sub Region will be addressed below, followed by management plans specific to individual populations.

The grey wolf is of no special conservation concern in British Columbia right now and to maintain this status there are a few actions recommended. So far the only threat that affects wolf population very little is hunting and trapping. However the impact is so low that there is no major concern for wolf populations. The main objective is to maintain a self-sustaining wolf population, as wolves are a very important aspect to the ecology of British Columbia.

To maintain this low conservation risk it is recommended to improve the reporting system regarding the amount of wolves that are taken by hunters. That way the population and take of wolves can be monitored more precisely and actions can be implemented if the populations decline too much.

Management will have two parts. On one hand, there will be wolf control where livestock or wildlife is threatened. On the other hand, all other areas will focus on keeping the wolf populations self-sustainable so the species can maintain their role in the ecology and maintain the predator-prey system. Hunting and trapping therefore should not be prohibited but monitored properly to fill knowledge gaps and verify estimates of population or harvested individuals. For wolf control regarding livestock and wildlife the Conservation Office Service suggests non-lethal control. However, the owner is still permitted to hunt a wolf if it is on private property. Such control measures should not be practised in too many areas in British Columbia in order to keep conservation risks at a minimum. Biologists also fear the reduction of certain ungulate species due to growing wolf populations as for example the caribou. They suggest aerial reduction of wolves in certain small areas of caribou habitat. Management does not suggest to reduce wolves in order to increase ungulates solely for hunting reasons. Knowledge gaps need to be filled by having an adaptive management plan that continuously monitors actions and changes accordingly.

All in all, wolves are only threatened by hunting and trapping, however, the impact is very small. The populations seem to be growing and management wants to maintain the self-sustainable populations. In order to reduce livestock damage and decrease of other wildlife it is recommended to implement wolf control in certain smaller areas. The other areas will focus on maintaining wolf populations, as they are very important to ecology and predator-prey systems.

Hunting and trapping should not be prohibited but monitored better in order to have more control over population and harvest numbers.

Source: Management Plan for the Grey Wolf in British Columbia

Management plans surrounding the conservation of gray wolves along the BC coastline involves discontinuation of timber removal and large scale clear cuttings. Timber companies are encouraged to develop strategies to produce timber to meet human demands, whilst also preventing declining gray wolf populations and reducing impacts on the wildlife caused by extensive timber removal. Continued study could be key in obtaining valuable information about wolf populations and distributions across BC and also prove useful in developing new plans to preserve the species and their natural habitat. Support from the Ministry of Environment (MOE) and Ministry of Forests (MOF) can help prevent disturbance and destruction from human activities reducing the likelihood of disturbance and promote breeding to maintain wolf populations. Focusing on preserving deer species will fundamentally promote wolf populations too, creation of ungulate winter ranges (UWRs) for deer to reside in will provide prey for wolves in the region. UWRs restrict timber supply and human interference, therefore wolves will have minimal disturbance from humans and industrial influences. Furthermore, buffers preventing industrial activities of at least 2km around known and estimated den sites would promote wolf populations and encourage breeding in natural habitats. Continued study could be key in obtaining valuable insight into the demographics and behaviour of gray wolves. Long-term management schemes focusing on the wider ecosystem are likely to benefit the wolf population in BC, conserving both deer and gray wolves among other species in the ecosystem. Hunting regulations could be improved with higher quality information on wolves in the BC area, in order to preserve the species and encourage humans to be more aware of the wolf population. Huge demands of timber and immediacy of road construction halt plans to create and develop conservation strategies due to increasing rates of logging and timber removal across the region. Conservation projects are required to be developed and implemented quickly if this precious species is to continue to exist across the British Columbia region.

Source: The Gray Wolves (Canis lupus) of British Columbia's Coastal Rainforests

Gray wolves are the largest wild member of the dog family. They look similar to the German Shepard dog but have longer fur, a bushier trail and proportionatly longer legs and larger feet. In British Columbia most are in the ranch of 35 to 50 kg. Wolves are typical white colored with grey or brown, black or white fur. They are able to attain speeds of 55 to 70 km per hour. Also, wolves are highly intelligent, and have particularly keen senses of vision, smell, and hearing.

Potential living space for wolves are in virtually every kind of habitat in the northern hemisphere, from open prairie to the costal rainforest up to high arctic.

Wolves are dominant carnivore eating the full range of available prey. They live and hunt normally in packs; usually the packs are family-based, consisting of pairs of adults and their offspring.

Packs live in territories that vary in size widely but may be 10,000km2 or more. These territories are scent-marked with urine, feces and gland secretions.

Wolf control programs have been relatively local in nature. Program focus on specific problem packs in livestock areas and work to protect and recover species at risk. Managers experiment with alternative methods of controlling problem packs with snare and sterilization of dominant animals to reduce wolf numbers.

The future of wolves in British Columbia appears to be sure, assuming that management plans and the public are able to maintain or enhance prey populations in the habitat. The goals in most cases will be to keep numbers low enough so that conflict situations with humans are minimized, prey species at risk are protected and the pressure on local prey is not excessive.

Source: Gray Wolf

Wolf management is an ongoing process with various studies and strategies to find the best management option possible. Wolves have been seen to impact ungulate populations. This is therefore an impact to the balance of the ecosystem in BC .It has been seen that when wolves have been removed from an area that their population would increase back to the same amount as before the removal. This is due to a primary mechanism and eligibly from survival instinct. Wolf predation involves high impacts on ungulates survival and is a major limiting factor to population growth. One of the strategies that should be implemented is a wolf regulation with a predator/ prey management. There will be a greater biomass of ungulates and wolf population and location can be better predicted than if there was no management. However there is some public concern for the wolf management and conservation from the removal program. Additionally, wolves are self-regulating when it comes to territorial behaviour. This is why even with a removal program the population will still be growing. They accustom their population number on the basis of prey biomass. To keep a good balance between the wolves and ungulates populations the management should not be left uncontrolled. On the contrary it is nowadays necessary to keep a man-made control of wolf management and a good balance in the ecosystem. Finally, the ungulate population has also an impact on the wolf population; if they decrease wolf populations decrease and the same happens when inversed.

Source: Wolf predation in a multiple-ungulate system in northern British Columbia

Issues:

  • Increased population numbers are reducing ungulate population sizes below sustainable levels

Goals:

  • Undergo ungulate enhancement by increasing hunting limits on wolves

Objectives Management Direction/Strategies Measures of Success/Targets Intent