Among Wolves: Gordon Haber's Insights into Alaska's Most Misunderstood Animal Read online

  Praise for Among Wolves

  “This book, compiling Gordon Haber's lifetime dedication to studying and protecting wolves, is an immensely important addition to the literature. He knew each one as an individual, observed the disruption of social bonds every time a pack member was killed. Gordon was a hero, and I am sure the wolves howled when his plane crashed—animals know.”

  —Jane Goodall, PhD, DBE; founder of the Jane Goodall Institute; UN Messenger of Peace

  “Among Wolves is a bargain price for a ticket on an incredible-boots-on-the-ground and camera-in-the-cockpit science journey over thousands of miles with the late Dr. Gordon Haber. From his daily diary and remarkable pictures of years of hard-nosed research in and around Denali National Park, you will learn about and see into the lives'—and deaths—of America's most iconic and misunderstood wildlife: the wolf and its family. Your heart will reach out to the stories of bonding between mates and families as they raise pups and travel in groups to hunt and survive in a brutal landscape and environment. You will laugh at the teasing ravens after your heart goes up in your throat reading about and seeing the encounters of competing for food with brown bears. And your heart will be saddened by the human encounters where, tragically, too often those entrusted by the public with ethical and scientific management have failed. Author Marybeth Holleman, an Alaskan who knows the country, will take you on a white knuckle trip that will thrill you, sometimes make you angry and would have made Gordon Haber proud. This book is a powerful, moving, and fascinating read. An education and wildlife adventure all in one. Enjoy the ride.”

  —Tony Knowles, governor of Alaska 1994–2002

  “Among Wolves is an important contribution to wolf literature and a fitting tribute to Gordon Haber. Artfully framed by Marybeth Holleman, Among Wolves captures the passion, brilliance, and clarity that was Haber. But most important of all, this compelling, accessible volume showcases Gordon Haber's life's work among the wolves of Denali National Park.”

  —Nick Jans, author of The Glacier Wolf and A Wolf Called Romeo

  “This fascinating compilation of iconoclastic wolf biologist Gordon Haber's science, field notes, and photographs is deeply enriched by Marybeth Holleman's insights into the man, his wisdom, and the sociopolitical context for his work. This courageous book eloquently reminds us of the critical importance of understanding wolf culture.”

  —Cristina Eisenberg, author of The Wolf's Tooth and The Carnivore Way

  “I first met Gordon in Denali in 1976 and had a great relationship with him through my fifteen summers in Denali. I always admired his dedication to field work and his fierce advocacy for wolves…. Now the findings of his ground-breaking, long-term field research on wild wolves are available to everyone in a very readable form. Marybeth Holleman has done a great and valuable service in preserving Gordon's legacy for other wolf researchers, wolf advocates and everyone that cares about wolves and wildlife. I highly recommend this book for any one who really wants to understand wolves.”

  —Rick McIntyre, naturalist, wolf researcher, and author of A Society of Wolves and War Against the Wolf

  “Our relationships with other animals are challenging, complex, frustrating, and paradoxical, and far too often our selfish and uninformed interests trump theirs. Predators such as wolves often receive the most negative attention by people who conveniently blame them for all the wrongs in the world and who also ignore scientific research about these magnificent animals and their essential role for maintaining the integrity of diverse ecosystems. Dr. Gordon Haber focused most of his life on learning about wolves and trying to protect them from being wantonly and horrifically killed. He called attention to how their ruthless slaughter destroyed not only individual lives and the way in which pack members lived and thrived but also the health of the ecosystems in which they evolved. He recognized wolves as individuals and as members of family groups and unrelentingly worked on their behalf. His passion was contagious, and whether you agree or disagree with his unbounded advocacy, this book is essential reading for learning about these most remarkable animals.”

  —Marc Bekoff, author and editor of The Ten Trusts (with Jane Goodall), The Emotional Lives of Animals, and Animals Matter

  AMONG WOLVES

  Gordon Haber's Insights into Alaska's Most Misunderstood Animal

  Dr. Gordon Haber and Marybeth Holleman

  UNIVERSITY OF ALASKA PRESS

  FAIRBANKS, ALASKA

  SNOWY OWL BOOKS

  an imprint of the University of Alaska Press

  © 2013 University of Alaska Press

  All rights reserved

  University of Alaska Press

  P.O. Box 756240

  Fairbanks, AK 99775-6240

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Haber, Gordon C.

