[4] From Stenlund (1955).
Table 2.—Background information on five radiotagged wolves studied in northeastern Minnesota
| Wolf | Estimated weight[5] (pounds) | Usual associations | Location captured | Date captured | Last date located | Days located | General condition | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | Sex | |||||||
| Number | ||||||||
| 1051 | M | 75 | None[6] | T62N-R7W-S18 | Nov. 27/68 | Apr. 24/69 | 84 | Good, but two toes frozen in trap; animal limped lightly for 5-6 wks. |
| 1053 | F | 60 | None | T62N-R8W-S13 | Dec. 10/68 | Aug. 29/69 | 72 | Thin; top of foot cut in trap but no broken bones or frozen toes; limped for at least 10 wks. |
| 1055 | F | 60 | Another wolf intermittently | T61N-R10W-S26 | Jan. 5/69 | May 30/69 | 65 | Thin; two toes lightly frozen; no limp ever noticed. |
| 1057 | F | 60 | Pack of 13[7] | T66N-R5W-S33 | Jan. 8/69 | Apr. 24/69 | 47 | Thin; front foot frozen in trap; lost use of foot and could not stay with pack. |
| 1059 | F | 65 | Pack of 5 | T62N-R11W-S26 | Jan. 22/69 | Aug. 29/69 | 51 | Good but thin; captured in snare; no apparent injury. |
FOOTNOTES:
[5] Wolf 1059, when killed by a trapper on January 10, 1970, appeared to be of the same size and condition as when radiotagged; she only weighed 53 pounds, however, indicating that probably all the weights are overestimated.
[6] Tracks of a pack of at least two other wolves came by trap where 1051 was caught; however, there was never any other indication that 1051 may have been a member of a pack.
[7] A frozen foot prevented 1057 from staying with her pack; but she did associate with other wolves intermittently and with the whole pack when it came by her restricted area.
The precise ages of the radiotagged wolves were unknown. All individuals, however, had sharp unworn teeth, indicating that they were all relatively young. No. 1051, the only male studied, had testes 2.0 cm. long and 1.5 cm. wide; their volume therefore would be less than 4.5 cc. The small size of these testes, compared with the 7 to 28 cc. reported by Fuller and Novakowski (1955) as the volume of the testes from wolves taken during fall, would indicate that 1051 had not yet matured. Since the animal's testes and canine lengths were considerably greater than those of pups caught in a later study, we presume 1051 was 18 or 30 months old.
Two of the females, No. 1055 and No. 1059, both captured in January, had vulvas that seemed to be beginning to swell. No. 1059 was killed by a trapper about a year later, on January 10, 1970, and an examination revealed that she had bred in 1969 and carried five fetuses. Sectioning her incisors and reading the apparent annulations indicated that she probably was 3+ or 4+ years old.[8]
Three of the wolves were basically lone individuals. One of these, No. 1051, was captured on a night when tracks of at least two other wolves came by the trap, and this could mean that he had been part of a pack. However, it is also possible that these were merely tracks of non-associated wolves that were also traveling through the area. In any case, 1051 was not seen associating with any other wolf until 4 months after he was caught, and even then the association seemed to be temporary and casual. It could be argued that capture, handling by humans, or wearing a collar prevented him from regaining old associations or making new ones. However, the wolves radiotagged by Kolenosky and Johnston (1967) were quickly accepted back into their packs, and so were two of ours. Thus we conclude that 1051 probably was a lone wolf when captured.