Michigan wolves are increasing

Wolves are becoming more common in the midwest

Wolves have been steadily increasing across the Upper Penninsula of Michigan. Protected for the latter half of the 20th century, they are now slated for culling once again.
photo Dave Richey ©2012

You love 'em or hate them. Wolves have few people who could care less about these apex predators.

Discussing Michigan wolves means people are either "for them" or "against them." Wolves, somewhat like black bear numbers, have a certain human acceptance or tolerance level.

Sadly, wolves kill other animals for dinner. Sometimes they kill things just to kill them, and it becomes a "sport." It's just what wolves are very good at doing.

Wolves have spread through the U.P. and parts of Lower Michigan

When predatory animal numbers exceed the social carrying capacity in that area, the local human residents find themselves quickly switch sides from "for" to "against." So, managing bears or wolves is as much about managing people as it is about managing wild animal populations.

It appears there are somewhere between 500-600 grey wolves in the Upper Peninsula, which includes Isle Royale, and best-guess scenarios have the animals well distributed from north to south and east to west. The number climbs in the spring when wolf pups are born, and drops slightly during winter months as some wolves perish for a variety of reasons.

Wolves are fascinating creatures, and here are some facts about Michigan's gray wolves that may be of interest to readers.

• Key dates from 1838 to the present include: 1838 is when Michigan's legislature enacted a wolf bounty; 1840 was when wolves disappeared from the southern Lower Peninsula; 1910 was when wolves disappeared from the northern Lower Peninsula; 1954-1956 was when the last original verified wolf pup was produced in the Upper Peninsula; and 1965 was when wolves were legally protected.
  
• Other dates of interest was 1974 when four wolves were trans-located to the Huron Mountain Area in the U.P. All four wolves were killed within a year; 1991 was the first year when documentation of the first wolf pup was produced in the U.P. in nearly 40 years; 1996 was when wolves were believed to be present in all U.P. counties; 1997 was when Michigan adopted the Michigan Gray Wolf Recovery & Management Plan; 2002 saw Michigan reclassifying its gray wolf population from endangered to threatened under the Michigan State Endangered Species Act; 2003 saw the Federal government reclassifying Michigan wolves from federally endangered to federally threatened; and 2004 saw the first documented return of the gray wolf to the northern Lower Peninsula where one was accidentally trapped and shot by a person who thought it was a coyote.
  
• As of last year, Michigan's gray wolf population was about 500-550 animals. The breakdown since 1989 is as follows: 1989 showed a state mainland total of two wolves; 1991 saw 17 wolves; 1992 saw 21 wolves; 1993 had 30 wolves; 1994 showed 57 wolves in eight packs; 1995 found 80 wolves in 12 packs; 1996 showed 116 wolves in 16 packs; 1997 showed 112 wolves in 20+ packs; 1998 had 140-150 wolves in 20+ packs; 1999 showed 174 wolves in 30+ packs; 2000 had 216 wolves in 30+ packs; 2001 had 249 wolves in 30-50 packs; 2002 showed 278 wolves in 60 packs; 2003 had 321 wolves in 68 packs; 2004 found 360 wolves in 77+ packs and 2005 found 405 wolves in 86+ packs. It's unknown exactly how many wolves are present this year as pups were born earlier in the year.

Wolf numbers are steadily increase as deer numbers go down

One thing that holds true is some increase in Upper Peninsula wolf numbers is being seen, and the animals occasionally prey on farm animals. We're seeing the tip of the ice berg on wolf predation on cattle, sheep. etc., but wolves are preying heavily on whitetail deer, and to a much lesser degree, on U.P. and Isle Royale moose.

• It's estimated that each gray wolf can consume 17-20 whitetail deer annually, states the Timber Wolf Alliance, a program of the Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute of Northland College in Ashland, Wisconsin.
  
• Gray wolves (Canis lupus) are the largest member of the Canidae family. This family also includes coyotes and foxes.
  
• Wolves do not necessarily require deep wilderness to survive. They can live anywhere there is an adequate food supply, enough suitable forest land to roam and, most importantly, human acceptance. Studying human acceptance is not easy, and many people who rather see them all dead.
  
• Wolves are carnivores or meat-eating mammals that feed primarily on  beaver and deer, but also add to this diet some birds, small mammals and snowshoe hares. There has minor depredation complaints from farmers, and all complaints are investigated by the DNR and/or Federal officials.
  
• A pack of wolves will cover at least 100 square miles or about three geographical townships. They can travel long distances quickly for short periods, but maintain a dog-like trot for 20 hours without resting.
  
• In 2004, wolves killed 17 domestic animals including five dogs in the Upper Peninsula. Many bobcat, coyote and snowshoe hare hunters are lost each winter. If the dogs get too far from humans, and too close to wolves, Fido and his buddies get eaten.
  
• Wolves survive as families in a pack system with a strong hierarchical structure of members that include: the alpha or apex male and female leaders of the pack, juveniles from previous litters, individual wolves that may not be genetically related plus pups from the present year. They work together to maintain the survival of the pack which leads to the survival of the individual animal. Packs are very dynamic, developing and breaking apart depending upon circumstances such as the death of an alpha male or female. The average number of wolves in a Michigan wolf pack is four to five animals, on average.
  
• Isle Royale, in northern Lake Superior, belongs to Michigan. It has held wolves for many years, and in 2005, 30 wolves lived on the island where their primary food source are beavers and moose. The entire island is a National Park, and no hunting is allowed. The numbers of wolves on the Island has gone up and down for many years.

Wolves will go where their food is found but try to avoid humans

Wolves are survivors, and deadly predators. Killing other animals is what they do, and a pack is very efficient. Personally, would like to see some wolves in this state and throughout the upper Midwest states of Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Much thought is needed to determine the social carrying capacity of wolves in this and other states. However, if wolves prey too much on farm animals or deer in small areas, they will no longer be accepted by local residents.

The trick now is to determine that carrying capacity, and control wolf numbers before an all-out war breaks out as has happened in western states. Breaking laws to illegally remove wolves is not the answer.