Wildlife Busts, Statues, and Gifts

The hierarchy, led by the alpha male and female, affects all activity in the pack to some extent. In most larger packs there are two separate hierarchies in addition to an overbearing one: the first consists of the males, led by the alpha male, and the other consists of the females, led by the alpha female. In this situation, the alpha male was originally assumed to be the "top" alpha, but biologists have since concluded that alpha females can and do take control over entire packs. The male and female hierarchies are interdependent and are maintained constantly by aggressive and elaborate displays of dominance and submission.

After the alpha pair, there may also, especially in larger packs, be a beta wolf or wolves, a "second-in-command" to the alphas. Betas typically assume a more prominent role in assisting with the upbringing of the alpha pair's litter, often serving as surrogate mothers or fathers while the alpha pair is away. Beta wolves are the most likely to challenge their superiors for the role of the alpha, though some betas seem content with being second, and will sometimes even let lower ranking wolves leapfrog them for the position of alpha should circumstances necessitate such a happening, such as the death of the alpha. More ambitious beta wolves, however, will only wait so long before contending for alpha position unless they choose to disperse and create their own pack instead(Wikipedia.org).

When Lewis and Clark explored the West in the early 1800s, an estimated 50,000 grizzly bears roamed between the Pacific Ocean and the Great Plains, across vast stretches of open and unpopulated land. But when pioneers moved in, bears were persecuted and their numbers and range drastically declined. As European settlement expanded over the next hundred years, towns and cities sprung up, and habitat for these large omnivores--along with their numbers--shrunk drastically. Today, with the western United States inhabited by millions of Americans, only a few small corners of grizzly country remain, supporting about 1,200 - 1,400 wild grizzly bears. Of 37 grizzly populations present in 1922, 31 were extirpated by 1975.

In 1975, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed the grizzly bear as a threatened species in the Lower 48 States under the Endangered Species Act, placing the species under federal protection.

The mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) is a deer whose habitat is in the western half of North America. It gets its name from its large mule-like ears. Its closest relative is the black-tailed deer (considered a subspecies of mule deer). Unlike its cousin, the white-tailed deer, mule deer are generally more associated with the land west of the Missouri River. The most noticeable differences between whitetails and muleys are the color of their tails and antlers. The mule deer's tail is black tipped. Mule deer antlers "fork" as they grow rather than branching from a single main beam (as with white-tails). Each year a buck's antlers start to grow in spring and are shed after mating season from mid-January to mid-April. Mule deer bucks have somewhat more prominent ears than females.
Whitetails communicate in many different ways including sounds, scent, and marking. All whitetail deer are capable of producing audible noises, unique to each animal. Fawns release a high pitched squeal, known as a bleat, to call out to their mothers. Does also bleat, as well as grunt. Grunting produces a low, guttural sound that will attract the attention of any other deer in the area. Both does and bucks snort, a sound that often signals danger. As well as snorting, bucks also grunt at a pitch thats gets lower with maturity. Bucks are unique, however, in their grunt-snort-wheeze pattern that often shows aggression and hostility.

Deer Hunting Tip from Whitetails.com: Always carry more than one call. If the grunt call isn't working try using a softer or deeper tone than you have been using or switch to a fawn bleat. It also doesn't hurt to have the rattling antlers ready. No one sound will attract all deer. So find a call that the buck you're after will respond to. It's important to understand exactly why deer choose to travel through funnel areas. To begin with, a funnel is usually the easiest or most convenient path for deer to follow as they move from point A to point B. This does not always mean that it is the fastest or most direct route, though. For example, if a deer wants to travel from its bedding area on one side of a ridge to a food plot on the other side, it probably won't walk straight up and over the ridge, even though that would be the quickest and straightest route. Instead, the deer most likely will find the easiest path, while also being careful not to compromise its safety. In most cases, this means skirting around the peak and traveling through a saddle or bench on its way to the other side.

* The antelope is the fastest land mammal in the world, with sprinting capabilities as fast as 60 mph and sustained speeds of 30 mph for miles! Although the African Cheetah is often credited with being the fastest, it is only a sprinter with endurance of a few hundred yards. No other land mammal can keep up with the pronghorn antelope over a long distance.

* The eyes of an antelope are nothing short of exceptional. They can pick up movement as far as three miles away. The eyes are located far back on the head so they can keep watch even while the head is down during feeding. Since the prairie offers little cover in which to hide, it needs to be able to outrun any predators that manage to sneak within striking range.

* Pronghorn antelope will flare out the white hairs on their rumps when alarmed, serving as warning to the other members of the herd.

* Antelope are not jumpers. When it encounters a fence an antelope will usually crawl under it! They seldom jump over one.

* The horn sheath of the antelope is shed annually. It is neither solely an antler nor horn, but part both.

