Read the full article here: https://www.brainerddispatch.com/sports ... -not-mooseVoyageurs Park wolves eating beaver and blueberries, but not moose
By John Myers, Dec. 5, 2018
BRAINERD DISPATCH
VOYAGEURS NATIONAL PARK -- When they aren’t identifying record large trees in the forest, Thomas Gable and Austin Homkes’ day job is wolf research, trying to untangle the complex, mostly unknown relationship between wolves and beaver in Voyageurs National Park.
They live-trap wolves and place GPS collars on them in the early spring and then follow the packs around from April to October, checking out exactly what wolves eat.
Researchers have known for decades that wolves eat beaver, but not how much. What Gable and Homkes found is that some wolves are getting nearly half their summer meals from beaver.
Wolves' dinners in Voyageurs NP composed of beavers, blueberries
- Koa
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Wolves' dinners in Voyageurs NP composed of beavers, blueberries
Re: Wolves' dinners in Voyageurs NP composed of beavers, blueberries
I'm gonna read this article. I like building my knowledge on real wolves. I knew wolves couldn't just go about hunting moose so often!
- Koa
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Re: Wolves' dinners in Voyageurs NP composed of beavers, blueberries
Beavers are easier to take than moose, so it makes sense. Considering wolves already have a low rate of success when hunting, beavers sound more manageable as a reliable source of prey.
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Re: Wolves' dinners in Voyageurs NP composed of beavers, blueberries
This article is very interesting! I decided to read a little more on this topic on other articles and found that they also frequently hunt fish and also keep the moose population stable!
prey:
hare
beaver
mule deer
elk
moose
competitors:
raven
eagle
fox
coyote
wolf
cougar
bear
hare
beaver
mule deer
elk
moose
competitors:
raven
eagle
fox
coyote
wolf
cougar
bear
- DinoDogDude209
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Re: Wolves' dinners in Voyageurs NP composed of beavers, blueberries
That's very interesting! Beavers aren't exactly something I'd expect wolves to eat a lot of. Thanks for sharing this article Koa!