ROAD TO RECOVERY

G W
 21st
Century
Skills Library

ROAD TO RECOVERY

G W

Barbara A. Somervill

Cherry Lake Publishing

A n n A r b o r, M i c h i g a n
Published in the United States of America by Cherry Lake Publishing
Ann Arbor, MI
[Link]

Content Adviser: Ed Bangs, Western Gray Wolf Recovery Coordinator, U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, Helena, Montana

Photo Credits: Page 6, © D. Robert & Lorri Franz/Corbis; page 13, © Joe McDonald/
Corbis; page 18, © Momatiuk-Eastcott/Corbis

Map by XNR Productions, Inc.

Copyright ©2008 by Cherry Lake Publishing

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any
form or by any means without written permission from the publisher.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Somervill, Barbara A.
Gray wolf / by Barbara A. Somervill.
p. cm. — (The Road to recovery)
Includes index.
ISBN-13: 978-1-60279-030-8 (hardcover)
ISBN-10: 1-60279-030-2 (hardcover)
1. Wolves. I. Title. II. Series.
QL737.C22S663 2007
599.773—dc22 2007004217

Cherry Lake Publishing would like to acknowledge the work of

The Partnership for 21st Century Skills.
Please visit [Link] for more information.
 T  C

C H A P T E R O N E

The Future of the Pack 4

C H A P T E R T W O

The Stor y of Gray Wolves 8

C H A P T E R T H R E E

Endangered! 13

C H A P T E R F O U R

The Road to Recover y 18

C H A P T E R F I V E

Gray Wolves Today 25

Map 29

Glossar y 30

For More Information 31

Index 32

About the Author 32

 CHAPTER ONE

T F   P

A gray wolf mother always keeps a close eye on her young pups.

I t is mid-April in the Rocky Mountains. As night approaches, the alpha

female wolf leaves the pack and crawls into a den. This den is a narrow cave,

about 10 feet (3 meters) deep. Tonight, she will deliver her litter of pups.

4 21st CENTURY SKILLS LIBRARY

 The other pack members do not enter the den during the birth.

Throughout the night, the mother labors, and, as each pup is born, she

licks it clean and dry.

The mother soon has four pups drinking her milk. The pups are about

10 inches (25 centimeters) long and weigh from 12 to 16 ounces (340 to

454 grams). Their eyes will not open for 10 to 13 days.

A dedicated mother, the alpha female will not leave her pups when

they are very young. The pups nurse four or more times every day, which

places serious demands on the mother to produce milk. While other pack

members hunt, our mother remains behind and tends her pups. As new

kills are made, pack members bring meat to feed her.

For the first month, the mother handles the pups on her own. The pups

grow more active and investigate the world beyond the den. By the time

ROAD TO RECOVERY: G W 5

 they are six weeks old, the mother is providing food instead of her milk to

the pups.

The entire pack takes on the task of raising the pups. Aunts and uncles teach

hunting techniques, discipline unruly pups, and make sure the young are well

Wolf pups lick at the bones of the pack’s catch.

6 21st CENTURY SKILLS LIBRARY

fed. Pups will climb on, chew on, and pester the patient
earning
adults. When things get out of hand, a push with the
I &
nnovation
Skills

Many people
nose or a nip on the rear puts the pups back in line. believe that only the
alpha female, the
The pups reach 75 percent of their adult weight dominant female in
the pack, has pups.
However, scientists
by six months and grow thick coats for the winter have discovered that
in some wild packs,
ahead. At eight months, the pups are full grown and at least two females
produce young.
What advantages
hunt beside the adults.
would a pack have if
more than one female
Older pups must learn the social order that had pups? What
problems do you think
this might create?
ensures survival of every wolf pack. The alpha male

and his mate run the pack. Young, subordinate

wolves do what they are told.

ROAD TO RECOVERY: G W 7

 CHAPTER TWO

T S   G W

Gray wolves howl to communicate with other wolves.

