Minnesota wolves killed off the only adult male in a rival pack and there have been unexpected consequences.
The breeding male belonged to the Lightfoot Pack that lives within the Voyageurs National Park in Minnesota and was identified as Wolf V071 by the Voyageurs Wolf Project—a research group that studies wolves in the Voyageurs National Park.
The wolf was killed by the rival pack of wolves in January 2022, on the edge of his territory.
Before he died, this breeding male and his mate had many pups between 2017 and 2022. In 2021, one litter of five even survived until the following winter—this is incredibly rare, as several wolf pups usually die before then.
His death left the Lightfoot Pack in a bad situation. The death of the male left the pack with only the breeding females and 9 month old pups, the project said on a Facebook post. As a result, the pack did not produce any pups over the last year.
The project, which researches the wolves with camera traps set up around the Voyageurs ecosystem, believed the death of V071 would mean the Lightfoot Pack would be forced to disperse. They were expecting that another wolf pack would take control of their territory, which happens pretty frequently among the species.
But it turns out that despite the death of V071, the pack is going strong. The research project recorded three yearlings from the pack, two of which remain in the territory.
Thomas Gable, leader of the Voyageurs Wolf Project, told Newsweek: "Neighboring wolves killed V071 to remove a competitor for resources (e.g., prey) and territory. Wolves killing each other is not an uncommon cause of death for wolves, especially for those living in areas where people aren't a common cause of death."
The timing of the kill indicates this to researchers. It occurred in the middle of the wolves' breeding season, the Voyageurs Wolf Project said on Facebook.
The Voyageurs Wolf Project studies around 16 wolf packs in the area. Based on the location of where the breeding male was killed, they believe the Half-Moon Pack, which lives in a territory right next to the Lightfoot pack, killed him. But this is not certain.
It remains to be seen whether the pack will be able to find another breeding male in the next year.
"We suspect the Lightfoot Pack will produce a litter of pups this year but that means the pack needs a breeding male...we will see what happens!" the project said on Facebook.
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