Eastern Wolf: a two-minute wildlife lesson

Wild Hunters · day 2 of 7

Five facts

1. Wolves that eat berries: in Voyageurs National Park, USA, eastern wolf packs spend much of July and August gathering ripe blueberries.
2. Eastern wolves go mostly after deer and beavers. Gray wolves, by contrast, can take on much bigger prey such as moose and bison.
3. Young eastern wolves can set off on their own from 15 weeks old, much sooner than young gray wolves.
4. In 1963, people found that eastern wolves reply when humans copy their howl. Algonquin Park in Canada then led crowds out at night to howl with them.
5. In Algonquin stories, the wolf is the spirit brother of the hero Nanabozho and helps him rebuild the world after a great flood.

The quiz

1. What do eastern wolf packs in Voyageurs National Park eat in July and August?

• Mushrooms
• Blueberries (correct)
• Pine nuts
• Water lilies

In summer, packs there spend weeks picking ripe blueberries.

2. Which animals does the eastern wolf mainly hunt?

• Bison and caribou
• Salmon and trout
• Deer and beavers (correct)
• Seals and seabirds

It mainly targets small to medium prey such as white-tailed deer and beavers.

3. From what age can young eastern wolves leave to live on their own?

• 15 weeks (correct)
• 3 days
• 4 years
• 10 years

They can leave at 15 weeks old, far sooner than young gray wolves do.

4. What do eastern wolves do when a person imitates their howl?

• They run far away
• They dig a hole and hide
• They bark like dogs
• They howl back (correct)

Since 1963 people have known that eastern wolves answer human imitations of their howls.

5. In Algonquin stories, who is the wolf's spirit brother?

• The moon
• The hero Nanabozho (correct)
• The great bear
• The thunderbird

The wolf is Nanabozho's spirit brother and helps him remake the world after a flood.

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