It could be expected that the translocated wolves would be more
vulnerable than wolves in their native environment. Although no data are
available from any previous study of translocated wild wolves, Harger's
(1970) investigation of displaced wild black bears showed that they were
more vulnerable. In our study, it was clear that during the Directional
Movement and Exploratory Phases Wolves No. 11, 12, and 13 were observed
by local residents an unusual number of times (Table 6). No. 10, which
did not explore such an extensive area and which spent considerable time
in a more remote area, was seen less (Table 5).
It is not clear why the wolves were not killed by humans during these
periods when they appeared so vulnerable. Perhaps the novelty of the
transplant coupled with the awareness that frequent aerial checks were
being made of the wolves had some effect. Furthermore, spring is not
generally a season of intensive hunting and trapping.
Whatever the explanation, the wolves did survive what seemed to be their
most vulnerable period. We do not believe that the deaths of the wolves
can be attributed to the conditions of their translocations. Instead, we
think that the most important factor in their demise was the
accessibility of the area to human beings and the attitudes of humans
towards wolves.
As indicated earlier, there appears to be an inverse relationship
between human density and wolf density in the Great Lakes Region (Table
1). Wolves are vulnerable to both accidental and deliberate mortality
from humans. For example, in winter 1947-48 at least 14 wolves were
struck by automobiles in northern Ontario (DeVos 1949). In Michigan, a
$15-$20 bounty still exists on coyotes, so these animals are commonly
shot and trapped. Because many people cannot distinguish wolves from
coyotes, and because wolves are often caught in the same kind of trap
sets made for coyotes, wolves might be killed accidentally.
Whether the killing of the translocated wolves was deliberate or
accidental is unknown except in the case of No. 11. No. 11 was caught
accidentally in a coyote trap, but was killed deliberately when the
trapper thought the animal might attack him. The best guess about No.
12, which was killed by a car, is that it was accidental. No. 10 and No.
13 were shot, but it is possible that the hunters in each case may have
mistaken them for coyotes. On the same day that No. 10 was killed, a
deer hunter shot a 76-lb. (34.5 kg) native Michigan wolf and turned
himself in to authorities, stating that he had thought it was a coyote,
and in March 1975 there was a similar occurrence.
Some Upper Michigan residents strongly opposed the transplant
experiment, largely out of concern for deer populations. The Northern
Michigan Sportsmen's Association passed a resolution against it, and the
Baraga County Wolf Hunters Association was formed with the express
purpose of interfering with the transplant effort. This association
offered a reward of $100 to a person killing a wolf (Fig. 25).
Supposedly 132 memberships at $1.50 each were sold.
It is unlikely that members of the Baraga County group killed the
experimental wolves, for it would be extremely difficult for anyone to
deliberately hunt down and kill a wolf. Most wolves that are shot
anywhere just happen to be seen by a few of the hundreds of thousands of
hunters that are afield or by local residents who keep a gun handy. Thus
the more accessible the area, and the higher the density of human
beings, the greater the chances that wolves will encounter such people.
Of course there was also excellent public support for the experiment.
With weekly newspaper accounts of the travels of the wolves, many people
began to develop an interest in, and sympathy for, the wolves. Some
letters in the newspapers expressed regret that the animals had been
killed.