Wolf Tracking Project
Canis lupus
REORGANIZATION IN PROGRESS
Location: near Sandhill Wildlife Area (Babcock, WI)
and Necedah
http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/Org/land/wildlife/reclands/sandhill/
Transportation: Volunteers drive small groups; gas
reimbursement available
When: December-March, any time up to 3-4 days after
fresh snow
Volunteer Duties: Must attend fall wolf workshop on
tracking annually, but do NOT have to be trained to ride along with
other trackers; assist driver in finding tracks along the road and
identifying species
**Trained trackers have a responsibility to go out on project as often as
possible and take untrained volunteers with them**
What to Bring: Warm clothes, possibly food or money
for the drive
What We Are Looking For: Wolf
tracks, scat, kills, raised-leg urination, pack territories
Project Purpose: Obtain
a yearly mid-winter census of the number of wolves in the pack, based on
snow track encounters, and, by repeated encounters, attempt to describe
pack territory boundaries
A tracking survey consists of simply driving plowed roads that cross or
are parallel to pack territory boundaries. A vehicle is typically driven
at about 10 mph while the participants watch for signs of wolf activity
such as scat, urinations, and tracks. Data forms are kept in regard to
mileage, what and where was observed, and the number of animals. The fun
really starts as one backtracks and tries to find kill sites and other
valuable forms of wolf sign.
