National Geographic: White Wolf Page #2

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Wish I knew what it all meant though,

you know, just like a lot of

the sounds they make.

Um, you know that half bark.

There's a half bark that goes.

Yeah, that's perfect. Yeah.

You know I sneezed today and the

wolves all looked up.

And I was reminded that that probably

means to them there's danger coming.

They didn't know if one of the

wolves did it or...

Yeah.

Then they realized it was me.

It's that staccato kind of a sound.

The mid-back, the one

that's really dominant,

came over to the pups

and they all ran up to it,

And they started mobbing

her like they do,

and she was kind of upset

in the process.

And she kind of barked at em.

And it was just a half bark,

but instantly both Mom and Shaggy

ran right up to her with tail

between their legs and their rump

was down and completely submissive.

It was a wonderful display,

but it was all provoked

by that one half bark.

So, you know, I wish we could

understand these things more.

But it's sure intriguing

to watch them all.

There are equally intriguing topics,

such as the behavior of the pups.

As they've grown,

their play has become more boisterous.

The pups play for hours on end.

It gives them exercise,

allows them to develop muscle tone,

and to practice various behavior

patterns that they'll use for the

rest of their lives like running,

pouncing, stalking,

and even submitting to each other.

Competing for food is a very

important part of every wolf's life

even amongst litter mates.

A pup grabs a feather and tries

to hold onto it as long as he can.

This is similar to grabbing a piece

of food and holding it.

In this respect learning tug-of-war

becomes very important.

Today it's a feather,

tomorrow it's a whole bird.

Now six weeks old, the pups have

developed an urge to wander.

Their cautious parents attempt to

control their exuberance.

Pups sometimes roam as far as

half a mile from the den,

but they are easily found

and disciplined.

The young face little danger since

there are no large predators around,

such as the birds of prey that hunt

young wolves elsewhere in the world.

Still, the parents keep

the pups in line,

carefully maintaining the

pecking order or

"dominance hierarchy" of the pack.

Mech is now investigating several

areas of behavior,

including the pups development

and the reasons for

the wolf's notorious howl.

When a pack wakes up

they may begin to howl,

and even the pups attempt to join in.

In the silence of the Arctic,

the sound travels long distances.

To other wolves it means "stay away",

"keep off our turf..."

The pack is fiercely territorial.

Brandenburg noticed that the chorus

often preceded a hunt,

a useful cue for him

to get ready to film.

It seems an unkind trick of nature

that the arctic hares of

Ellesmere keep their white coats

in the summer.

Easy to spot, they are a favorite

and nutritious food for wolves.

Although a hare can weigh eight pounds

a wolf can down two in one day.

The hares must rely on their

agility and speed to escape.

They can run and stand on

their hind legs,

which enables them to

spot danger from a distance.

Unlike their parents,

young hares blend in

with the environment and stay perfectly

still when wolves are nearby.

Among the most impressive beasts of

the high Arctic are the

musk oxen shaggy wanderers that

graze in the wilderness

a great challenge to the wolves.

How far off would you say that is,

Dave?

Oh, I'd guess a mile.

Close to a mile.

That's what I would say.

Well, I see at least five musk oxen.

They must have journeyed up from

the valley below.

I don't know if they're trying to

unnerve the musk oxen...

Those animals can't eat now while

they're all grouped up like that.

I wonder if there's a calf in there?

There must be a calf

in there somewhere.

Yeah, there is a calf,

right in the middle there.

That's why they're so interested.

A standing circle of musk oxen

present a formidable defense.

But it's part of the nature

of wolves to attack and

kill animals larger than themselves.

It's a skill that Mech and

Brandenburg are eager to document.

Yeah, that male, that male wolf

is heading away.

Looks like they've lost interest, huh?

He's going right by them.

Yeah, they're probably going back

to the den.

That's very defensible position

those musk oxen are in.

Maybe if there were more wolves.

This is a usual situation if

they don't make a kill.

The difficulties of filming a hunt

begin to present Brandenburg

with as much of a challenge as the

wolves face in their quest for food.

In the perpetual light of summer,

the Arctic can become

surprisingly warm.

On these July days,

huddling is no longer vital

for the comfort of the pups,

now two months old.

As summer races on,

the heart of Ellesmere's tundra

blossoms briefly.

Long-tailed jaegers raise

their chicks among the

dwarf willow and mosses.

Wolves often pass close to the nest

on the ground but rarely

take advantage of the easy prey.

They jaegers, nevertheless,

are wary of both wolves and people.

The wolves appear

surprisingly indifferent

to these aggressive summer visitors.

They seem unwilling to

compromise their dignity

in battle with the jaegers.

They'll save their energy for

catching a young musk ox.

Both the jaegers and the wolves have

an eye on the human visitors,

who've stopped for lunch.

As we lay there watching the wolves

they'd often come up and check us out.

Of course, it was tempting to give

them a little bit of our lunch

and they welcomed any tidbit

that they could find.

This helped develop a rapport between

them and us that was very

useful to our being able to

observe them close up.

It's a remarkable moment

an encounter between bird,

wolf, and man.

Still, the boldness of the wolves

created some anxiety.

Camping out right in the wolves back

yard created a situation

where I had the feeling at any time

the wolves could have gone

in and really torn the camp apart.

Because if they see something

within their territory

that's like a toy, a plaything

they grab it and run around,

tease each other with it.

And, of course, they seem to have a

little more confidence.

And I think at times they felt

we were intruding

and they could do pretty much

what they wanted.

At times it pays to "speak wolf".

Every day, Jim Brandenburg is

listening as well as watching,

trying to anticipate the moment

when the pack will set off to

track down a musk ox herd.

This particular day they woke up and

predictably after a long sleep,

woke up with lots of excitement.

And I sensed very strongly that

something big was about to happen.

Some days they would leave the den

site and kind of wander

casually and be gone for

a couple hours and come right back.

But this particular day they took off

in a straight line towards the east,

single file, a very quick pace,

the kind of pace that even with the

advantage of machines

it was very difficult to keep up.

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