29 January 2012
Image by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Midwest Region via Flickr
Student Response Worksheet (Upper)
Student Response Worksheet (Lower)
Yesterday afternoon I noticed a group of ravens perched in a tree and the trail was covered in raven tracks and wolf tracks. I thought there might be a wolf kill near by. Then I noticed a tuft of fur on the snow. Soon I realized the wolves had killed a white-tailed deer just about 10 feet from our dogsled trail. There were large red spots in the snow and brown fur scattered around. As my friends and I investigated the site we found lots of wolf tracks and the deer’s stomach. The rest of the carcass was gone.
The wolves probably killed the deer only a few hours before we arrived. They may have heard us coming and dragged the deer carcass farther into the woods to finish their meal. The dogs were very excited and were busy sniffing the snow. After a few minutes of looking closely at the blood, fur, and tracks we continued down the trail. It was amazing to see a wolf kill that was so fresh.
There are approximately 3,000 gray wolves living in Minnesota. The only state with more wolves is Alaska. However, wolves usually try to stay away from people. They have good eye sight, hearing, and an amazing sense of smell. Usually wolves see, hear, or smell us from a long way off. They run away before we see them, but we see their tracks, scat, fur, and bones from animals they have eaten when we are out dogsledding.
Gray wolves are the species of wolf that live in Minnesota. To get more specific, the subspecies of wolf that lives in Minnesota is the Great Plains wolf. In other words, Great Plains wolves are a subspecies of the Gray Wolf. However, there are different types of wolves living in different parts of the world. The two main species of wolves are gray wolves, and red wolves. Wolves live in North America, Europe, Asia and Africa.
There are quite a few subspecies of wolves in the world. The subspecies of gray wolf are the Mexican wolf, Great Plains wolf, Rocky Mountain or Mackenzie Valley wolf, eastern timber wolf, and arctic wolf.
Red wolves are smaller than gray wolves. They are usually brown with some black along their backs. The backs of their ears, head and legs are often a reddish color. Their legs are long, and they have tall, offset ears. Red wolves mainly eat white-tailed deer and small mammals such as rabbits, raccoons and, nutria.
Red wolves usually live in warmer places than gray wolves. Red wolves used to live in the southeastern United States. However, by the 1980’s red wolves were almost extinct in the United States. Scientists started raising red wolves in captivity and releasing them in North Carolina. Now, there are about 130 wild red wolves living in Eastern North Carolina. Maybe we can study them when we paddling through North Carolina next year!
Food for thought:
Have wolves ever lived your state?
Do wolves live in your state now?
What type of wolves were historically found in your state?
What caused wolves to become extinct in so many parts of the world?
Use the map below to help you answer these questions.
The green on this map shows where Gray Wolves live now. The red shows where Gray Wolves used to live. The dark gray shows where Red Wolves used to live in the United States.
http://redwolves.com/rwc/about_wolves/facts_stats.html
http://www.wolf.org/wolves/learn/basic/wolf_types/inter_gray/plains.asp
Fennel's Field Notes
Zzzzzz. Zzzzzz. Dave just told me that I snore. I have been sleeping on the floor in Dave and Amy's room. It is nice and warm in here. I am glad they are back. I found out that Dave went to a friend's wedding and Amy flew to Salt Lake City for a few days last week. That is why they left me in the retirement pen. I am really glad they are back.
This week has been great. I pulled the sled for the group that Dave guided. Well, I pulled part of the time when Dave needed me and then I ran along for part of the time. I spent a good amount of time sleeping too. I like sleeping inside.
I like eating too. Chicken has been on the menu lately. I like chicken. It is frozen and we get to eat big cubes of chicken. Mmmm. Mmmm.
Please wait...
