Danger from wolves in the park?

[skunkape]

Hello!

This is my first post, btw, and I'm glad I ran into this wonderful site!

Anyway, I was wondering if the wolves in the park pose any risk to hikers? I'll probably be hiking solo and would like to backpack the length of the Island, which I assume isn't going to be heavily traveled. I've done a lot of solo hiking and have encountered bears, so I kind of know what to expect, but have never been in wolf territory.

Thanks,
Peter

[jerry]

I had my first face to face hiking experience in late June on the Indian Portage Trail (Isle Royale) with a wolf. It turned around and ran back over a hiker's bridge, up a hill and went into the woods. I didn't have enough time to take a picture. I didn't feel threaten by this animal. I was solo hiking. They have run through the Hatchett Lake campgrounds at late night hours twice when I was there. In '06 a pack ran through the Siskiwit Bay campground just before dark when I was there. That group was the most curious per the wolf researcher (Mr. Peterson). For the most part I don't think they want to be near us humans. Another person on this forum has had numerous experiences. Hopefully, he'll respond to your questions.

[egraetze]

The count is now down to 15, which is near an all time low. The ranger reported that there were only 6 sightings this year, but I am sure not all sightings were reported. We spoke to 2 women who saw a wolf while there last week, and they said it just turned and ran. I doubt you will hear or see a wolf, and believe there have never been any instance of a dangerous conflict with one there. The park does its' best to discourage wolfs from being around campsites. A ranger who gave a program on the Ranger III on the trip back to Houghton this past Saturday described a wolf who became accustomed to coming around an apple tree which was by a campground. The park pulled all apples off and threw them out to prevent the wolf from hanging around.

Eric

[jerry]

I believe the apple tree was one that is at Daisy Farm, not far from the last shelters going up to the fire tower (Mt. Ojibway).

[johnhens]

Any wild animal has the potential to be dangerous. I don't recall any hiker on IR having been in a situation where a wolf was acting in a threatening manner. I have backapcked in the past often solo on IR and would not have done so if I thought the wolves were a real threat. If you go back through the forums, most wolf encounters were similar to jerry's in that the sighting of a wolf happened, such that getting a picture was not possible. You are still lucky to get a glimpse of a wolf, usually the behind as it moves away.

Look at Yellowstone NP. I would guess they have far more people in the backcountry than IR and I don't recall any incidents with wolves there. Grizzlies, that is another story.

Practice clean camping and you should be fine.

[Midwest Ed]

Here is a link to a 3 year old discussion that relates to wolf concerns:

http://isleroyaleforums.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=356

I remember a recent Rolf Peterson quote (that I cannot find) that mentioned that 20 to 30 years ago only 1 in 1000 hikers would encounter (or more accurately) catch a glimpse of a wolf. More recently that number is said to be down to 1 in 50 or maybe even 1 in 25.

I've seen speculation that reduced prey populations (both moose and beaver) are contributing to the situation. Even so they are still typically "glimpses" and not "encounters".

I think the important thing for hikers is to keep the encounters to either a neutral or a negative one, but most certainly not a positive one. The worst thing that could happen is for the wolves to receive any positive reenforcement during interactions (e.g. feeding them, leaving food scraps available through negligence, etc). Anything that associates feeding with humans would be a bad thing and would encourage closer interaction.

The loss of fear of humans resulted in "Ransom" the Daisy Farm fox stealing my Mountain House pouch as I turned my head while it was sitting directly in front of me at a picnic table. No one wants to see the day we all recognize the wolves by their given nicknames because they've become so embolden.

Ed