* About 40% of the females have horns, but they don't get any longer than their ears and never fork(runwyoming.com).

The word "moose" comes from the Algonquin Indians. These were native people who lived throughout the northern regions of Canada. The Algonquins called this strange looking creature mooswa. It means "twig-eater" or "the animal that strips bark off of trees." Early explorers heard this work and through the years, it eventually changed into "moose."

For the Algonquins, the moose was an important animal. It supplied them with food and other things for their survival. Moose meat was a source of nourishment during the long winters. The hide was used to make clothing and provide shelter. And moose bones and antlers were shaped into useful tools.

The moose is the world's largest deer. The moose can run 35 miles per hour and can easily swim 10 miles. # Moose eat willow, birch and aspen twigs, horsetail, sedges, roots, pond weeds and grasses. Moose eat leaves, twigs, buds and the bark of some woody plants, as well as lichens, aquatic plants and some of the taller herbaceous land plants. Can actually feed under water.

Moose are found in northern forests in North America, Europe, and Russia. In Europe and Asia, moose are called elk.

Hooves are the first line of defense!(moosefoundation.org)

Bison, commonly referred to as the American Plains Buffalo, once roamed the entire North American Continent with their numbers estimated at over 60 million. Bison were an integral part of the ecosystem for centuries, thriving on wild and drought resistant western grasses, native shrubs, flowers and other plants. Bison were the economic and spiritual focal point of the Plains Indians, supplying them with food, clothing and shelter(ebabison.org).

They are strong, hardy beasts who suffer few diseases in the wild. The brucellosis attributed to bison herds today is really a cattle disease which was transmitted to bison in some areas. The Bison Range herd is vaccinated against this and other cattle diseases, and is certified brucellosis-free.

Bison are unpredictable and can be very dangerous. They appear slow and docile but really are quite agile and can run as fast as a horse; so don't try to out run one. A bison's tail is often a handy warning flag. When it hangs down and is switching naturally, the animal usually is unperturbed. If it extends out straight and droops at the end he/she is becoming mildly agitated. If the tail is sticking straight up, they are ready to charge and you should be somewhere else....but do not run.

Bison bulls weigh about 2,000 lbs and have heavy horns and a large hump of muscle which supports their enormous head and thick skull. They have a thick mass of fur on their heads and a heavy cape of fur even in summer. This enhances their size and protects them when fighting. They are especially ill-tempered and roar and battle during the breeding season from mid-July through August(fws.gov).

All pack members seem to like playing with and caring for pups. The adults play with each other, too. Adults and pups play by chasing, jumping over each other, ambushing and wrestling with jaws or forelimbs. Other play behaviors include muzzling, tail wagging, paw raising and licking faces---and running! Though their usual walking speed is about 5 miles per hour, a wolf can run 35 to 40 m.p.h. (this is their "sprint" speed, not their distance speed). (The average distance a wolf travels in a day is 10 to 15 miles, but sometimes they will travel 50 miles in a day.)

...So, the pup becomes a young wolf, losing his baby teeth (at 4 to 6 mos) and finally getting his 42 adult teeth (see chart below for wolf dentition), and quickly enough becoming a yearling; but only about 25% of pups born in the wild make it through their first year, the rest dying because of lack of food, disease (mange, parvovirus among others), accident or attack by bears or humans. If a wolf survives to yearling status and becomes a full adult, her/his weight can be anywhere from 80 to 100 pounds average for female and male respectively (males are roughly 20% larger than females. They can get up to 175 pounds in weight). They grow to be about 6 or 6 1/2 feet long from the very tip of the tail to the tip of their nose, and are about 2 1/2 feet tall at their shoulder. They become sexually mature at 22 months.

In the wild, wolves generally live to around 8 years of age but can live to the ripe old age of 13 or so. (In captivity, wolves live as long as domestic dogs).

Alaskan hunters shoot about 22,000 caribou each year for food. A few thousand other hunters, primarily from the lower 48 states, Europe, and Mexico, travel to Alaska to experience caribou hunting each fall. These hunters contribute significantly to the economy of the state, particularly in rural areas. Meat from caribou taken by these nonresident hunters is also required to be used for food. Alaska's great caribou herds have also become increasingly treasured as a natural wonder of state, national, and international importance.

Population dynamics: There are approximately 950,000 wild caribou in Alaska (including some herds that are shared by Alaska and Canada's Yukon Territory). Caribou are somewhat cyclic in number, but the timing of declines and increases, and the size to which herds grow is not very predictable. Although over hunting caused some herds to remain low in the past, today, varying weather patterns (climate), overpopulation, predation by wolves and grizzly bears, and disease outbreaks determine whether most herds increase or decrease(alaskan-adventures.com).