T he howl of a lone wolf echoes through the forest. For a human camping

in the wilderness, a mournful wolf ’s howl sends chills up the spine. Wolves

have a number of howls, just as humans have many tones of voice.

8 21st CENTURY SKILLS LIBRARY

 Wolf howls may be a sign of happiness or sadness, a call to hunt, or a

warning to stay out of a pack’s territory. Lone wolves howl to attract mates

or just because they are, indeed, alone. Wolves also growl, yip, squeal, bark,

and yelp.

Wolves belong to the same animal family as your pet dog. All breeds of

pet dogs originally came from wolves.

Adult wolves range from 55 to 150 pounds (25 to 68 kilograms). They

are the largest members of the animal family Canidae. Gray wolves stand

26 to 32 inches (66 to 81 centimeters) at the shoulder and measure 5 to

6 feet (1.5 to 1.8 m) long, including the tail. Males are both heavier and

longer than females.

While most wolves are shades of gray, brown, or both, some wolves are

nearly snow-white, and others are totally black. All wolves are born with

ROAD TO RECOVERY: G W 9

 blue eyes. Within a few months, most wolf eyes turn
21Century
st

Content
Other species in the
yellow. A very few adults have brown or blue eyes.

same dog family as Many wolves are born to, and live their entire lives in,
wolves can be found
all over the world. The
one pack. Others may choose to leave their birth pack.
critically endangered
Ethiopian wolf lives
in Ethiopia in Africa. They leave to search for mates to form a new pack.
The golden jackal can
be found in abundant The wolf pack is as orderly as an army troop.
numbers throughout
Africa, southeastern
Europe, the Middle The alpha male chooses his mate, the alpha female.
East, and Asia. The
endangered African These mates are true leaders of the pack, and their
wild dog is found in
parts of Africa. The
relationship is surprisingly human in character.
dhole lives in China,
India, southeastern
Asia, and Indonesia. They are affectionate and concerned about each
Two dhole subspecies
are threatened while
other. They are loving and attentive toward their
two other subspecies
are quite rare.
offspring. When a mate dies, the survivor may even

howl in mourning.

10 21st CENTURY SKILLS LIBRARY

 A wolf pack establishes a territory that is home and hunting ground. Wolves

mark the territory with their scent. Territories may be as small as 50 square

miles (130 square kilometers) or larger than 1,000 square miles (2,590 sq km).

The size of a territory depends mostly on the amount of prey in the area.

Hunting is a group event for wolves. They are the top predators in

their territories. Wolves help keep animal populations in their territory

healthy. They do not go after healthy prey, which may injure or kill a

Gray wolves hunt together and share the food with the whole pack.

ROAD TO RECOVERY: G W 11

 wolf. They look for young, injured, elderly, and
earning
I &
nnovation
Skills
sickly animals when they hunt. They naturally

Wolves may travel as

far as 30 miles (48 km) remove the weakest from an animal population;
a day when hunting.
Lone wolves looking the healthiest and strongest survive to breed.
for a new territory have
been recorded traveling
more than 500 miles
(805 km) from their
previous home. What
factors do you think
influence how far a
wolf travels when
looking for food or a
new home?

Wolves do not eat every day, so they

must eat a lot when they can.

12 21st CENTURY SKILLS LIBRARY

 CHAPTER THREE

E    !

In 1986, a gray wolf den was found in Glacier National Park. It

was the first one discovered in Montana in more than 50 years.

A t one time, wolves roamed freely across North America. Possibly

as many as two million wolves lived and hunted in the mountains, the

grasslands, and even along the coasts.

