Nebraskaland

48 Nebraskaland • April 2023 may leave the area where they were born when they are 1–2 years old. They can walk hundreds of miles looking for new territories and mates. A recent example of this ability to roam was a wolf collared by Michigan Department of Natural Resources that walked more than 4,000 miles across Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota and then into Canada. Mountain lions are the other native large predator that dispersed back into Nebraska over the past few decades. But differences in distances to their source populations make a similar comeback story for wolves much more difficult. Despite a similar ability for young animals of both species to disperse, wolves have a much longer path to find their way here. The population of mountain lions in the Black Hills of South Dakota is only about 30 miles from the Pine Ridge in Nebraska — where the first lion population formed. Wolves that disperse toward Nebraska from Wyoming would have to walk about 250 miles to reach our northwest corner, while wolves from the Great Lakes region would need to walk nearly 300 miles to reach the northeast corner. Either way, wolves have proven that they are very capable of covering this distance, but it is a still a rare occurrence. Modern Confirmations in Nebraska The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission has documented wild wolf presence in Nebraska on five occasions in modern times. This is not unique to Nebraska as all our neighboring states have also confirmed the presence of dispersing wolves. The five that made it to Nebraska were not collared or ear-tagged so determining their origin required genetic testing. Results of those tests show the Great Lakes population has been the source for all five. That Great Lakes population is larger than the population in the northern Rockies and they are similar distances from Nebraska, so this result is not surprising. All five confirmations were made through wolves that had been killed. Nebraska Game and Parks Commission was able to obtain genetic samples from these animals to confirm their origin and determine that they were wild and not wolf/dog hybrid pets. The first modern confirmation was a male wolf shot along the Boone County and Greeley County line in 2002. Then four more confirmations were made between 2020 and 2022: 1) a male in Rock County in November 2020, 2) a female in Dodge County in January 2021, 3) a male in Butler County in November 2021, and 4) a female in Custer County in January 2022. Despite these confirmations and possibly additional animals that have been to, or through, Nebraska but were not confirmed, there is no evidence of resident wolves or reproduction in Nebraska. While the exact paths these animals walked is a mystery, it is remarkable when you imagine the journey they may have taken. Likely beginning in the north woods of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, or Canada (Great Lakes region) where their genetics suggest they were born. At some point they walked away from the pack that raised them. Heading south and west until forests gave way to pastures and corn fields in areas where there were no more wolves to encounter. Eventually Location and year of wolf confi rmations from 2002 – Present. Male wolves are shown in blue, females in red. TIM REIGERT, NEBRASKALAND

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