  Among wolves : Gordon Haber's insights into Alaska's most misunderstood animal / by Dr. Gordon Haber and Marybeth Holleman.

  pages cm

  Includes bibliographical references.

  ISBN 978-1-60223-218-1 (pbk. : alk. paper) -- ISBN 978-1-60223-219-8 (electronic book)

  1. Haber, Gordon C. 2. Wolves--Alaska. 3. Naturalists--Alaska--Biography. I. Holleman, Marybeth. II. Title. III. Title: Gordon Haber's insights into Alaska's most misunderstood animal.

  QL737.C22H315 2013

  599.77309798--dc23

  2012049307

  Text design by Dixon J. Jones, Rasmuson Library Graphics

  Layout by Natalie Taylor

  Printed in the United States

  for the wolves

  CONTENTS

  Color plates

  INTRODUCTION

  Scientist and Advocate for Alaska's Wolves

  The First Two Years of Life of an Alaska Wolf

  CHAPTER 1

  My Good Fortune: Working among Alaska's Wolves

  Snapshot: Savage River Wolves—Gary Baker

  Snapshot: Flying Gordon—Troy Dunn

  CHAPTER 2

  The Heart of Wolf Society: Wolf Family Bonds

  Snapshot: First Snow—Johnny Johnson

  Snapshot: A True Field Scientist—Troy Dunn

  CHAPTER 3

  A New Biological Year: Attending Young Pups

  Snapshot: Teklanika Den—Karen Deatherage

  CHAPTER 4

  It Takes a Family: Raising Pups Cooperatively

  Snapshot: Son—Troy Dunn

  CHAPTER 5

  Going with the Flow: The Daily Lives of Wolves

  Snapshot: Just One More Turn—Troy Dunn

  CHAPTER 6

  Why Wolves Howl: The Many Social Values

  Snapshot: A Sign of Intelligence—Johnny Johnson

  Snapshot: Passing By—Troy Dunn

  CHAPTER 7

  Hunting Traditions: Wolves, Their Prey, and Scavenging

  Snapshot: Pups at a Sheep Kill—Priscilla Feral

  CHAPTER 8

  Toklat's Switch to Hares: Survivors Seize an Opportunity

  Snapshot: Toklat's Hare Hunting—Troy Dunn

  CHAPTER 9

  Companions and Competitors: Ravens, Bears, and Other Wildlife

  Snapshot: Wolves with Bears—Troy Dunn

  CHAPTER 10

  Natural Fearlessness: Wolves and People in Denali National Park

  Snapshot: Dr. Gordon Haber—Jonathan B. Jarvis

  Snapshot: The Hamburger Drop—Johnny Johnson

  CHAPTER 11

  Park Wolves in Danger: The Denali Buffer Solution

  Journal N
otes: State-Snared Wolves

  Snapshot: This Guy Is Hard Core—Joel Bennett

  Snapshot: Mortality Call—Barbara Brease

  CHAPTER 12

  Science Gone Awry: Alaska's Wolf-Killing Programs

  Journal Notes: Snowmachine Hunt

  Snapshot: Wolf Summit—Priscilla Feral

  Snapshot: Picking Pilots—Troy Dunn

  CHAPTER 13

  Endangered Species: The Problem with Delisting Northern Rockies Wolves

  Snapshot: Scientist as Advocate—Rick Steiner

  CHAPTER 14

  Toklat's High Value: The Case for Unexploited Wolf Groups

  Snapshot: Last Phone Call—Barbara Brease

  Significant Findings of Gordon Haber's Wolf Research

  EPILOGUE

  From Bad to Worse: An Update on Haber's Wolves

  References

  Acknowledgments

  Index

  Wilderness without wildlife is just scenery.

  —LOIS CRISLER

  INTRODUCTION

  SCIENTIST AND ADVOCATE FOR ALASKA'S WOLVES

  IN OCTOBER 2009, ALONG THE EAST FORK RIVER IN Denali National Park, Dr. Gordon Haber's research plane crashed into the mountains. In one tragic moment, the life of Alaska's most renowned wolf biologist came to an abrupt end, and Alaska's wolves lost their fiercest and most knowledgeable advocate.