ROAD TO RECOVERY: G W 13

 Before Europeans arrived in North
21Century
st

Content
In ancient times, myths and
America, Native American tribes admired the

legends linked wolves and wolf for its cunning, loyalty, and hunting skills.
humans. According to legend, the
twins Romulus and Remus were
Many warriors were named for wolves, and
banished as infants into the forest.
They were found and raised by
wolves. The two became heroic tribal clans proudly bore the name wolf. Native
figures and founded the city of
Rome, named for Romulus. A
people hunted wolves for their fur and meat,
similar myth comes from Turkey,
where the nation’s legendary
founder Tu Kueh was supposedly but never for sport.
nursed by a wolf as an infant.
Then came Aesop and his When Europeans arrived, they brought
many fables in which wolves had
gone from gentle and caring to
cunning and deceitful. As humans with them fear and hatred of wolves. Wolves
competed with wolves for game
or lost cattle and sheep to wolves, competed with settlers for deer, and as
the wolves quickly switched from
heroes to villains.
settlements developed, wolves occasionally

attacked livestock. Hunting wolves became a

way to earn money as early as 1630, when officials

14 21st CENTURY SKILLS LIBRARY

in the Massachusetts Bay Colony established
earning
bounties for killing wolves.
I &
nnovation
Skills
Wolves play their part
The idea of bounties spread westward as in maintaining the
balance of nature. Wolf
kills support a variety
settlers moved that direction. Private citizens
of neighbors—ravens,
foxes, wolverines,
and public agencies trapped, poisoned, vultures, bears, and
insects. After the pack
has eaten, leftovers
and shot wolves for money. Some claimed
feed other local
predators.
that killing wolves also protected children Scientists believe
that other species
from attack. However, in North America, adapt and adjust for
fear of wolf attacks.
Antelope herds have
wild wolves have only attacked 26 people become wary and
run faster. Mountain
in recorded history, and only one may have goats have become
skilled cliff climbers.
Bison and musk oxen
died from the wounds. Humans have killed
have developed herd
behaviors to protect
and injured hundreds of thousands of wolves their young. Elk and
moose have learned to
avoid certain streams
since Europeans arrived on the continent.
where wolves hide.

ROAD TO RECOVERY: G W 15

 In some cases wolves have been killed in the name
earning
I &
nnovation
Skills
of conservation. In Yellowstone National Park in the

Wolves prey mainly

on herbivores: deer, early 1920s, rangers became concerned about the elk
elk, moose, bison, and
musk oxen. However, population, the primary food of wolves. To preserve the
wolves also prey on
beaver, rabbits, hares,
small rodents, and
elks, federal agents killed all of Yellowstone’s wolves.
birds. Why do you
think breeding pairs Wolf slaughter continued. By 1945, the gray wolf
and lone wolves hunt
smaller prey?
was gone from the continental United States, except

for 350 to 700 wolves in Minnesota and Isle Royale in

Lake Superior. Humans had reduced the continent’s

wolf population from perhaps 2 million to well under

1,000 in just over 300 years.

With no wolves to control them, populations

of large plant eaters exploded. White-tailed deer

16 21st CENTURY SKILLS LIBRARY

numbers became so great that they threatened their own existence. When

food became scarce, deer browsed in public parks and neighborhood

yards. Car accidents killed thousands of deer. Thousands more died of

starvation. The loss of wolves destroyed nature’s balance.

As wolf populations decrease, deer populations increase dramatically.

ROAD TO RECOVERY: G W 17

 CHAPTER FOUR

T R  R  

The Mexican gray wolf, a subspecies of the

gray wolf, also needs protection.

R eturning wolves to the wild required a combined effort of federal and

state agencies. After paying bounties to kill wolves, the federal and state

governments took on the responsibility of saving them. In 1974, gray

wolves were placed on the endangered species list.

18 21st CENTURY SKILLS LIBRARY

 Recovery plans went into effect for gray wolves in the United States.

There was a plan for each subspecies: the eastern timber wolf, the Rocky

Mountain wolf, and the Mexican gray wolf.

4 (% % !34%2. 4 )-"%2 7 /,&

Minnesota, Michigan, and Wisconsin form the core of the eastern timber

wolf recovery area. In 1957, Wisconsin began protecting wolves by law.

