Instances of chasing or attack by a pack of wolves on conspecifics not
a part of their group have been described by Murie (1944) and Mech
(1966a). Observations of such behavior are important in trying to
determine conclusively whether or not wolves are territorial. Pimlott
_et al._ (1969, p. 75) wrote "It still is not clear, however, whether
or not their use of range should be defined as territorial." Mech
(1970) summarized the available evidence for territoriality in wolves
and postulated that it may be spatiotemporal such that packs might
avoid each other at any particular point in time but over a long period
might cover the same area at different times. A number of our
observations are pertinent to this question, for we have evidence of
both, tolerance and intolerance between population units of wolves.
Two direct cases of intolerance were observed, both involving the
radiotagged pack and other wolves within the usual range of the pack.
Following is a direct quote from the field notes of Mech:
"Feb. 7, 1969--about 11:30 a.m.--aerial and visual--1059 and
2 other wolves traveling overland about halfway between
Heart L. and August L. (R10W-T61 N. Sect. 17 center). They
were traveling quickly and intently along a fresh wolf
trail, with a lighter reddish individual in the lead. The
other 2 animals were darker colored, and one of them was
smaller than the other. One of them must have been 1059.
"We soon found that about half a mile ahead of the pack was
a dark wolf hurrying away from the three. This animal often
looked back and ran whenever it encountered good running
conditions. It soon became obvious that the pack of 3 was
chasing this individual. Because it [the lone wolf] often
broke its own trail, the pack gradually gained on this
animal. The single wolf flushed a deer which ran when the
wolf was about 75 feet away and floundered in the snow, but
the wolf continued hurrying on by.
"Although the deer ran only about 50 yards and stopped, the
pack of 3 also hurried on by. The single wolf flushed
another deer, ignored it, and continued by, as did the pack
of 3. The chase continued for 2 miles as we watched, into
the N.E. corner of Sect. 18 and then into the N. Central
part of Sect. 8, and the pack got to within 150 yards of the
single wolf.
"However, at this point, the 2 darker members of the pack
had fallen about 100 yards behind the lead one. The lead
animal stopped and waited for them, as it had done a few
times before. It then turned around and headed back to these
animals. When they met, the reddish animal's tail was held
vertically and there was much tail wagging by all for about
1 minute. Then all animals lay down for a minute and then
went up on a knoll. There was much activity and 'playing' on
the knoll. (12:10 p.m.)
"The single wolf continued running and looking back for at
least another mile. We left at 12:21 p.m.
"At 4:07 p.m. we saw a single wolf running across a small
lake and looking behind it about 8 miles N.W. of these
animals. The creature behaved the same as the one being
chased today, and we wondered whether it could be the same
animal."
On February 18, 1969, Ream made a similar observation, as follows
(quoted from his field notes):
"Got visual sighting on 1059 with 3 other wolves at 11:55
about a mile west of Omaday Lake and they were running along
fairly fast on a trail. When we circled a second time we saw
2 wolves curled up sleeping on a knoll ahead (south) of the
running pack. We then realized the running wolves were on
the trail of the sleeping wolves and when the pack of 4 with
'red' in the lead was about 50 yards from the knoll the 2
sleeping wolves jumped up and charged away in the opposite
direction full tilt, and split and went in 2 directions.
When the pack reached the knoll they started off on the
trail of the wolf that headed N.E. and then changed and went
after the one that headed S.W. The reddish wolf was in the
lead and really picked up the pace. Although the reddish
wolf seemed to gain on the chased one 3 or 4 times, the pack
as a whole couldn't catch up, even though the single was
breaking trail. The reddish wolf, after gaining, always
stopped and waited for the others or went back to find them.
They chased this wolf for 2-1/2 to 3 miles, all the way down
to Highway 1 at a point 3.0 miles from the lab [Kawishiwi
Field Station, U.S. Forest Service]. There was a dense
patch, 10-15 acres, of woods just before Highway 1 and we
lost sight of the chased wolf for a while and also the 4
when they entered it, but shortly we found that the chased
one had somehow doubled back and was heading N.E. again. The
pack was apparently confused for at one point 3 of them were
wandering back and forth on Highway 1, apparently looking
for the trail of the chased wolf. Two of these paralleled
the Highway for a couple hundred yards and then stopped on
top of a hill, apparently resting. During this chase both
the single wolf and the pack chased up deer from their route
of travel and didn't seem to pay much attention to them,
even though some were really floundering in the deep snow.
We finally stopped watching all of this at 1:30 p.m. and
proceeded on our rounds."
On February 21 we also saw a single wolf running and looking behind
several times on Ojibway Lake. Even when it saw a fisherman on the lake
within 1/8 mile, it continued across to the opposite shore seeming most
intent on avoiding whatever was on its trail. Presumably it had also
been chased by a pack.
The cases of tolerance or indifference that we witnessed between wolves
involved our lone animals. On January 27, 1051 was at a kill he had
made the day before, and another wolf was sitting within 100 feet
looking toward the carcass. Eventually the unidentified wolf left
without approaching any closer. A lone wolf was also seen near 1053 in
the general vicinity of a moose carcass, which probably both were
feeding on at different times. Three such observations were made, on
February 10, 15, and 18; and on February 21 another wolf was also seen
near 1053 some 2.5 miles away from the moose carcass. In all cases, the
two animals were 80 to 200 yards apart in open country and must have
been aware of each other's presence.