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| W1045-March 2020 |
There's my preface of this post. It can sit there for a moment. It's been a while since writing and yes, I've had subjects in the cue-Ice Age Trail hikes, kayaking, mountain biking etc....but the urgency to type hasn't been there like back in March when the covid crisis started. It's now 4 months in and although we had a downward trend in April (and many other countries contained it then) Americans grew tired, lax and have no consistent plan from anywhere to stop it. Why this tucked in here? I guess the frustration is always sitting under the surface lately-sometimes crawling out on FB posts, but I'm preaching to the choir there for the most part.
There seems little to look forward to-can't make plans. Unsure of the future. Even activities I love seem more like I'm going thru the motions. Using up a day. Like flying with an unhappy baby on an airplane-you just gotta make it thru....but lately, it seems like the pane will never land.
So that leaves me with doing what I can to make days during this crisis meaningful. I love working with wildlife, and wolves especially are a fascinating species and one I study. I jump at every chance to learn more. I remain basically laid off from my DNR work until re-hiring starts up again. There is so much work to do from our work station, and I think it could be done with low risk but for now, wait and see. So sans that work option, I look for volunteering opportunities.
Trapping wolves in Wisconsin in order to place research GPS collars on them, takes place in late May and early June. Pups have been born and are usually hanging close to their den-adults wander far and wide to find food for their growing appetites. Travel corridors during these time periods give a trapper the opportunity to be successful. It's no easy task to get an adult wolf in a 50+ square mile territory to place one foot on a specific spot the size of a coke can. This time span also proceeds the bear hound "training" season which starts July 1st. It would be difficult then as the public lands are crawling with pick-ups, hounds chasing bears and wolf/ hound conflict and depredations begin. (sidebar: I don't understand running bear when heat indexes push to the 90 and 100 degree range and hounds are placed into known pack territories. A personal frustration.)
W1045 has been around for a number of years-a survivor so far in a county known for frequent poaching. He's appeared on my cameras before-at least I'm quite sure it's him. Same territory, same pelage (fur coloring). He's a big male as Wisconsin animals go, in the 90 # range. Contrary to fairy tales from barstool biologists, that is about as big as they ever get in the state and a little unusual-no 150 or 200# Little Red Riding Hood big bad wolves out there. The really interesting aspect of W1045 is that the day before he was trapped, I had seen him about 3 miles away from where he was caught while driving a forest lane looking for tracks. No way to know for sure, but it was the same color, in the right area and checking tracks he left behind, he seem to fit. Ironically, I'd also been in the area checking cameras and discovered him in several frames from March and April in a full thick winter coat!
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| W1045- April 2020 |
Covid effected trapping season as well. Normally it would be a crew of 3 scheduled ahead of time, generally over a 2 week period. The trapper, and 2 assistants. There is a lot to do in a short amount of time for the welfare of the animal. Assistant duties include distracting the animal when it's being sedated, constantly monitoring temperature during work-up, and cooling as needed. Recording information on a particular animal, following a check list step by step and monitoring it during reversal. It's all done efficiently and professionally. This year was different, as we traveled in separate vehicles, wore masks and took precautions. Instead of being formally scheduled, we were on-call to help as needed should a wolf be captured.
The system worked well and I was able to help out on W1045-a fortunate thing as during reversal, the trapper headed out to check other sets and as luck would have it, W1046 was also caught the same day. Another assistant was called in to help there while I watched this big guy finally wander off into the woods.
During the June session, one more wolf was collared from a pack researchers were targeting, so a successful season overall. Data from collar locations will be used to learn more about wolf and elk interactions, pack territory shifts and generally where they are spending their time throughout the year. Trapping never goes smoothly and challenges included bears tripping or pulling sets completely out, raccoons digging attractants and some days just a general disinterest by animals walking by without investigating a perfectly good set. All frustrating, but a part of the game.
For myself, it's an chance to really be up close and personal with an animal that normally is seen only through the lens of a game camera pic or track on a sandy road or snow covered trail. They are often such a maligned animal, misunderstood by many-especially in the area I live. I'm thankful to have such an opportunity during these crazy times volunteering with W1045 and others. I'm glad I could contribute to learning more about him (and them,) a species I hope we can appreciate for what they are, how they live and who lives among us and makes the wild a little bit more wild.
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| W1045 Reversing |
