Wolf Stories – Part 2

Here are wolf stories and insights from Gordon Haber, who studied Alaskan wolves from 1966 until his death in a plane crash in 2009.  Marybeth Holleman wrote a book based on his notes.

On pages 17-18 of his and Marybeth Holleman’s 2013 book, Among Wolves, based on 43 years of field studies, we are introduced to his work in Alaska, to his study areas, which he calls “some of the most beautiful wilderness areas on earth,” to his methodologies, and to his observations of the wolves themselves, animals that, he says, “enliven the landscape.”  As some of his experiences remind him, however, “It’s not always clear who’s observing whom.”

In a chapter titled, My Good Fortune, Haber wrote:  “An old-timer once said that when you see a wolf , he has already seen you twice.  With few exceptions, when I was observing wolf homesites in summer, I think the wolves eventually knew I was in the area.  However, in most cases I observed them with a spotting scope  from far enough away that they showed no concern. “

“But in the summer of 1991, the Toklat wolves didn’t just ignore me.  the first time they checked me out that summer, I was sleeping soundly at 5:00 a.m..  About ten of them, including the alpha male and female, surrounded my tent only fifty feet away and proceeded to wake me abruptly with their gruff barks and accompanying howls.  They had discovered me as they were returning home from the night hunt, and after a few minutes of expressing some displeasure through their barking and howling, they headed off to the den.  Throughout the rest of the summer they continued to ignore my presence while they were at the den but checked me out fairly often on their travels to and from.”

Haber wrote, “All wild animals interest me, ..But years ago it became obvious from thousands of hours of direct observations that wolves stand above the rest in their unusual intelligence, emotional depth, expressiveness, sensory abilities, physical prowess, and especially their family-based social systems.”

Later, (Pp, 24-25), Haber discusses long-lived Denali groups [studied by Adolph Murie 1939-1941]  “(M)y research of this long-lived family [Toklat] group now represents one of the most intensive studies ever undertaken in the wild of the same known groups of a large predator and its prey.”

“And yet, throughout the years I’ve often wondered who, really, was studying whom.  On one trip to observe the Toklat wolves at their den in the summer of 1991, I was sitting dutifully at my spotting scope when suddenly I felt like I was being watched and turned to see the alpha male standing in the open only seventy-five feet away, quietly and calmly studying me,  Almost immediately after my eyes met his, he circled to my downwind side, still maintaining a distance of seventy-five feet, and scented the light breezes for a minute or so.  Then he circled a quarter mile away through some trees and trotted off to the den without one hint of concern.”

Following page 112, renowned wildlife photographer Johnny Johnson wrote “Snapshot:  A Sign of Intelligence. “

“One of the things that touched me the most and touched Gordon a lot too, was that snared wolf.

Gordon found a radio-collared wolf caught in a snare by the foot.  It was baited in a way that Gordon knew wasn’t legal.  So they landed the plane and Gordon went up to that wolf and decided to cut it loose.

The wolf just lay there and looked at him as Gordon tried to get the snare off with his Swiss Army knife.  It took him thirty minutes, and all that time, the wolf was just looking at him, its face ten inches from Gordon’s face.  When it was free, Gordon just got up and left.

But what touched him, and me, was how intelligent the wolf was.  It never tried to bite him, attack him, or even snarl at him while he was working that snare off.  It wasn’t aggressive at all.

 That’s a real sign of intelligence in an animal.”