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Join wolf expert L. David Mech,
naturalist and author Nancy Gibson and wolf biologist Dean
Cluff as they return to Aylmer Lake in the Northwest Territories
of Canada to search for one of the largest documented packs
of wolves on the tundra. Nine adults and 15 puppies were observed
for 8 days last year. The wolf experts will guide a trip for
the International Wolf Center to Aylmer Lake Lodge sandwiched
in between the Arctic Circle to the north and the tree line
to the south.
Thirteen people will follow the guides for a week as they
trek across the tundra searching for the surviving yearlings
and to count their young sibling pups at the rendezvous site.
The area is perfect for wolf viewing because of the lack of
tall trees, but it is also poses a problem due to few hidden
observation posts. If the wolves are found, the group will
watch them from a half mile away early in the mornings and
the late arctic evenings when wolves are most active.
The rendezvous site was just a short distance from the den
last year. The den was located in an esker described as ancient
deposits of sediment from streams located inside the glacier
as it melts. The sandy eskers are a preferred den site for
these wolves. The wolves of the tundra follow the barren-ground
caribou along their long migratory routes.
Dean Cluff returned to Aylmer Lake this June to place radio
collars on wolves in this study area. He spotted 5 wolves
near the Aylmer Lake den and heard the radio signal of the
alpha female in the den, hopefully with young pups. Cluff
thinks he radio collared the large alpha male and some young
females. One weighed only 65 pounds. The wolf was the smallest
he has ever caught and it made him wonder if it wasn't the
feisty runt of the pack we saw last year. The owners of the
Lodge, Kathy and Alan Rebane, spotted 7 adult wolves in the
early spring on the ice.
The color of the alpha pair last year was quite white yet
some of the pack members were light gray. Cluff says he has
even seen black wolves in his tundra study area. This tundra
area is on the cusp of where white arctic wolves and the darker
furred wolves occur, however most of the Aylmer Lake pack
was near white.
We arrive at the Lodge on August 11 by private planes from
Yellowknife and hope to get our first observations by that
evening. Stay tuned for our adventure into the tundra to find
the wolves, caribou, arctic hare, sik-sik (large ground squirrel),
grizzlies, wolverines, birds of prey and even a little fishing.
Read the spring 2001 International Wolf magazine
article about the wolves of the Northwest Territories,
An Arctic Expedition: Adventurers Come Face to Face With Thriving
Wolf Culture.
For information on how you can join us on next year's trip
to the Northwest Territories contact our .
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