The Usefulness of GPS Telemetry to Study Wolf Circadian and Social Activity

We conducted this study at Camp Ripley, a 21,400-ha National Guard Training Site in Little Falls, Minnesota (46 N, 95 W) at the southern edge of wolf range within the state. The terrain was generally flat, and the major cover was northern hardwood forest (primarily oak [Quercus spp.], aspen [Populus spp.], and birch [Betula papyrifera], mixed with some conifers) interspersed with large open areas (grasslands, wetlands, and military firing ranges). Camp Ripley, located in the prairie forest transition zone of central Minnesota, was surrounded on the east and south by agricultural lands and on the north and west by forest interspersed with agricultural development. Densities of white tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) were about 10/km² (G. DelGiudice, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, unpublished data), and deer were the main prey of the wolves, which have occupied the area since about 1994 (Merrill 1996).