  Gordon Haber first came to Denali in 1966, a twenty-four-year-old eager to experience Alaska's wilderness. He landed a summer job as a ranger-naturalist at Eielson Visitor Center, but it was the wolves that kept him there. For the next forty-three years, until the plane crash took his life, he devoted himself to learning all he could about the wolves of Denali National Park and Preserve. Among Wolves: The Work and Times of Dr. Gordon Haber reveals how Dr. Haber came to devote his life to Denali's wolves, how he survived adventures in the wild and in the halls of Alaska's institutions, and—most important—what he learned about the lives of wild wolves.

  Dr. Haber's work with Denali's wolves expanded on the work of Dr. Adolph Murie, renowned author of The Wolves of Mount McKinley. Their combined work provides more than seventy years of continuous research on some of the world's most famous and most often seen wolf families—one of the longest predator-prey studies in wildlife science. Haber's wolf research is as groundbreaking, intimate, and thorough as Murie's, but he didn't stop there: Haber also spent much of his adult life trying to protect Denali's and Alaska's wolves. As early as 1972, he wrote a report explaining why the state of Alaska should establish a buffer zone along the east boundary of the national park, in the sliver of state land called the Wolf Townships or Stampede Trail, to protect wolf groups most often seen by park visitors from being hunted and trapped there in winter. The debate on this buffer has been one of the most controversial wildlife conservation issues in Alaska.

  Driving Questions, Significant Findings

  Two questions drive this book. First, what truths about the lives of Denali's wolves, and the impacts of human exploitation, did this detailed, long-term research reveal? And second, what compels individuals to stick to their work and ideals when they are continually met with resistance from all sides—not just hunters and trappers, but also state and federal officials, and even other wolf biologists? At least part of the answer to the second question, said Johnny Johnson, who first met Haber in 1968, when both worked as rangers in Denali, is that “Gordon loved a good debate.” Haber's pilot Troy Dunn once asked him, “Gordon, why do you argue so much?” Haber replied, “How else can I make sure I'm right?” Therein lies the essence of a true scientist. But a larger part of the answer to the second question comes from the answer to the first—from what he observed, day in and day out, in his field work with wolves. This on-the-ground experience provided Haber with a level of understanding about wolves, and about the larger ecosystem of which they are a part, that few others have possessed.

  His most significant finding was this: the basic social structure of wolves is their family group, within which some individuals have critical roles. By fragmenting these family structures through indiscriminate hunting and trapping, humans do far more damage than just killing a few wolves. Removal of particular individuals can cause the extinction of unique behaviors critical to the function and cohesion of the family group, ultimately leading to its disintegration. Alaska's predator management—from the controversial aerial predator control program to the trapping of individual wolves along national park boundaries—is harmful not just to wolf populations, but to the very moose, caribou, and sheep that Alaskan hunters wish to multiply. In essence, hunting and trapping of wolves is harmful to the ecosystem itself. This understanding drove Haber's desire to seek justice for a species that he said “enlivened the entire landscape.”

  Haber's wolf work didn't stop at Denali's boundaries. He spent several years studying wolf-moose interactions in Isle Royale National Park in Michigan; he was a National Park Service scientific advisor for the reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone National Park and remained involved with debates about hunting wolves outside Yellowstone's boundaries; he was a scientific advisor to the Alaska Wolf Management Planning Team; and he studied the wolf-caribou interactions of Alaska's Fortymile caribou herd east of Fairbanks, in particular certain family groups that ranged between Yukon–Charley Rivers National Preserve and state lands. He became a world-renowned wolf expert, but all of it was rooted in the intricate social dynamics he learned from Denali's wolves, especially from the Toklat and Savage River family groups.

  The fundamental driving question of Haber's research was a clear continuation of Adolph Murie's: How do wolves and their prey behave and interact without interference from humans? He gathered information on wolf-bear-ungulate interactions to better understand the stability dynamics of the ecosystem as a whole. He was a leader in wildlife systems research, attempting to synthesize observations within a coherent systems framework. But because of the high numbers of Denali wolves trapped and hunted along the edges of the park boundaries in the Wolf Townships, he also strived to understand the effects of such exploitation on their social systems and the ecosystem in which they lived.

