More on wolves

[royinidaho]

From the Wyoming 2005 report:

Interesting stats: Which elk are mostly killed by wolves? Calves, cows or bulls?

Winter Studies: During the 2005 March winter study (30 days), wolves were observed for 404
hours from the ground. The number of days wolf packs were located from the air ranged from 3
(Biscuit Basin) to 18 (Leopold, Geode, Druid Peak, Slough Creek, Agate Creek). Sixty-nine
definite or probable wolf kills were detected, including 60 elk, 3 bison, 2 mule deer, 1 moose,
and 3 unknown species. Among elk, 7 (12%) were calves, 15 (25%) were cows, 33 (55%) were
bulls, 5 (8%) were of unknown sex adult. In addition, 16 ungulates that died from other natural
causes (winter kill, cougar kill, stuck in mud) were scavenged by wolf packs, including 9 bison
and 7 elk. Of note, the 25-member Leopold pack had an unusually low kill rate in March
because they scavenged 4 bison and 3 elk carcasses.
During the 2005 November–December winter study (30 days), wolves were observed for 296.5
hours from the ground. The number of days wolf packs were located from the air ranged from 9
(Druid Peak) to 18 (Leopold, Hellroaring, Slough Creek, Agate Creek, Cougar Creek). Fifty-five
definite or probable wolf kills were detected during the November-December 2005 Winter
Study, including 44 elk, 5 bison, 2 deer, 2 moose, 2 unknown. Among elk, 11 (25%) of the kills
were calves, 12 (27%) were cows, 18 (41%) were bulls, and 3 (7%) were elk of unknown sex
and age.