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Caroline Callaghan's Research on wolves of the Central Rockies, a project shared with carnivore expert Dr. Paul Paquet.
In 2002 wolf researcher Carolyn Callaghan published her PhD thesis “The Ecology of Grey Wolf (Canis lupus) Habitat Use, Survival, and Persistence in the Central Rocky Mountains, Canada”. Her work revealed the severe limitations the Central Rocky Mountain Parks pose upon wolves. Callaghan was also involved in the Central Rockies Wolf Project, as was renowned large carnivore biologist Paul Paquet.
”If the minimum area required to maintain a protected population exceeds the size of the protected area, then a provision to expand the
protected area is prudent”, argued Landry et al. 2001 (18).
In her thesis, Callaghan reasoned;
”Alternatively, inter-jurisdictional human-use management, whereby human-caused mortality of wolves adjacent to protected reserves is
reduced or eliminated, may achieve results similar to expanding the existing protected areas” (4).
Wolf researcher Carolyn Callaghan’s Central Rockies Wolf Study took place between 1987 - 2001 and covered approximately 18,670 km2 of land, where 42 wolves from 12 different packs were radio-collared (4). 11,130 km2 of land within the study area was protected, including Banff National Park, Kootenay National Park, Yoho National Park, Peter Lougheed Provincial Park, Bow Valley Provincial Park, Spray Lake Provincial Park, and the Canmore Nordic Centre.
77% of wolves collared occupied territories both inside and outside of protected areas (4).
Data from 4 Parks showed wolf preference for lower elevations and high quality prey habitat; therefore the amount of wolf habitat available is far less than the total landscape area. Mountainous habitat can impose limits to the natural resiliency of wolf populations because dispersal is compromised. Dispersal options are also limited through habitat fragmentation in and surrounding the parks.
Through her research, Callaghan identified that in her study area,
“Protected areas within the region are too small to maintain population persistence without relying on immigrants from outside of
protected reserves”.
She goes on to state
“a co-ordinated approach to regional wolf management is recommended in order to ensure wolf population persistence” (4).
Development has not stopped within these National Parks: highway construction is ongoing as the Trans-Canada is being twinned; commercial development continues within; beyond boundaries urbanization and resource extraction loom ever nearer. If wildlife responds to human disturbance by avoiding areas, it is the same effect as habitat loss or degredation (4).
The following information has been taken directly from Carolyn Callaghan’s’ PhD thesis and Central Rockies Wolf Study:
Wolf mortalities from the Central Rockies Wolf Study were mostly human-caused.
In a truncated data set,
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Human-caused deaths = 75% total
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67% of these outside reserves
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Out of 12 wolf packs that were studied, only 1 pack stayed within a completely protected area
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10 out of 12 packs occupied protected areas, but 11 packs lost members to humans beyond park boundaries
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even INSIDEthe protected parks, 5 out of 6 packs who had territories in parks lost members to auto or train collisions
Researcher Carolyn Callaghan stated: “Conflicts between wolves and humans along reserve edges reduces wolf survival and contributes to the reliance on immigrants from outside Parks to maintain viable populations inside them,” (4).
1987-2000 Central Rockies Project Wolf Mortalities (out of 23 radio collared wolves)
Highway = 3
Hunting = 11
Trapping = 1
Railway = 3
Natural = 5
Human-caused accident = 1
Unknown = 1
Nanook, shown above, was a breeding male of the Bow Valley Pack in Banff National Park. His entire family was lost to hunting, trapping, and transportation route pressures. A new pack has sinced moved in to claim this vacant territory and the Bow Valley Pack was forced to rebuild itself once again.
