Wolf Conservation Flashcards
What are the North American Canids?
- Gray Wolf
- Red Wolf
- Mexican Wolf
- Eastern/Great Lakes Wolf
- Coyote
- Domestic Dog
What was the historic distribution of the red wolf?
south eastern USA
What was the historic distribution of the Grey wolf?
west of Mississippi river but extending north into Canada
What was historic distribution of coyote?
West of Mississippi, extending into Northern US
Where is the red wolf found now?
Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge (eastern North Carolina)
What is the Alle effect?
mating with individuals from a different species because there are not enough of the same species
What is an admixture zone?
area of interbreeding, hybridization
What happened to coyotes as gray wolf populations declined?
coyotes spread east
Where are Gray Wolves found now (general)?
- Western Great Lakes States
- Northern Rocky Mountains
- Pacific Northwestern States
- Southwestern States
- Alaska and Canada
Where are Gray Wolves found now (states)?
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
- Montana
- Idaho
- Washington
- Oregon
- New Mexico
- Arizona
- Alaska
What is the size of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem?
about 1.8 million acres
When were gray wolves extirpated from Yellowstone and when were they reintroduced?
extirpated in 1920s, reintroduced in 1995-96
How were gray wolves reintroduced to Yellowstone?
31 individuals captured in Western Canada were released into the Lamar Valley region (and some released into central Idaho)
What happened in absence of gray wolves?
- coyote population soared
- Aspen trees over browsed
What happened when gray wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone
- deer started avoiding certain parks of park and areas started to rejuvenate
- birds and beavers increased in population
- beaver dams led to more otters and reptiles and amphibians
- less coyotes
- more bears
- stabilized rivers due to increased vegetation preventing erosion
etc etc
How was the red wolf restored?
- 4 pairs of red wolves were released into Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge in 1987
- experimental release into Great Smokys in 1991-94 but was discontinued
How big is the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge?
120,000 acres but restoration area consists of 1.7 million acres
How many Red Wolves are in the wild now?
Less than 20
