Toklat Alpha Male Killed
By Tim Mowry
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, Fairbanks, Alaska (Published: April 20, 2005)
The fate of Alaska’s most famous wolf pack is uncertain after a hunter shot and killed its alpha male Sunday a few miles south of Cantwell.
The reigning patriarch of what is known as the East Fork or Toklat wolf pack in Denali National Park and Preserve was legally shot in the Pass Creek area.
It was the third Toklat wolf to be killed in two months, including the alpha female, which was caught in a trap in February just outside a buffer zone established to protect the wolves for tourists to see.
With only six young wolves remaining, some say this likely will mean the end of the decades-old Toklat pack, which was first studied by the legendary Adolph Murie in 1939.
“It represents a complete social breakdown,” said Gordon Haber, an independent wildlife biologist who has studied the Toklat wolves for almost 40 years. “All the key wolves are gone.”
Haber, who is funded by and reports to the Connecticut-based animal-rights group Friends of Animals, said this likely will reduce the number of wolves tourists see in Denali Park this summer and in future years. While there is little doubt another pack of wolves will recolonize the area if the remaining Toklat wolves split up, they probably won’t display the same tolerance of tourists that the Toklat wolves did.
“What influences how much wolves are seen by visitors are the specific ways they use the established territory,” Haber said. “That’s all been blown away, at least most of it.”
But Park Service officials say they’re not worried about the demise of one particular pack of wolves, even one as well-studied as the Toklat pack, as long as the number of wolves in the 6-million-acre park remains within biological limits.
“We manage for population levels, not individuals,” spokeswoman Kris Fister said.
There are approximately 70 wolves in the park. While that’s in the low end of the acceptable range, it doesn’t represent any kind of emergency, Fister said.
Debate over how much protection wolves that stray outside park boundaries should receive has been a topic of debate for several years in Alaska.
The death of the alpha male also illustrates why the buffer zone to protect wolves that stray out of the park should be bigger, said John Toppenberg, director of the Alaska Wildlife Alliance in Anchorage, which has long advocated for a larger buffer.
The current buffer zone, which measures about 55 square miles in the northeast corner of the park near Healy, is a “symbolic measure” that does little to protect wolves like the Toklat pack from hunters and trappers, he said. Wildlife viewing advocates have asked the state Board of Game to expand the buffer zone several times but have been rebuffed.
“What we have now is totally inadequate,” Toppenberg said.
The Toklat wolves are valuable and should be protected for several reasons, Haber said. The fact the same bloodline has been studied for decades is reason alone to protect them.
“One of the greatest values is providing information about the characteristics of how successful vertebrae societies other than humans work,” he said. “It’s a rare biological treasure.”
The wolves are also important from a naturalist viewpoint, Haber said.
“If you’re simply worrying about the presence or absence of animals, that’s what you do when you’re managing a zoo,” he said. “When you’re managing a national park, your primary concern should be the integrity of underlying ecological relationships.”
The Toklat wolves also offer tourists a better chance of seeing a wolf in Denali Park than anywhere else in the world, Haber said. Thousands of tourists see wolves in the park each year and up until last year, when another pack denned close to the road, it was mostly the Toklat wolves that were visible.
The Toklat pack has been threatened before but there has always been at least one experienced alpha male or female to maintain the hierarchy, Haber said. The young wolves rely on the older wolves to teach them the ins and outs of living in an area.
“It’s a combination of genetic and learned information,” Haber said of a pack’s family structure. “Those young wolves haven’t had the opportunity to acquire that learned information. Things like denning sites, hunting areas, hunting routes and even hunting methods.”
What will happen to the remaining six Toklat wolves remains to be seen. They could move out of the area and join or form another pack or they could remain. They could also be killed by other wolves.
“Some might stay but I’d be surprised if all six stayed,” Park Service biologist Tom Meier said. “It’s not a good social system when the young ones are left without adults. Things don’t go smoothly for them and they usually split up.”
Whether that will mean fewer wolf sightings for tourists this summer remains to be seen.
Park officials say many of the wolves seen in the park last year actually belonged to the Grant Creek pack, an offshoot of the Toklat pack that roams further west but has started to encroach on the Toklat territory.
The alpha male in that pack, which consists of eight wolves, was trapped and moved from the upper Chena River as part of a predator- control program to help boost the Fortymile Caribou Herd. He joined the Toklat pack briefly four years ago before hooking up with a female and forming another pack. The pack denned next to the Toklat River last year and was regularly seen from the road. There’s a chance the Grant Creek pack could assume control of the territory used by the Toklat wolves.
“We’ll just have to wait and see,” Fister said.
If the Grant Creek or another pack moves into the area, Meier doesn’t think it would be long before tourists start seeing them.
“Personally, I think wolves catch on pretty quick and they’d quickly figure out how to live in the area,” he said.
