Wolves No. 11, 12, and 13 were captured in Minnesota within a mile (1.6
km) of each other, and No. 11 and 12 were taken in the same trap set 12
days apart; Wolf No. 10 was caught approximately 7.5 miles (12.1 km)
southeast of the others (Table 2). All were judged to be thin but in
good condition.
Females No. 10 and 11 were introduced into the same pen on January 23.
No. 11 was reluctant to enter the pen containing No. 10 while several
observers were around, but entered within 15 minutes after all but one
had left. No. 11 went directly to No. 10 which was lying in a corner as
she usually did, and pawed the fence at No. 10's back. When the pawing
became more vigorous, No. 10 snapped at No. 11, moving only her head and
neck. No. 11 then turned directly to No. 10, sniffed the top of her head
and mane, and lay down beside No. 10 with her nose still in No. 10's
mane. No. 10 remained still throughout the whole process. The trapper
reported that later No. 11 licked the face of No. 10. Sniffing and
licking anteriorally are usually signs of intimacy between wolves
(Schenkel 1947).
The two male wolves (No. 12 and No. 13) were allowed into the pen with
the two females on February 4. No. 13 remained in the original adjoining
pen and did not move in with the females immediately, but No. 12 did.
There were no signs of aggression among any of the four wolves. No. 11,
12, and 13 moved freely around the pen while in Minnesota, but No. 10
most often lay in one corner by herself.
Trapper Himes first observed vaginal bleeding in female 11 on February
7. He observed Wolves 11 and 12 mating (with normal coupling) on
February 12 and 16.
No unusual aggressive or agonistic social interactions of consequence
were observed among the wolves while penned in Michigan, from March 5 to
12. Animals 11, 12 and 13 would lie down and feed together in various
combinations. No. 10 was less active than the others and often stayed
inside a shelter box within the enclosure, but would come out and mix
with the other wolves for brief periods when humans were not in
evidence. Her actions were indicative of a low ranking, immature,
distressed, or alien animal.
Male No. 12 was the only wolf that would stare directly at a person
approaching the pen. He was bolder and more direct in his actions than
any of the other animals. This is the wolf that mated with adult female
No. 11 while penned in Minnesota, and thus can be considered the "alpha
male," or pack leader.
When approached by humans, all the wolves would urinate and defecate;
No. 11 and 12 would pace, No. 10 (when out of the shelter box) and No.
13 would lie in the far corner of the pen and remain motionless (Fig.
14). No. 11 limped on her right front foot throughout the penned period,
but this limp did not appear to have a significant effect on her
activities or movements.
Blood samples taken on March 5, 1974 were analyzed and interpreted by
Dr. U. S. Seal of the Veterans Administration Hospital in Minneapolis.
The assays performed included hematology, 16 blood chemistries,
thryoxine, and cortisol (Seal et al., 1975), plus estrogen and
progesterone. According to Seal (personal communication), all blood
values for wolves No. 10, 12, and 13 were similar and indicative of good
health and minimal stress, as indicated by very low levels of the
enzymes LDH, CPK, and SGOT. Such levels are typical of animals in a
state of good nutrition that have been in captivity for several weeks
and have accepted their captive circumstances. The MCV's were normal,
indicating no vitamin deficiency, and the MCHC showed full hemoglobin
content in the red cells, indicating no lack of iron. The white blood
cell counts were much lower than usually seen in newly trapped wolves.
All the remaining chemistry values from these three wolves were in the
normal range for the season.
[Illustration: _Fig. 14.--The Minnesota wolves in their Michigan pen
(Photo by Tom Weise)_]
Wolf No. 11, however, differed in that she had a much higher hemoglobin
level, higher blood glucose and white cell count, and higher levels of
LDH, CPK, and SGOT, indicating that she was significantly stressed. This
is corroborated by a low thyroxine level of 0.6 micrograms percent,
which is hypothyroid for wolves.
The fibrinogen levels of all four animals were normal, indicating that
there was no acute or chronic inflammation in progress.
The wolves ate well in captivity but still lost from 11% to 20% of their
capture weight (Table 2). Himes estimated that they consumed an average
of 8 lb. (3.6 kg) of food per wolf per day, while penned in Minnesota.
In Michigan the wolves consumed about a deer and a half, or an estimated
5.5 lb. (2.5 kg) per wolf per day. These estimates fall within the range
of food consumption figures estimated for wolves in the wild (Mech and
Frenzel 1971). After the wolves began feeding on the first carcass, they
completely consumed it before starting a second one, even though four
carcasses were available; they ate nothing from the other two carcasses.
We released the wolves at dusk on March 12, 1974. Having just restrained
Wolf No. 10 without drugs, to replace her collar, we untied her and let
her free; she bounded off northwestward. We then opened the pen, and No.
12, whom we had judged to be the alpha male, left in less than 5 minutes
and trotted off steadily toward the west-southwest. The remaining two
animals paced around the pen for about 5 minutes and then lay down.
Because we felt that they might become too widely separated from the
others, three of us approached the pen opposite the door to encourage
the wolves to find the open gate. Five minutes later No. 13 left the pen
running southwestward, and No. 11 left less than 5 minutes later. Upon
exiting, No. 11 appeared to smell the track of No. 12 and slowly trotted
in his direction.