Abstract
We studied the activity and movements of a male and a female wolf during breeding in the Bieszczady Mountains, Poland. The female was less active and mobile and on average closer to the den than the male. The male was less active and mobile when the pack size was seven compared to a year when the pack consisted only of the breeding pair. We conclude that the roles played by breeding males and females rearing pups influence their activity, and that breeding males in larger packs move less during the nursing period because of help by other pack members.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
References
Asa CS, Mech LD, Seal US, Plotka ED (1990) The influence of social and endocrine factors on urine-marking by captive wolves (Canis lupus). Horm Behav 24:497–509
Ballard WB, Ayres LA, Gardner CL, Foster JW (1991) Den site activity patterns of gray wolves, Canis lupus, in southcentral Alaska. Can Field Nat 105:497–504
Bernal JF, Packard JM (1997) Differences in winter activity, courtship, and social behavior of two captive family groups of Mexican wolves (Canis lupus baileyi). Zoo Biol 16:435–443
Ciucci P, Boitani L, Francisci F, Andreoli G (1997) Home range, activity and movements of a wolf pack in central Italy. J Zool 243:803–819
Eggermann J, Gula R, Pirga B, Theuerkauf J, Tsunoda H, Brzezowska B, Rouys S, Radler S (2008) Daily and seasonal variation in wolf activity in the Bieszczady Mountains, SE Poland. Mammal Biol. doi:10.1016/j.mambio.2008.05.010
Gula R (2008) Wolf depredation on domestic animals in the Polish Carpathian Mountains. J Wildl Manage 72:283–289
Harrington FH, Mech LD (1982) Patterns of homesite attendance in two Minnesota wolf packs. In: Harrington FH, Paquet PC (eds) Wolves of the world. Noyes Publications, Park Ridge, NJ, pp 81–105
Harrington FH, Mech LD, Fritts SH (1983) Pack size and wolf pup survival: their relationship under varying ecological conditions. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 13:19–26
Jędrzejewski W, Schmidt K, Theuerkauf J, Jędrzejewska B, Okarma H (2001) Daily movements and territory use by radio-collared wolves (Canis lupus) in Białowieża Primeval Forest in Poland. Can J Zool 79:1993–2004
Kaartinen S, Kojola I, Colpaert A (2005) Finnish wolves avoid roads and settlements. Ann Zool Fenn 42:523–532
Kusak J, Skrbinsek AM, Hurber D (2005) Home ranges, movements, and activity of wolves (Canis lupus) in the Dalmatian part of Dinarids, Croatia. Eur J Wildl Res 51:254–262
Mech LD (1999) Alpha status, dominance, and division of labor in wolf pack. Can J Zool 77:1196–1203
Mech LD, Boitani L (2003) Wolf social ecology. In: Mech D, Boitani L (eds) Wolves: behavior, ecology and conservation. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, IL, pp 1–34
Mech LD, Harper EK (2002) Differential use of a wolf, Canis lupus, pack territory edge and core. Can Field Nat 116:315–316
Mech LD, Philips MK, Smith DW, Kreeger TJ (1995) Denning behavior of non-gravid wolves. Can Field Nat 110:343–345
Mech LD, Wolf PC, Packard JM (1999) Regurgitative food transfer among wild wolves. Can J Zool 77:1192–1195
Messier F (1985) Solitary living and extraterritorial movements of wolves in relation to social status and prey abundance. Can J Zool 63:239–245
Packard J (2003) Wolf behavior: reproductive, social and intelligent. In: Mech LD, Boitani L (eds) Wolves: behavior, ecology and conservation. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, IL, pp 35–65
Potvin MJ, Peterson RO, Vucetich JA (2004) Wolf homesite attendance patterns. Can J Zool 82:1512–1518
Schmidt K, Jędrzejewski W, Theuerkauf J, Kowalczyk R, Okarma H, Jędrzejewska B (2008) Reproductive behaviour of wild-living wolves in Białowieża Primeval Forest (Poland). J Ethol 26:69–78
Theuerkauf J, Jędrzejewski W (2002) Accuracy of radiotelemetry to estimate wolf activity and locations. J Wildl Manage 66:859–864
Theuerkauf J, Jędrzejewski W, Schmidt K, Okarma H, Ruczyński I, Śnieżko S, Gula R (2003a) Daily patterns and duration of wolf activity in the Białowieża forest, Poland. J Mammal 84:243–253
Theuerkauf J, Jędrzejewski W, Schmidt K, Gula R (2003b) Spatiotemporal segregation of wolves from humans in the Białowieża Forest (Poland). J Wildl Manage 67:706–716
Theuerkauf J, Gula R, Pirga B, Tsunoda H, Eggermann J, Brzezowska B, Rouys S, Radler S (2007) Human impact on wolf activity in the Bieszczady Mountains, SE Poland. Ann Zool Fenn 44:225–231
Vilà C, Urios V, Castroviejo J (1995) Observations on the daily activity patterns in the Iberian wolf. In: Carbyn LN, Fritts SH, Seip DR (eds) Ecology and conservation of wolves in a changing world (occasional publication series no. 35). Canadian Circumpolar Institute, University of Alberta, Alberta, Canada, pp 335–340
Walton LR, Cluff HD, Paquet PC, Ramsay MA (2001) Movement patterns of barren-ground wolves in the central Canadian Arctic. J Mammal 82:867–876
Ziemen E (1982) A wolf pack sociogram. In: Harrington FH, Paquet PC (eds) Wolves of the world. Noyes Publishers, Park Ridge, NJ, pp 282–322
Acknowledgments
This study was part of the Bieszczady Wolf Project and was funded by the Polish National Committee for Scientific Research (KBN 6P04F 006), and the Museum and Institute of Zoology of the Polish Academy of Sciences. Fellowships were provided by the Japan Student Services Organization (to HT), the German Donors’ Association for the Promotion of Sciences and Humanities (to JT), and the German Academic Exchange Service (to JE). We thank N. Maruyama and K. Perzanowski for their cooperation and L. Aubry, M. Barreteau, M. Carruthers, M. Diemert, S. Drevet, M. Januszczak, S. Kiener, K. Lahongre, M. Le Peutrec, K. Mayer, N. Schmidt, M-C. Schultz, M. Skuban and W. Schwimmer for their help during field work, as well as two anonymous reviewers for useful comments.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
About this article
Cite this article
Tsunoda, H., Gula, R., Theuerkauf, J. et al. How does parental role influence the activity and movements of breeding wolves?. J Ethol 27, 185–189 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10164-008-0106-z
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10164-008-0106-z