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|  | Hunting & Mealtime
« Thread Started on Jun 3, 2005, 12:10pm » | |
Wolves detect prey by three primary means:
1.Scent (most common)
2.Tracking
3.Chance encounters
Despite wolves' preference for easier kills, their predation efficiency is surprisingly low. Contrary to popular belief, most prey chased by wolves actually gets away. In one study on Michigan's Isle Royale, only three per cent of the moose that were tested (confronted and evaluated) by wolves ended up being killed and eaten. Another study on the same island found that only eight per cent of the moose approached and tested were killed by the wolves. A similar study, conducted on Banks Island in the Canadian Arctic, found that only fourteen per cent of the wolves' musk ox chases were successful.
Once a weak individual is selected by a pack it is usually brought down after a chase. Usually the chases are short. Though there is knowing of a wolf that chased a deer for a total of 13 miles. In another instance, an observer of a wolf hunt in Alberta's Wood Buffalo National Park saw a wolf pack intermittently attack a bison calf for 11 hours. Actions and reactions of a hunting wolf pack are dependent on many things, including how hungry they are, which prey species they are hunting, and, the reaction of their targeted prey. Prey that runs is usually chased while prey that stands its ground may be able to bluff off its pursuers.
A moose, is one of their largest prey species. Moose best defend themselves by standing their ground and defying the wolves. Wolves often maneuver around their standing prey, sizing it up and trying to detect weaknesses. Meanwhile, moose usually act belligerent and try to intimidate the wolves by charging and striking at them with their hooves. The wolves pictured at right tried for five minutes to attack the moose, failed to get it running, then left to find other moose that they could catch.
Usual stages of a wolf hunt:
1.The stalk
2.The encounter
3.The rush
4.The chase
Unless wolves locate their prey by chance encounter, their manner of approaching the animal is usually the same each time. Direct scenting and tracking both allow the sensing of the prey for long distances. As wolves close the gap between themselves and their prey they become excited but remain restrained. They quicken their paces, wag their tails, and peer ahead intently. They seem anxious to leap forward at full speed but continue to hold themselves in check. This same stalking scenario is true of wolves hunting alone, in a small pack of three, or even a large one comprised of 15 or 16 members. In all cases where the stalk is used, wolves sneak as close to the prey as they can without making it flee. Wolves move directly upwind.
The final stage of the hunt is the chase, which is really a continuation of the rush, in which the prey flees and the wolves follow. If wolves catch up to their quarry, they may attack. If they fall behind, they give up quickly. Although the pursuit sometimes goes on for miles, it usually covers a shorter distance and lasts only a few minutes.
The wolf's diet consists mostly of muscle meat and fatty tissue from various animals. Heart, lung, liver, and other internal organs are eaten. Bones are crushed to get atthe marrow, and bone fragments are eaten as well. Even hair and skin are sometimes consumed. The only part consistently ignored is the stomach and its contents. Although some vegetable matter is taken separately, particularly berries, Canis lupus doesn't seem to digest them very well. Canis rufus, the Red Wolf, commonly consumes a higher proportion of vegetable matter and subsists on smaller game. All wolves eat grass, possibly to scour the digestive tract and remove worms. However, the grass itself is never digested. Wolves may eat up to one-fifth of their body weight at one time. On average however, wolves consume five to ten pounds of meat a day. They wash it down with large quantities of water. The water prevents uremic poisoning from the high production of urea associated with a meat diet.
Wolves' sources of meat include deer, moose, elk, musk oxen, caribou, reindeer, wild goats and sheep, beaver, porcupines, bison (only in Wood Buffalo National Park), rabbits and hares, ducks, grouse, geese, marmots, snakes, mice, voles, and squirrels. Wolves fish too, eating salmon, arctic grayling, and whitefish. Occasionally, they will eat insects or carrion, and they have been known to prey on domestic stock.
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