Unfortunately, no wolves lived in Wisconsin at the time! Michigan, with

a handful of lone wolves on the Upper Peninsula, passed a similar law in

1965. Minnesota began protecting wolves after the federal Endangered

Species Act was passed in 1973 and continued to protect them until the

area’s wolves were delisted in 2007.

Because gray wolves already lived in Minnesota, passing a law protecting

ROAD TO RECOVERY: G W 19

 earning
I &
nnovation
Skills

Potential release sites for

eastern timber wolves in
Maine and New York’s
Adirondack Park are
still being considered.
These releases would
mean wolf populations
living east of the
Appalachian Mountains
for the first time in more
than 100 years.
Do you think this is
Breeding pairs form soon after wolves
a good idea? What
have been introduced to a new area.
problems might arise if
wolves are introduced
to a new area?
the animal was enough to save it. People stopped

killing wolves; wolves bred and raised young, and

populations grew. Wolves migrated into wilderness

areas in Michigan and Wisconsin. The recovery plan

set a goal for Minnesota of 1,250 to 1,400 wolves,

20 21st CENTURY SKILLS LIBRARY

which the state reached in the 1970s. Michigan and
earning
Wisconsin each had goals of 100 wolves. They reached
I &
nnovation
Skills

In 2006, the U.S.

that number by the early 1990s. Fish and Wildlife
Service announced
that it was considering
delisting gray wolves
because the recovery
4 (% 2 /#+9 - /5.4!). 7 /,& programs have been
so successful. In fact,
2 %#/6%29 0 ,!. federal protection
was removed for
gray wolves in
In the Rockies, reintroducing wolves faced some
Minnesota, Michigan,
Wisconsin, and parts
problems. Wolves had been absent from the region of surrounding Western
Great Lakes states in
2007. Mexican gray
for more than 50 years. Hunters and ranchers loudly
wolves have not done
as well and will remain
objected to reintroducing wolves. Federal officials on the endangered
species list. What
needed to set up a widespread education program. factors do you think the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service should consider
They also need to find wilderness where the wolves when making decisions
about delisting animals?
could live.

ROAD TO RECOVERY: G W 21

 In 1995 and 1996, biologists captured wild wolves in Canada for release

in Yellowstone National Park and central Idaho. At Yellowstone, they

grouped the wolves in large pens for several weeks to get used to their new

home. In central Idaho, biologists released the wolves directly into the wild

from their transport cages.

Once released, the wolves formed packs, with breeding pairs producing

young in the wild their first season. “Wolf Number 9” produced the first

litter of young in Yellowstone since 1920—eight healthy, energetic pups.

4(% -%8)#!. '2!9 7/,&

The Mexican gray wolf has had the most difficult recovery by far. The last

Mexican gray wolf in the United States was killed in 1970. Sightings in

Mexico were already rare when it was declared endangered.

22 21st CENTURY SKILLS LIBRARY

 A captive breeding program was set up between 1977 and 1982.

Mexican gray wolves were captured in the wild and placed in the program.

None were believed left in the wild. Because the population is so small,

complete recovery may never be achieved.

Twenty-six zoos took part in the captive breeding program. People

complained that the wolves would attack livestock and people, but an

education program eased those fears. In addition, the Defenders of

Today, Rocky Mountain wolves live in Grand

Teton National Park in Wyoming.

ROAD TO RECOVERY: G W 23

 Mexican wolves are bred in captivity and then released in
the wild. This Mexican gray wolf naps in the sun.

Wildlife, a conservation organization, committed to pay for cattle lost

to wolves.

A release site was selected in the Apache and Gila national forests in

Arizona and New Mexico. In 1998, 11 Mexican gray wolves were released,

with the goal of 100 wolves eventually living free.

24 21st CENTURY SKILLS LIBRARY

 CHAPTER FIVE

G W T

D angers remain for the wolves. Some poachers continue to shoot

wolves, despite heavy fines and threats of jail terms. Wolves have never

gotten used to cars and trucks, and accidents often result in wolf deaths.

Still, gray wolf recovery has enjoyed some success.

