What to do during a wolf encounter

BOISE, Idaho — Thousands of vacationers in the West will likely see a wolf in the wild for the first time this summer, often from the road but sometimes while camping or hiking.

The federal government and state agencies that manage wolves have concise rules on what is legal in these encounters, and experts who study wolf behavior offer advice on how to handle what is likely to be an unforgettable experience.

"Wolves don't turn and run away immediately like we're used to with other animals," said Carolyn Sime, gray wolf program coordinator with the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Department. "The other thing that kind of makes it unnerving is the intensity of their eyes. It's partly the color, and partly the intensity of the way they're looking at you."

Wolves nearly always blink first, experts say, but yelling will drive off a wolf, as will pepper spray.

About 1,000 wolves in 140 packs live in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming, steadily increasing since being reintroduced in Yellowstone National Park and central Idaho in 1995 and 1996.

"Even though they're fairly rare in nature, wolves are relatively visible compared to a lot of animals," said Ed Bangs, wolf recovery coordinator with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. "There are never many of them because these are big, large carnivores. But they seem abundant because they travel the same areas people do."

Bangs said one study found that more than 100,000 people see a wolf in Yellowstone National Park each year. For comparison, few people ever see one of the 31,000 cougars that inhabit the western United States.

Gray wolves have also been reintroduced along the Arizona-New Mexico border, beginning in 1998, but that population had fewer than 50 individuals at the end of 2005.

About 3,000 gray wolves inhabit northern Minnesota, and another 500 in Michigan and 500 in Wisconsin.

Male wolves average about 100 pounds and females slightly less. They often travel on roads, trails, creek bottoms and ridge tops. When resting, wolves like the same types of areas that draw humans.

"Because meadows are attractive to campers, you're likely to run into wolf activity," said Steve Nadeau, statewide large carnivore coordinator with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game. "Particularly if the meadow has game nearby — elk and deer."

Wolf experts say that centuries of mythology taints present day wolf-human meetings, and that wolves tend to avoid humans.