Nevertheless, one major piece of information is obvious from the figures: 1059's pack of five wolves had a much smaller range than any of the other uninjured animals—approximately 43 square miles when figured by the minimum-area method (Mohr 1947). The next smallest range was that of 1051 (excluding the area of his later dispersal—see below), which was some seven times the size of the pack's range.
Table 4.—Straight line distances (miles) traveled between consecutive days ("net daily distance") by radiotagged wolves in northeastern Minnesota during February 1969
| Wolf number | Mean net daily distance | Greatest net daily distance | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb. 1-23 | Feb. 23-28 | Feb. 1-23 | Feb. 23-28 | |
| 1051 | 1.1 | 3.5 | 2.3 | 4.8 |
| 1053 | 0.7 | 2.5 | 3.0 | 5.0 |
| 1055 | 2.7 | 6.2 | 8.0 | 12.8 |
| 1057 | 1.0 | 1.5 | 4.0 | 4.5 |
| 1059 | 2.2 | 3.1 | 4.0 | 5.6 |
There is little published information on the movements and ranges of lone wolves with which to compare our data. Mech (1970) summarized information regarding ranges of packs. Reported ranges varied from 36 square miles for a pack of two wolves in Minnesota (Stenlund 1955) to 5,000 square miles for a pack of 10 in Alaska (Burkholder 1959). Considering only data based on intensive study in the same general region (Minnesota, Isle Royale, and Ontario) as our study area, the largest range reported was 210 square miles for a pack of 15 to 21 wolves on Isle Royale (Mech 1966, Jordan et al. 1967). On a per-wolf basis, the ranges in this region varied from 6 to 28 square miles per wolf. Our pack of five with its range of 43 square miles would have about 9 square miles per wolf.
A more accurate assessment of the ranges of the radiotagged wolves requires an individual discussion for each.
No. 1051.—The range of 1051 was composed basically of three distinct areas ([fig. 19]). Within 10 days after being released, the wolf left the general area of his capture (Area A near Isabella Lake) and traveled to Area B along Highway 1, some 17 miles to the southwest. From December 9 to January 4 wolf 1051 remained in Area B, which covers about 45 square miles. Between January 4 and 6 he returned to Area A and stayed in 13 square miles until February 3. Between February 3 and 5 he shifted to Area C east of Snowbank Lake, 11 miles northwest of Area A. He remained in that 16-square-mile area until February 25, then suddenly left and headed 8 miles to the northeast.
Table 5.—Extent of ranges used by radiotagged wolves
| Wolf number | Greatest length | Greatest width | Total area[9] | Area[9] of intense use (before late Feb.) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Miles | Miles | Sq. miles | Sq. miles | |
| 1051[10] | 28.5 | 13.6 | 318 | 13 (Location A[11]) 45 (Location B) 16 (Location C) |
| 1053 | 31.1 | 22.0 | 392 | 31 |
| 1055 | 55.4 | 24.9 | 997 | 40 |
| 1057 | 32.3 | 3.8 | 77 | 14 |
| 1059[12] | 8.4 | 8.0 | 43 | 39 |
FOOTNOTES:
[9] Minimum area method (Mohr 1947).