The gray wolf can live in a variety of habitats including

mountains, forest, desert, and plains.

ROAD TO RECOVERY: G W 25

 By 2005, Minnesota counted more than 3,000
ife
C &
areer
Skills
wolves, second only to Alaska among states.

There are many people

who believe that saving Wisconsin has 425 wolves living in 108 packs.
endangered species
is something we are Michigan’s Upper Peninsula now has about as
all responsible for.
The Wolf Education
and Research Center
many wolves as Wisconsin. The 30 wolves on Isle
(WERC), located on the
Nez Perce Reservation Royale have always lived separately and are not
in Idaho, is dedicated
to providing public
included in Michigan’s count.
education and research
opportunities about gray
wolves and their Rocky Today, Idaho has roughly 650 wolves,
Mountain habitats. The
center is also home
Yellowstone has about 370, and northwestern
for the Sawtooth Pack,
a captive wolf pack
sponsored by the Montana has 160. Wolves have moved beyond
Nez Perce tribe. The
researchers, guides, and Yellowstone and into surrounding wilderness areas.
volunteers at the WERC
are working together to
teach others about the Some ranchers in Montana continue to complain
importance of protecting
the gray wolf. about wolf attacks on their cattle. However, out of

26 21st CENTURY SKILLS LIBRARY

 Recovery efforts hope to see the return of the gray
wolf to much of its former habitat.

every 1,000 cattle deaths each year, only a couple are caused by wolves.

As for Mexican gray wolves, fewer than 30 of them are surviving

in the wild from the captive breeding program. Although the wolves

are producing pups, the population struggles to expand. Hunting

ROAD TO RECOVERY: G W 27

 and car or truck accidents account for
earning
I &
nnovation
Skills
several lost wolves. The zoo captive breeding

In 1998, the U.S. Fish

and Wildlife Service program continues, with 144 Mexican gray
and cooperating
agencies released wolves thriving and breeding in captivity.
three packs of Mexican
gray wolves into the
wild. The Blue Range
What will happen if, or when, the federal
Wolf Recovery Area
covers public land government takes gray wolves off the endangered
in the Apache and
Gila national forests
species list? Some scientists worry that hunters,
along the border
between Arizona
and New Mexico. poachers, and ranchers will think it means open
In 2003, the White
Mountain Apache Tribe
season on wolves. However, wolves in Yellowstone
celebrated the release
of wolves on their land
in the Fort Apache and on Native American reservations will have some
Indian Reservation.
Why do you think the protection, and states will keep laws in place to
Apache celebrated the
release of wolves on
their land? preserve wolves in the wild.

28 21st CENTURY SKILLS LIBRARY

 G 

ALPHA !, FUH dominant in a pack

BOUNTIES "/7. TEEZ money rewards for killing a predator, such as a wolf

CAPTIVE BREEDING PROGRAM #!0 TIV "2%% DING 02/( GRAM a program to produce
offspring in zoos or animal parks

DELISTING $%% ,)34 ING removing an animal or plant from the endangered species list

HERBIVORES 52" UH VORZ plant eaters

MIGRATE -9% GRATE to move to a new region or habitat

PACK 0!+ a group of animals that live and hunt together

POACHERS 0/( CHURZ people who hunt game or catch fish in an illegal way

PREDATORS 02%( DUH TERZ animals that hunt and eat other animals

RECOVERY RI +5( VUR EE the return to normal status

SPECIES 30%% SHEEZ a group of similar animals or plants

SUBORDINATE SUH "/2$ UHN IT a person or animal of lower rank

SUBSPECIES 35" SPEE SHEEZ a smaller group within a species

30 21st CENTURY SKILLS LIBRARY

 F M I  

Books

Bailey, Jill. Animals Under Threat: Gray Wolf. Chicago: Heinemann, 2005.

Halfpenny, James C. Yellowstone Wolves in the Wild.

Helena, MT: Riverbend Publishing, 2003.

Kalman, Bobbie. Endangered Wolves. New York: Crabtree Publishing Company, 2004.

