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Encounter frequencies between GPS-collared wolves (Canis lupus) and moose (Alces alces) in a Scandinavian wolf territory

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Ecological Research

Abstract

Over 6,000 GPS fixes from two wolves (Canis lupus) and 30,000 GPS fixes from five moose (Alces alces) in a wolf territory in southern Scandinavia were used to assess the static and dynamic interactions between predator and prey individuals. Our results showed that wolves were closer to some of the moose when inside their home ranges than expected if they had moved independently of each other, and we also found a higher number of close encounters (<500 m) than expected. This suggests that the wolves were actively seeking the individual moose within their territory. Furthermore, the wolves showed a preference for moving on gravel forest roads, which may be used as convenient travel routes when patrolling the territory and seeking areas where the moose are. However, due to the particularly large size of the wolf territory combined with relatively high moose densities, the wolves generally spent a very small proportion of their time inside the home range of each individual moose, and the frequency of encounters between the wolves and any particular moose was very low. We suggest that the high moose:wolf ratio in this large Scandinavian wolf territory compared to that typically occurring in North America, results in a relatively low encounter frequency and a low predation risk for individual moose, as the predation pressure is spread over a high number of prey individuals.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to M. Dötterer, F. Holen, E. Mømb, E. Nystedt, E. Strætkvern, and T. H. Strømseth for assistance in fieldwork, and to two anonymous referees for useful comments on the manuscript. This study was supported by the Norwegian Directorate for Nature Management, the Norwegian Research Council, the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, Hedmark University College, the County Governor of Hedmark, the Stor-Elvdal municipality, the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, the Association for Hunting and Wildlife Management (Sweden), the World Wildlife Fund for Nature (Sweden), and the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. All captures, handling, and collaring of animals were made with permission from the national management authority, the Directorate for Nature Management, and evaluated and approved by the Norwegian Agency of Animal Welfare (Application: 3/2002, 1/2004, Forsøksdyrutvalget, Ministry of Agriculture, Oslo, Norway).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis (CEES), Department of Biology, University of Oslo, PO Box 1066, Blindern, 0316, Oslo, Norway

    Ane Eriksen, Hege Gundersen & Jos M. Milner

  2. Department of Forestry and Wildlife Management, Hedmark University College, 2480, Koppang, Norway

    Petter Wabakken, Barbara Zimmermann, Harry P. Andreassen, Jon M. Arnemo, Jos M. Milner & Torstein Storaas

  3. Grimsö Wildlife Research Station, Department of Conservation Biology, Swedish University of Agricultural Science, 73091, Ridderhyttan, Sweden

    Olof Liberg & Håkan Sand

  4. Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, Tungasletta 2, 7485, Trondheim, Norway

    John Linnell, Hans C. Pedersen & Erling J. Solberg

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  1. Ane Eriksen
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  2. Petter Wabakken
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  3. Barbara Zimmermann
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Correspondence to Ane Eriksen.

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Eriksen, A., Wabakken, P., Zimmermann, B. et al. Encounter frequencies between GPS-collared wolves (Canis lupus) and moose (Alces alces) in a Scandinavian wolf territory. Ecol Res 24, 547–557 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11284-008-0525-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11284-008-0525-x

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