Alaska Wolves Feeding On Marine Mammals

[gbflyer]

This is happening in my backyard. ADFG has spent many thousands of dollars on this continuing study.

On a tiny Southeast Alaska island, wolves are eating sea otters like popcorn

Sea otters might look cute, but they aren’t small or defenseless.

www.ktoo.org

 

[OneSkinnyHunter]

Interesting article

 

[Dos XX]

Like popcorn? Does that mean with salt and butter?

 

[LoggerDan]

I saw this, and I’m not at all surprised

 

[MallardSX2]

Wolves being wolves.

Like they don’t eat anything they can get their teethe in when they are hungry! Lol

Let’s put a bunch of science nerds on the case and waste a bunch of money.

 

[N82002]

That's crazy

 

[FLATHEAD]

Ate ALL the deer on the 20 sq. mile island.

Says they're preying on a weak population of Otters.
Possibility of "contaminants".
Were ALL the deer weak too?
Typical wolf study. gimme a break.

 

[gbflyer]

Ate ALL the deer on the 20 sq. mile island.

Says they're preying on a weak population of Otters.
Possibility of "contaminants".
Were ALL the deer weak too?
Typical wolf study. gimme a break.

I’m not sure about the deer being weak. They were kinda weird. I know they were extremely inbred, perhaps that’s common, I’m no expert. They had no predators other than a few hunters for decades. It was always a difficult hunt unless the snow pushed them to the beach. Tough, brushy country. Calling didn’t work very well there, it works great everywhere else I’ve been anyway.

I do buy the otter bit…maybe not the contaminant part so much. They have, in the 30 years I have been here, decimated the shellfish population. We had excellent crabbing here as an example. Used to see a couple, then rafts of hundreds. Now they are starting to thin out just a little, at least what I am seeing. Originally the bio’s thought the wolves were eating a couple dead otters that washed up. That doesn’t seem to be the case.

I was disappointed that they left out the part that the wolves they are surveying are undersized and malnourished. An adult female they collared in ‘21 was basically the size of a healthy yearling pup. They are pretty sure she is the alpha. My good friend was operating the boat when they were trapping and collaring. Also, the wolves have wised - up to the snares and they haven’t been able to catch one since ‘21. They haven’t tried at all since last winter. It’ll be interesting to see if they stay over there or swim back to the mainland and join with the other packs that eat moose. It isn’t very far at low tide.