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Posted by Ballpark Frank (24.237.94.196) on 20:52:45 04/24/14
The April issue of Alaska magazine has an article titled "Alaska's Fishing Wolves". I climbed all over their web site, trying to find a way of linking to the article, but I was unable to find it online. I searched on the article's title, and got skunked there as well. The article features two photos of fishing wolves, one trying to catch a salmon, zipping through the shallows of a river, and another with a salmon in its mouth.
Apparently, there have been reports of wolves catching salmon in southeast Alaska for quite a while. This particular article starts with a mention of the wolves down there, but then expands to cover areas further north, like Lake Clark, the Alaska Peninsula National Wildlife Refuge, and the Becharof National Wildlife Refuge. Ironically, while the article does not mention the Brooks River area in Katmai National Park & Preserve, both photos were taken there.
Researchers using stable isotope analysis on blood and hair samples have been able to ascertain that salmon make up a sizable proportion of some wolves' diets, particularly during the seasons when that food source is readily available. Pup survival rates of up to 90% are partially attributed to the use of this high protein, easily obtained food source in early summer, when the pink and chum salmon runs are going.
One U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologist was quoted as saying that he first realized that wolves in the area where he was ate more fish than anyone suspected when he noticed that those he collared in the fall "reeked of fish". He also observed adult wolves carrying salmon to dens and rendezvous sites and delivering them to pups.
The most entertaining part of the article was Dr. Jeff Welker,Professor of Biological Sciences at the University of Alaska Anchorage talking about how wolves harvesting salmon is not restricted to the summer, when the streams are full of fish. He was quoted as saying "We've seen evidence of wolves digging through the snow and harvesting 'salmon popsicles' during the winter".
It makes sense. Last summer, we saw brown bears, gulls, and humans fishing the Brooks River. Why not wolves as well?
Ballpark
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