What little information we could obtain on the wolves' feeding habits
indicated considerable variation (Table 4).
In the Skanee area, which the pack of three first visited after leaving
the release area, deer were abundant, and 7 to 10 were seen within a
quarter mile (0.4 km) of the pack on March 20. It is possible that the
wolves killed a deer there, for they remained in the area for a few
days. They did scavenge deer feet and head remains on the 22nd at Laws
Lake, 12 miles (19.3 km) southwest of Skanee. Deer were also sighted
within a quarter mile of the wolves on March 25, April 15, April 16, May
7, June 8, and June 14.
The first confirmed deer kill was made east of Otter Lake about April 1.
The deer was a 4-1/2-year-old doe with a partly healed broken left front
leg (radius) and fat-depleted bone marrow (1%); a bullet was found in
the skin of the right front leg.
The pack also fed on a discarded deer carcass near Nisula, and then
killed a 5-1/2-year-old doe near Kenton on April 15 (Fig. 21); this
animal also had bone marrow with a low fat content (6%).
The next day, lone Wolf No. 10, back in the Huron Mountain area, killed
a 4-5-year-old doe with fat-depleted marrow (5.6%).
No doubt not all of the deer killed or fed upon by the translocated
wolves were found, even when snow was present. However, it is clear from
the observations we did make, and from the fact that all 26 scats we
analyzed from this pack contained deer hair, that the wolves did adapt
to killing deer in their new environment and that it was their primary
food.
Near Atlantic Mine the wolves scavenged on garbage from loggers, and
then near Otter Lake they spent several days also feeding on garbage. A
discarded cow (_Bos taurus_) head was scavenged, and at least one
red-backed vole (_Clethrionomys gapperi_) was consumed. Lone Wolf No. 10
was found near the Big Bay dump nine times, or 29% of the times she was
located during tourist season (May through August).
_Table 4. Analysis of scats collected from released wolves_
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No. Wolf
Date Scats No. Location and items found
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March 22 5 Pack Laws Lake, deer hair
March 29 1 Pack Otter Lake area, deer hair, red-backed vole
hair, grass, refuse (including coffee
grounds)
April 3 2 Pack Otter Lake deer kill, scats soft and dark,
some deer hair