Markle, Sandra. Growing Up Wild: Wolves. New York: Atheneum, 2001.

Swinburne, Stephen R. Once a Wolf: How Wildlife Biologists Fought

to Bring Back the Gray Wolf. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2001.

Web Sites

Animal Tracks—Gray Wolf (Canis lupus)

[Link]/[Link]
To read about wolf tracks, howls, and natural history information about wolves

National Wildlife Federation—Gray Wolf

[Link]/graywolf/
To find out how the gray wolf is making a successful comeback in some of its former ranges

ROAD TO RECOVERY: G W 31

 I  
African wild dogs, 10 Ethiopian wolves, 10 population, 13, 16, 20–21,
alpha females, 4, 5, 10 European settlers, 14–16 23, 26
alpha males, 7, 10 eyes, 9–10 predators, 14–16, 25, 28
antelopes, 15 prey, 11–12, 15, 16–17, 27
females, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10 pups, 4–7, 20, 27–28
bison, 15, 16
bounties, 15, 18 golden jackals, 10 recovery plans, 19–21, 21–22,
22–24
Canidae family, 9 height, 9 Rocky Mountain wolves, 19,
captive breeding programs, howling, 8–9, 10 21–22
22–23, 28 hunting, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11–12,
car accidents, 17, 25, 28 14–16, 28 size, 5, 9
cattle, 14, 24, 27 subordinates, 7
coats, 7 males, 9, 10 subspecies, 19, 21
color, 9 mating, 9, 10, 20, 22–23
communication, 9 Mexican gray wolves, 19, 21, territory, 10–11, 12
conservation, 16 22–24, 27–28
migration, 20 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
dens, 4–5 milk, 5 21, 28
dholes, 10 moose, 15
discipline, 7 mountain goats, 15 weight, 5, 7, 9
dogs, 9 musk oxen, 15 white-tailed deer, 17
myths, 14 Wolf Education and Research
eastern timber wolves, 19–21 Center (WERC), 26
education programs, 24 Native Americans, 14, 28
elk, 15, 16 nursing, 5, 6 Yellowstone National Park, 16,
Endangered Species Act, 19 22, 26, 28
Endangered species list, 18, packs, 5, 7, 10–11, 26
22, 28 poaching, 25, 28 zoos, 23

A A 
"ARBARA ! 3OMERVILL writes children’s nonfiction books
on a variety of topics. She is particularly interested in
nature and foreign countries. Somervill believes that
researching new and different topics makes writing
every book an adventure. When she is not writing,
Somervill is an avid reader and plays bridge.

32 21st CENTURY SKILLS LIBRARY

 21st
Century
Skills Library
The gray wolf once roamed the mountains, deserts, plains, and forests of North
America. Now it struggles to survive in small areas of its former habitat. Read this
book to find out more about the gray wolf and what people are doing to save it
from extinction.
The Road to Recovery series introduces readers to some of the animals that are
fighting and beginning to win the battle for survival in the 21st century. Other titles
in the series include:
• American Alligator • Gray Bat • Mongolian Wild Horse
• American Bison • Gray Whale • Mountain Gorilla
• Elephant Seal • Karner Blue Butterfly • Whooping Crane
• Golden Lion Tamarin • Key Deer
To guide your reading, look for these notes that will help build the understanding
and skills you’ll need in the 21st century. Look for the following margin notes:

Learning & Innovation Skills

You need to learn about lots of things, but you also need to learn how to
learn. These notes give you hints about how to use what you know in better
and more creative ways.

21 st Centur y Content
You study reading, math, science, and social studies. You also need to
learn about the world of work and your community. These notes tell you
about business and money. They also give you ideas about how you can
help yourself, your community, and the world.

Life & Career Skills

These notes tell you about skills you will use throughout your life. They give
you ideas about how to work well with others, make good decisions, and
achieve your goals in life.

ISBN-13: 978-1-60279-030-8
ISBN-10: 1-60279-030-2

9 781602 790308