Coastal Wolves

BC's coastal wolves are a very unique species of gray wolf (canis lupus) but they are not a new subspecies. Since 2000, these wolves have been studied extensively by the wolf biologists of Raincoast Conservation Foundation. Here is a summary of their research.

Wolf Range

These coastal wolves roam from Cape Caution in the south (51,10' degrees north, 127,47' degrees west) to the Nass River in the north (54,44' degrees north, 130,11' degrees west). This area would comprise more than 40,000 square km. The study area which the Raincoast wolf biologists conducted their research in was 19,300 square km.

This central coast & north coast of BC is bounded by the Pacific Ocean on the western border & the Coast Mountain Range on the eastern border. There are many islands which make up the western border such as Banks Island, Calvert Island, Aristazabal Island, and Hunter Island, with long narrow fjords cutting into the eastern border where rivers follow into the fjords from the Coast Mountains.

This area is very sparsely populated with small Native villages such as Bella Bella (Waglisla) & forestry communities such as Ocean Falls. With this rugged coastline & sparse population, it is an excellent area to study wolves because they experience little human disturbance. The human caused mortality rate of wolves is 2.3% annually which is low compared to other areas of BC where the rate is 11-15% annually.

Within this two zone geography of islands, fjords & river valleys, Raincoast biologists found two distinct wolf groups. The western zone wolves which lived on the islands & swam between the islands looking for food while the eastern zone wolves lived in the valleys & mountains of the Coast Range.

Since the distances are too great between these two zones, there is little interaction between these two wolf groups. When the wolves living on the islands disperse, they travel amongst the islands to find a mate & establish their territory. They do not disperse eastward to the eastern zone wolves while the eastern zone wolves do not disperse westward.

This remote, self-contained area with these two impenetrable borders has created such pure genetic similarity amongst these wolves as they do not interact with the interior wolves of BC. The Heiltsuk people of Bella Bella told the wolf biologists that from their traditional knowledge, they knew the two wolves groups did not mingle.

Raincoast's wolf biologists found wolf sign (scat, hair, deer kills) on all 18 mainland sites & all 21 island sites. Most den sites located were in low elevation old-growth forests which would be true for both island den sites & mainland den sites.

Wolf Demographics

In the 19,300 square km land base of the study area, the researchers estimated the wolf population to be 406-473 wolves. They reached that estimate by applying a known wolf density of 30/1000 square km to habitat where wolf diet consists mainly of deer. The wolf biologists found a higher density on the islands than the mainland valleys.

The average late-summer litter size was 3.3 pups which suggests that these pups were the survivors. With low levels of human interference & human harvesting, this wolf population should be stable.

A unique feature of these coastal wolves is their travel between islands. On some of the island archipelegos, there is not enough prey so they swim between the islands looking for prey. The wolves use the tides & currents to assist them & some wolves have swam 8-10km in open water to reach nearby islands. At one presentation I did with Tundra, one participant who lived on the central coast of BC was with her family on a boating trip west of Bella Bella near the Goose Island group. They spotted what they thought was a dog swimming in open water. Upon closer examination, it was a wolf swimming but it was struggling & near drowning. Wolves are very strong swimmers but these waters are very treacherous with strong currents & high waves, so no doubt some wolves have drown as they swim amongst the islands.

Most coastal wolves are born black & 25% of the 64 wolves sighted in the research were black. More black wolves were sighted on the mainland than the islands. The other wolves sighted were grey in color with a red tinge. Coastal wolves underfur is more brownish than the interior wolves of BC.

Diet

The coastal wolves diet consists mainly of deer (Sitka black tail) at 83%, salmon 9%, beaver 1%, & black bear 2% with 5% unknown. The unique feature of coastal wolves is their use of fish & seafood in their diet. The coastal wolves will eat seal, crabs & intertidal zone sea creatures. When the wolves eat salmon, they only consume the head of the salmon. The brain contains important nutrients for the wolf while the body of the salmon contains parasites which are apparently harmful to the wolf. So if you see headless salmon on the riverbanks or estuaries of the central coast, then wolves reside in the area. The eagles, bears & ravens consume the remainder of the salmon.

In the analysis of wolf scat, the researchers found evidence of both black bear & grizzly bear. This shows that the wolf is the apex predator of the coast sharing it with the grizzly bear when it is not hibernating.

Raincoast Research Project

When Raincoast began their research project in 2000, these coastal wolves had not been studied before. Forest companies, universities & BC MOE had not conducted any research on these wolves. Raincoast involved the First Nations peoples of the central coast to ascertain their traditional knowledge.

Raincoast employs a non-invasive approach to studying the wolf. They do not trap & radio collar wolves but they do DNA analysis of their scat, hair, & other genetic material of the wolf to make their findings.

Tundra & Meshach

October has been a very busy month for the three of us. I have travelled with them to Campbell River on two trips to visit schools with Tundra. We have visited 5 schools and seen between 500-550 students & teachers doing presentations on wolves. Tundra is the star of the show and the students all get to pet her. I have received very good comments from the staff & parents as well.

We also were the guest speaker to the Port Hardy Chamber of Commerce luncheon & Tundra attracted more visitors to the luncheon than their normal attendance. The Chamber members were very impressed with her and this group is certainly looking to capitalize on the tourism potential of all their wildlife from the North Island.

Finally, Tundra & Meshach accompanied me to the North Island Teachers Pro D day to speak on wolves & promote Tundra's school program. The teachers were very impressed with her, so no doubt we will receive further invitations to attend local schools.

If your school or community group is interested in Tundra & I visiting you, please find all the info on my website.

Good book to read

For much further info & pictures on the coastal wolves, please read Ian McAllister's book, The Last Wild Wolves. This book contains a DVD which shows the wolves & other wildlife which suppliments Ian's beautiful photography of the wolves. The text of the book describes the different wolf packs he has come to know intimately from his 17 year study of these wolves. Ian & his wife Karen & family live near Bella Bella & they were cofounders of Raincoast Conservation Society. This book is an excellent examination of these wonderful, intelligent wolves.

Website

Raincoast Conservation Foundation's website www.raincoast.org contains all their research on the coastal wolves. You can read the reports as well their conservation work they are doing on wolves, grizzly bears as well as other environmental issues in the Great Bear Rainforest.

Ian McAllister's website, Pacific Wild www.pacificwild.org is also an excellent website to visit. There are webcams which are situated to see the coastal wolves in the wild.