At what distance do wolves move away from an approaching human?

Abstract

Management of controversial animals, like large carnivores, in multi-use landscapes is highly dependent on human tolerance. Human fear of wolves (Canis lupus L., 1758) is known to be an important variable affecting human attitudes towards wolves. Successful management of wolves thus forces managers to respond to human fear of wolves. In this study, we assess the distance at which radio-collared wolves move away from an approaching human, also called the flight initiation distance (FID), and how FID is affected by wind speed and wind direction. We used silent VHF receivers and walked at normal pace towards radio-collared wolves. When approaching the wolves, we made no attempt to hide or walk in a less noisy manner. In the 34 experimental provocations, wolves moved away when the approaching human was between 17 and 310 m away. The mean FID was 106 m. FID was negatively correlated with wind speed. One hour after having been roused by the approaching human, wolves had moved a median distance of 1.2 km

Published in

Canadian Journal of Zoology
2007, volume: 85, number: 11, pages: 1193-1197
Publisher: NATL RESEARCH COUNCIL CANADA-N R C RESEARCH PRESS

SLU Authors

• Liberg, Olof

  • Department of Conservation Biology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

• Frank, Jens

  • Department of Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

UKÄ Subject classification

Environmental Sciences and Nature Conservation
Economics and Business
Social Sciences

Publication identifier

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1139/Z07-099

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/17300