  That he chose Denali National Park for his primary research is significant. The combined results of a century of research by Haber, Adolph Murie, and the National Park Service biologists have made Denali's ecosystem the best understood of its kind anywhere in the subarctic. Knowledge of Denali's wolves goes back even before Murie, to Charles Sheldon's natural history observations of 1906–1908 and the experiences of Frank Glaser, Alaska's first “wolf man,” who befriended and informed Murie at the beginning of his research. Haber believed that this continuous research—and the focus on the entire system, rather than on single species—was vital not only to the preservation of the Denali ecosystem, but to understanding similar ecosystems worldwide. He wanted his research to provide a lens through which people could marvel. This book exists to help fulfill that vision.

  Commitment to His Calling

  Haber's passion for wolves, wilderness, and northern ecosystems grew from a childhood spent in the suburbs of Detroit, Michigan, and the wilds of Ontario. One of three children, Haber was always, says his sister Mary, bringing home wild animals that he'd rescued from surrounding bits of wildlands. During construction at his Detroit elementary school, a bulldozer destroyed a skunk home, killing all but one kit. Haber brought it home, and for months the family had a “pet” skunk.

  His love of nature was fostered from the age of four, when the family spent summers at a cabin on Lake Huron, Ontario. On the shores of the lake, the family built a log cabin from trees off the lot, just as Haber would do later on his own land adjacent to Denali National Park. At the age of eighteen, for a writing assignment about his life's goals, he wrote that time at this cabin had developed his “strongest characteristic—a love of the outdoors.” Looking toward his adult life, he wrote, “I am decided on one factor, this being that I intend to live the major portion of my life either in or
near the outdoors.”

  During undergraduate studies at Michigan Tech, Haber answered President John F. Kennedy's call to hike and keep physically fit. Haber joined the national hiking craze for fifty-mile hikes—President Kennedy's revival of a marine fitness standard of hiking fifty miles in twenty-four hours made famous when Attorney General Robert Kennedy completed one himself. Twenty-year-old Haber hiked fifty-three miles of Michigan's Keweenaw Peninsula in eighteen hours, walking through a blizzard, minus-twenty-degree weather, and waist-high snowdrifts. In what now seems a foreshadowing of his passion for canids, he was accompanied for several miles by a band of coyotes that barked and trotted ahead of him.

  The next year, he worked as a fire control aide at Isle Royale National Park. For saving his supervisor, who was being electrocuted by fallen power lines, he was awarded a Valor Award by then Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall. The courage and single-mindedness he displayed in earning the award would be summoned many times as he did the work that called him in the hostile political climate of Alaska's wildlife management. For example, he continued to advocate for wildlife conservation policies based on his research despite the Alaska Board of Game and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) constantly rejecting his proposals. Not only did the state ignore his research, but many trappers and hunters openly despised him for his findings. And yet he continued.

  He kept his life simple: a truck filled with his photography equipment and laptop, a small apartment cluttered with research papers and books in Anchorage for a few months a year, a storage unit with more books and papers and photographs, and a log cabin on thirty-three acres overlooking the Nenana River near the entrance to Denali National Park. His research notes were meticulous. In his cabin, he left behind three large boxes full of Rite in the Rain pads filled with notes taken from 1966 onward.

  Consummate Field Scientist

  Haber was a consummate scientist, making every conclusion based on hard data and having little patience for those who anthropomorphized wild animals, especially wolves. He strived to help others understand that wolves are sentient, interactive, social animals with real intelligence, not just data points or numbers in a scientific paper. About the systems thinking he espoused since completing his PhD dissertation in 1977, he wrote, “There is a critical need to look more at entire ecosystems rather than at the individual populations or species that comprise them. Natural systems are far trickier than we have supposed, and by looking primarily at pieces of these systems instead of the whole, we are easily misled by this trickery and end up overharvesting to the point where recovery may not occur for years or even decades.” Haber concluded that many of Alaska's moose and caribou populations were in this exact predicament.