The demise of the Toklat pack began Feb. 11 when a Healy trapper caught the alpha female just outside the buffer zone.
Though the alpha male took the loss of his mate hard, he hooked up with and bred another female a week later, said Haber, who radio-tracks the wolves by air.
But those two wolves split up and the male began making erratic movements to and from the area the first alpha female was trapped.
“He pretty well abandoned the territory,” Haber said. “He was clearly focused on the loss of that female.”
The wolf shot Sunday was another Fortymile transfer that joined the Toklat pack in May 2001. The previous alpha male in the pack died a month or two earlier when Park Service biologists tranquilized it to check its radio collar.
“He just showed up at the right place at the right time,” Haber said. “He just kind of took over.”
The only hope now is that the impregnated female returns to the area to have her pups, Haber said. Even then, the question of who will care for them remains. Typically, several wolves in a pack share responsibility for feeding and raising the pups.
“Until (the loss of the alphas) happened, I was pretty confident there would be two litters this year,” Haber said. “It would have been a beehive of activity.”
News-Miner staff writer Tim Mowry can be reached at tmowry@newsminer.com or at 459-7587.
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19 Comments
On April 20, 2005, Giovanni wrote:
When are we going to learn our lesson regarding hunting and killing animals? I guess we won’t understand it until one day a lone wolf howls long and mournful…and there is only silence.
On April 21, 2005, Scott Moran wrote:
All wolves, not just ones who are of “added value” from human enjoyment warrant such articles and concern. That being said, examples like this can prove to others that no wolf is spared a bullet in Alaska. No matter the value - ecologically or economically, every wolf is persecuted.
We must all work at changing the understandings of people before we can ever hope to protect any animal in Alaska. And, unfortunately the chances of that ever happening in AK are slim to none. Most Alaskans support hunting and killing as a heritage and time-honored pastime. As a matter of fact, this hunter from Pennsylvania (outsider?) most likely attends church - another heritage - even though the bible clearly instructs people not to kill, and to have compassion for all of God’s creatures.
There is a massive double-standard going on, and many people excersize it in the name of ‘conservation.’ When the fat is boiled off, though it isn’t about conservation, heritage, or even faith. It’s a matter of deep-rooted American mentalities of killing that have manifested through recreation and a false sense of ‘conservation.’
Just as an ax-wielding tree cutter cannot be called a conservationist, neither can these killers - purveyors of the finest lies and deceit in Alaska…
Scott
On April 22, 2005, Patty wrote:
It is useless for this close-minded people to understand the value of what nature has given us unless every one of us does something with our own hands. I don’t think Governor Murkowski is going to do something because greed is what rules in all governments.
I have since my childhood admired the way wolves are, and now that I have come of age I feel outraged to see this massacre. I don’t think our ancestors would approve this, they will be ashamed of this.
I just hope it doesn’t get too late before this killing ends, otherwise our grandchildren will only know these incredible and mythical animals through books.
On April 22, 2005, Harriet Shaftel wrote:
My husband and I have lived in Anchorage since 1970, our three children were raised here, and my daughter and I visited Denali Park when she was in junior high for three years in a row. Although we have never seen the “Toklat wolves” every member of our family felt heart-sick by the news of this shooting. We count on the park service to protect these animals so that the wildlife viewing experience can be as rich as it was when we first visited the park in 1970. Even more than the mountain, the wildlife is what people get excited about.
I have called park headquarters and expressed to a representative in the superintendent’s office (he not being available) my dismay over the callous response (as quoted in our newspaper)from both his office and the park service biologist.
I also tried to reach Gordon Haber, but wasn’t able to get him on the telephone. Would you please forward this request to him? I would like to suggest that he or someone he trusts take his tracking records from the radio collars on both the male and female wolves killed - and record them in writing. Then publish this record as widely as possible through organizations such as yours. A diary of their movements could make an impression on people who don’t have any emotional connection to wolves. As for the millions of dog-lovers, and by association, wolf-lovers in this country, such a diary could be a very moving testament to the loss. Something which we are all having a hard time expressing.
Also, a protest from Friends of Animals regarding the shooting of a collared wild animal could be made with Fish and Game up here. When a spokeswoman for Alaska Fish and Game says - “the loss of a single wolf is not a biological problem, - that seems to ignore the inestimable value to biologists of radio-collared animals.
I am a member of Alaska Wildlife Alliance and hope to encourage them as well as Defenders of Wildlife - both with offices up here - to lodge a protest with Alaska Fish and Game regarding the shooting of a collared animal.
Thank you for reading and caring.
Harriet Shaftel
Anchorage, Alaska
P.S. If Gordon gets this message, he can respond to my suggestion via e-mail. I also know Bill Sherwonit, and would like to suggest that he would be an excellent choice for writing the story of the last days of the alpha male and female - as contained on the radio collar records.
