The Gray Wolf by Ernest Thompson Seton, 1892 for Forest and Stream magazine
This is one in an ongoing series of nature essays from Lives of Game Animals (1925-1928) by Ernest Thompson Seton. Seton’s analysis of Gray Wolf behavior was groundbreaking at the time. Since he devoted a large section of his Lives to Wolves, I am presenting his work over several blog postings. Seton had great interest in researching and estimating species numbers of pre-European times. Equally interesting are the population numbers and dynamics of contemporary wolves such as the packs of Yellowstone National Park.
Haunts/Vol I pg. 257
“As one views and considers the vast continental range of the Gray-wolf, one realizes that it is equally at home in the semi-tropics of lowland Texas and on the rugged islands of the Polar Sea. It is found everywhere within the territory marked—open plains, dense forests, rolling uplands, or matted cane- brakes-competent and triumphant, except in the water, on the thirsty, burning desert of the Southwest, and among the wind-swept peaks of Goatland.”
Ancient Numbers/pg. 258
“The map shows that in primitive times the Wolf ranged over about 7,000,000 square miles, the widest range in North America of any large land mammal. All of Canada and Alaska and all of the United States, except California and Nevada, were well supplied with Wolves; but not in equal distribution. Wolves were certainly most numerous in the region where their food most abounded, that is, the Buffalo Plains of the West, the Deer-teeming forests of the Mississippi Valley, and the middle states of the Atlantic seaboard—the central and temperate regions of the range, its great heart.
The ordinary Wolf litter, as will be seen later, is 7 or 8. The natural enemies that prey on the cubs are eagles, parasites, disease, and last and chiefest, winter famine, which starves all and drives the stronger to devour the weaker, especially in the northlands of deep snow. The average number to leave the den with the mother is probably 5. The winter bands which have been noticed are usually mother, father, and 3 or 4 young. In the late winter, when the parents leave them, it is doubtful whether there is usually more than one cub surviving of the brood; and against these the warfare of man is most effective. But the young do not breed until their second year; this reduces the percentage of increase by nearly one half. Yet it seems that, given food enough for the winter, the Wolves can add 20 per cent. to their number every year, and will do so unless in some way destroyed. Therefore, in regions of abundant food, such as the Cattle country, I argue that the Wolves can stand an annual drain of 20 per cent. by man; and 30 or more per cent. will make a steady diminution — which figures I use in calculating the Wolf population.”
When Audubon went on his voyage up the Missouri in 1843, he found White Wolves ‘extremely abundant. Some days while ascending the river, we saw from 12 to 25 Wolves.’
South Manitoba was part of this well-populated region, for it also was Buffalo country. In the early days when the Buffalo swarmed on the Red and Assiniboine rivers, there were hundreds, possibly thousands, of Gray-wolves in Manitoba.”
Ancient Numbers Continued/pg. 261
“Vernon Bailey’s investigations showed that in the Cattle ranges of the Wind River country, Wyoming, where Wolves were fairly numerous, he found 20 breeding dens in use within a space of 100 miles square; that is, 20 families of 10 Wolves each. But this was in poor Wolf country; half of it was mountains. Also it was evident that he found only about half of the Wolf dens, which, with the troops of bachelor Wolves, easily trebled the estimated population of that region, making 600 a safe estimate, at which rat , Wyoming might have had 6,000 Wolves in 1907, and over treble as many in the Buffalo days, or 20,000. Wyoming’s extent and conditions are repeated about 30 times on the central Wolf range. This would argue 600,000 Wolves, and at least as many more in the outlying regions, which is 3 times as great, and would give not less than a round 1,000,000 as a fair estimate of the Big Wolves in primitive days. We have already seen reason to believe that in Pennsylvania, the Wolves went as high as one to every square mile. Pennsylvania has 45,000 square miles. The entire Wolf range, as we have seen, is 7,000,000 square miles, therefore 2,000,000 Wolves is a conservative estimate of the original numbers.”