Solving A Mystery of the Natural World
I became a fan of the Voyageurs Wolf Project (VWP) after a friend shared one of their Facebook posts. Since that first post, I have learned about wolf pack dynamics, the beating teeth take over the course of a wolf’s life, that 9 years old is pretty old for a wolf, one of their favorite summertime meals is beaver and they’ll eat berries, if that is all they can find. One of my all time favorite posts was a video of the breeding male and female of a pack having an intimate moment while other pack members milled around them. About 15-20 seconds into the video, the female gave the male a kick with one of her hind legs to let him know he was done. It still makes me laugh to think about it. Being a fan, I was thrilled to speak with Dr. Thomas Gable, the project lead.
Thomas’s fascination with wolves started early, finding evidence of them and even spotting the occasional wolf while exploring around his family’s cabin. As he has learned more about wolves, his appreciation for them has only increased. When I asked him why it is important to study wolves, he said because they are a mystery of the natural world.
Photo Credit: Voyageurs Wolf Project
VWP is a project of the University of Minnesota. It was created in 2014 out of a partnership between Northern Michigan University and Voyageurs National Park. Its goal is to understand what wolves do in the summer, especially when it comes to what they eat and their breeding activities. The area in and around Voyageurs National Park is their designated study area. To date, VWP has identified 14 wolf packs in the area. They share their research with the Minnesota DNR to help with conservation management and communities in and out of state to better understand predatory behavior.
Thomas leads a team of researchers that spend hours in the field looking for clues that a lone wolf or pack has been through or that a den is nearby. Thomas describes this work as “looking for breadcrumbs'' in the densely wooded forest of the Greater Voyageurs Ecosystem. The team uses GPS collars to track wolves. At the time of our conversation, 16 collars were out on wolves. There are animations on their website showing the distances some wolves traveled while wearing collars. The team also has 200 trail cameras throughout their study area, which may seem like a lot, but they lose a number of them each year due to animals damaging them, flooding and theft. For those that remain, the SD cards are collected twice a year. On days when the weather prevents them from being in the field, team members review videos to collect data and edit them for sharing on social media.
Conditions for conducting their research aren’t easy. There are two seasons for their work: winter, from November - March and summer, April - October. In the winter, wolves feed on large prey like moose and deer, and the team deals with extreme cold and snow. In the summer, wolves feed on smaller prey like beavers, fawns, and fish, and the team deals with heat, humidity, mosquitoes and biting flies.
When VWP started, it was all about the research. But, outreach has become equally important thanks to social media. Thomas said the team is impressed with and appreciates how much interest and support people have for their work. That support was evident this past spring when they did their first online fundraiser. Expectations were low, but to their amazement, they raised close to $125,000, which represents one third of their operating budget.
The team has to raise money to fund their research, which pays for salaries, stipends, housing and equipment like collars, trail cameras and laptops. People’s willingness to invest in the research helps keep it going.
One of the reasons it is important to keep this research going is VWP is helping to take the emotion out of discussions about wolves and wolf management that are taking place across Minnesota and beyond. They are providing science based on rigorous research methods that shows, among other things, wolves are really quite shy towards humans, they aren’t mindless killers but opportunistic predators when it comes to getting their food and they aren’t decimating the deer population. It is not lost on Thomas that wolves are politicized.
Photo Credit: Voyageurs Wolf Project
VWP is part of a network of researchers in the state who are providing important data that is helping to educate the general public and policymakers in the role wolves play in our ecosystem. Back in July, the StarTribune did an in-depth article about the state of Wolves that highlights the research being done. VWP recently found a way to put their research to work helping a local rancher protect his cattle. Kare11 did a story about the collaboration, in case you missed it.
As the audience for their work grows, the team deals with people who are extreme wolf haters or lovers. The people who hate wolves believe VWP is wasting its time, since we know everything we need to know about wolves and the only good wolf is a dead wolf. They also claim that it is only a matter of time before wolves start attacking humans. Thomas has removed hundreds of graphic and disturbing photos of dead wolves posted in the comments section on their social media pages from haters. The people claiming to love wolves often accuse the team of harming wolves while doing their research. Personal attacks from strangers, which definitely sting, are an occupational hazard of the team’s work.
In looking ahead, Thomas is excited to continue learning about wolves. He looks forward to sharing the research to create greater understanding and appreciation of wolves, so we can do a better job of co-existing. He also hopes their work helps people appreciate the diversity of wildlife in Voyageurs National Park, which doesn’t always get the attention and appreciation it deserves.
I am amazed that just a few hours north from where I live is this beautiful, vibrant ecosystem where VWP conducts it research. It fills me with so much hope to know this beautiful place exists, and that VWP is helping all of us better understand one of its most important inhabitants.
To Learn More:
You can learn more about VWP’s research and make a gift through their website - no gift is too small! Also, check out their online store and the cool merchandise they have for sale. All proceeds help support ongoing research!
Also, you can follow VWP on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Youtube.