On April 28, 2005, Christine wrote:
70 wolves left in a 6 million acre park? Did I read this correctly? The spokeswoman who made the statement that this is an acceptable range, must not realize just how ludicrous this statement actually is. Added to that the position she takes on the unimportance of killing individual wolves. Each individual wolf is what sustains the pack as a whole. Maybe she should study how wolves survive as a species before speaking out of her rear end.
On May 1, 2005, Jolanta Swenson-Shea wrote:
People are so bombarded by the visuals of war and strife in the media and movies, as well as the drama in their own personal lives that maybe they can be numb to this story….but when I heard this morning on NPR the story of the killing of a black Alpha wolf from Denali Toklat pack [by a “fierce” hunter from the luxury of a roadside into the park—aka a legal shooting…for a pelt!], I was sickened. After losing his alpha female in February, the grieving black wolf appears to have committed “suicide by hunter.” My rest of the day has been spent researching the wolves and the abysmal situation these creatures have under the auspices of protection. The various officials can try, but there are no justifications for any of this. It is the same reasoning used in “collateral damage” arguments in war. I feel grief and believe this is a further extension of the war of man…… mankind will not realize until it is too late that the decimation of the earth whether trough killing or pollution will ultimately be the end of mankind itself.
On May 20, 2005, noname wrote:
hunters are evil.
[Blog editors’ note: Some 99% of the U.S. human population consumes other animals. Most likely, that includes people in all of our families, many of our co-workers, etc. Do you believe they are all evil? How does calling someone “evil” inspire them to broaden their moral community?]
On May 23, 2005, lisa wrote:
While I found the entire article extremely disturbing, I was most disturbed by the line “The previous Alpha male in the pack died a month or two earlier when Park Service biologists tranqilized it to check its radio collar”. Does this mean the Park Service biologists killed this wolf?
On August 19, 2005, Rebecca Rodriguez wrote:
WHEN ARE WE GOING TO LEARN TO STOP KILLING ANIMALS!! WE SHOULD ALL LIVE IN PEACE!!WHY ARE WE EVEN DOING THIS WE ARE JUST KILLING NATURE POEPLE!!!THINK BEFORE YOU DO THIS KIND OF STUFF.LOTS OF ANIMAL ARE DIE LIKE SEALS,BEARS,AND OTHER ANIMALS.WHAT ARE THEY DOING TO US AND THEY ARE FURRY INNOCENT CREATURES!THEY ARE NOT DOING ANY HARM TO US!SO PLEASE STOP KILLING THESE POOR LITTLE INNOCENT CREATURES THAT ARE OUR FRIENDS AND WE SHOULD LOVE THEM BACK LIKE THEY LOVE THEM.
On October 13, 2005, Liz wrote:
This disgusts me. Humans are being so disgustingly blind to nature. We hunt for ‘food, fun, and population control’ but the problem lies within the last two and sommat in the first.
Have any of you ever heard of the time when we worked our ‘population control’ in Australia? We killed off dingos I believe it was, and out popped a hoard of kangaroos which destroyed the echosystem. We stink at trying to help our planet, and these idiots are obviously fools enough to be blind at their own jobs. If it isn’t enough to think about the fact that this beautiful creature was in mourning, and out popped a hunter thinking “Ooh look, pretty coated robot! BANG”. How stupid was that guy? I do not believe in hunting for fur or fun. It’s sickening to see heads raised up on plaques and men dancing around thinking “Oooh look at me, big macho man for killing helpless beautiful animal”. I mean, they have families, feelings and lives too!
I’m deeply saddened by this, and even though I’m only 13 I’m going to try and find a way to help out up there..
Peace, Liz
On November 7, 2005, Christa Q. wrote:
Soon wolves will be just myth like dragons and griffins…in a few hundred years people probably won’t believe in them anymore…because of these hunters…you can’t even eat a wolf! And it’s not like they’re a threat or anything. I mean, I can see people getting upset if wolves were eating people up there, but they don’t eat people! They mind their own businesses and we should mind ours and stay out of their lives
On December 3, 2005, Suzanne R NY wrote:
I believed Alaska to be the last frontier, environmental and wildlife friendly. NOT.. That was the dream i had. ITS MORE THE LAND OF BARBARIC ANTI ENVIRONMENTAL AND WILDLIFE. I beg the people of Alaska get this idiot Murkowski the hell out of there before him and his gun toting fools unnecessarily murder more wolves. When leaders like Bush, Norton and Murkowski you can count on Artic drilling (bush is an oil man) Norton, her beliefs are right there w/ bush and she calls herselft Secretary of Interior? HAHAHAHAHA. Then this guy with his lines about population control and his park service kroonies regurgataing the same? PLEASE STOP!
On December 28, 2005, Davinya wrote:
I don’t understand. Let me repeat: I just don’t understand.
1.) I’ve lived amongst a wolf-shepard for almost a decade now. His name is Thor. Thor has shown me that the wolf within him is loyal, protective and has a strong sense of emotion (I’d go as far to call it love) and caring for the family (his pack). Thor has shown me wolves are much like us humans. I think the Toklat pack is a great example of this on a greater scale. Thor has introduced me to a wolf-loving community where I learned wolves are not dangerous unless diseased or scared (again, like us humans). So again, I just don’t understand the “mental processes” of the people who would murder an animal so sentient.
2. While I condone sport hunting for, say, venison (kill for food type of thing), I must point out the word “sport.” The word “sport” indicates, to me, a fair compeition. Shooting wolves from planes is not fair competition. It may sound crude, but I think these people got to get off the planes, put down their fire arms, and fight it out like a wolf would. Let’s see who really is the stronger species!
My stomache turned upside down when I heard the Toklat pack has been scattered. (Possibly TMI — but I actually dry heaved.) How would these people feel if a stranger came and killed the one couple in their family, who kept their family together.
Where’s the empathy?
On January 6, 2006, cressada wrote:
Wow, that’s sad. My cousin is now a veggie because she saw this and cried! And now she won’t eat meat.
On January 19, 2006, Kevin wrote:
How sad and disturbing news, it also shows the pervasive ignorance and stupidity of unfortunately too many people who don’t understand the significant role the wolf plays in the sometimes delicate balance of a natural environment.
I’m also extremely disapointed at the apparent ignorance of some of the Park Service officials as well. Perhaps we should investigate the possibility of firing these incompetent Park Service workers. Some of the Park Service officials aren’t performing the job they were hired to do, either out of laziness, ignorance, or incompetence. Either way they have failed to perform their duties that hunting licenses and conservationist classes funds are paying them to do, to protect the appropriate amount of species of which the wolf is one, within the habitat that they are responsible for. If it were not for the appropriate number of wolves, some of the larger animals that require greater amounts of food, such as the moose, deer, and caribou in some places would damage the forest by overpopulation and destruction of the plants, trees, and natural habitat.
Alot of research has shown that when wolves have been removed from an environment alot of the remaining big game suffer starvation, and disease. The wolf plays an integral part in the check and balance of a thriving ecosystem. To eliminate the wolf in their natural habitat in appropriate numbers is sheer stupidity.
Perhaps we should call for the resignation or elimination of the iresponsible, incompetent Park Service officials who are supposed to be protecting the animals under their watch from illegal poaching, and unfair trapping.
When will we learn? Only when a wolf is injured or diseased is it a threat to humans. When was the last time you heard of a healthy wolf killing a person? A healthy wolf isn’t a threat to people, but our own stupidity will be our own downfall.
Park Rangers are supposed to fulfill their duties to protect the correct number of species within their habitat (those wolf numbers need to be increased as well), and prevent some of the people who fancy calling themselves hunters from doing stupid things. If the Park Service officials can not, or will not perform their duties, prosecute poachers, and enforce the regulations, they deserve to be replaced.
On February 1, 2006, Ashley Hales wrote:
I have read this article, and let me tell you,IT SICKENS ME.I mean,really.For the love of woves,people,YOU ARE MORE LIKELY TO BE HIT BY A METEOR THAN ATTACKED BY A WOLF!!!They are slaughtered,MURDERED 900 at a time!!!!Wolves are a very important part of our ecosystem.Did you know that the Lakota Indians called wolves shunk-manitu tanka?It means ”animal that looks like a dog but is a powerful spirit.”THAT NAME IS ABSOLUTELY RIGHT!(I have Indian blood,I should know.)When you look into the eyes of a wolf,you see your soul,you know.The blood of wolves should no longer stain the snow.OK,WIERDO HUNTERS?
On February 6, 2006, Ashley Bulger wrote:
I really am sickened by the killing of wolves,and I hate the ways of the hunters that do it.Most of my characters that I draw are wolves,also.Wolves should not be faered and killed,but respected.
On November 9, 2006, chandelle perkins wrote:
why are people killing wolves and dingos — they mean us no harm
On May 22, 2007, sharon sheffer-smith no.ca. wrote:
I, like so many others, am sickened and brokenhearted over the killings of wolves in all the states that are involved in the corrupt killings of innocent wolves and their families. Humans have used them for research and study for decades, just to turn around and participate in the brutal murders of what they call sport or for tourism. Man has caused an imbalance in the animal kingdom through his own greediness and selfishness and hurridness…if only man would slow down long enough to look ahead to separate his neediness from his greediness perhaps then balance in this world we were all meant to share, would come back into existence.And if a law were stricktly enforced to punish all those who exercise their greediness rather than their neediness, perhaps then balance would come back into play in the circle of life where we can once again live together in co-existence.