NATIONAL PARK SERVICE Fauna of the National Parks of the United States No. 5 The Wolves of Mount McKinley

THE RED FOX (Vulpes kenaiensis) is widely distributed throughout Alaska and is an important fur resource. In Mount McKinley National Park it is numerous and prospering. Along the north boundary trappers take many, some of which probably have drifted out of the park.

There seem to be an unusual number of silver and cross foxes in the park. I knew of six different adult silver foxes and three pups of this color phase. Cross foxes were frequently seen; in places they appeared to be as numerous as the red ones. The percentage of the different color phases varies in different areas. North of Wonder Lake a trapper captured three or four silver foxes in the winter of 1940-41; on lower Savage River a trapper had taken 15 or 20 reds and no silvers; and a trapper farther east had three reds and four crosses. In 1940 at Sable Pass a pair of cross foxes with blackish faces and more black hairs in their coats than usual had a litter of three pups—one cross and two silvers; and in 1941, in the same den they had four pops two cross, one silver, and one red. In this general area there were some adult silver foxes too, so that it appears that here a strong strain of this color phase had been developed.

Home Range

Some information on home range was gathered incidentally. A male fox, easily identified because of a missing lower canine tooth, was first seen on April 24, 1939, near the cabin on Igloo Creek. During the summer the fox was rarely seen, but in September and October he often came to the building and became rather tame. He learned to come to me when I whistled, and once followed me a mile from the cabin when coaxed with tidbits. In 1940 I lived elsewhere so had less opportunity to watch this fox, but he was seen twice, on June 21 and November 17. While I stopped a few days at Igloo Creek in February 1941, the fox appeared, looking for scraps.

During the summer of 1941 he was seen regularly in the same vicinity. This fox, then, lived in the neighborhood continuously for at least 2 years and 3 months. No information on the extent of his range was secured; when seen he was always within a few hundred yards of the cabin.

At Sable Pass a pair of unusually colored cross foxes used the same den in two successive years. The same foxes, apparently, were seen in the area in winter.

Near the cabin on Toklat River a cross fox lived for at least 3 or 4 years. The building was vacant most of the year but whenever occupied, summer or winter, the tame fox made its appearance for scraps. It was not fed regularly enough to restrict its movements.

Figure 55: The red fox is plentiful in Mount McKinley National Park. The silver and cross color phases are common. [Igloo Creek, October 6, 1939.]

An unusually beautiful silver fox lived on the east side of Sable Pass. I first saw him on April 23, 1939. He discovered me when I was only 7 yards away, looked at me with eyes which, in the bright sunlight, were only slits, then continued unhurriedly on his way. I was often close to him but this was one of the few times he ever deigned to look directly at me. Usually he went about his affairs as though I did not exist, even when I was near him. He was always seen in an area about 3 miles across, south of the draw where I suspected he was denning. In 1939 he was seen during the summer and again in late October shortly before I left the park. In the summer of 1940 I continued to see him at frequent intervals. In November he was seen on two successive days near the same spot. In the spring and summer of 1941 he was frequently seen. Twice he was carrying food, apparently to his den. This fox was known to occupy a definite range over a period of 2 years and 3 months. Since this fox lived some distance from any cabin and was never fed any scraps, he was existing in an entirely natural environment.

Although some foxes seem to live all year in a restricted home range, there may be, at times, general movements of foxes. A trapper told me that during a mouse epidemic on his trapping ground there seemed to be an influx of foxes from other areas. This was correlated with a scarcity of foxes reported by other trappers some distance away where mice were scarce. The increase noted may of course have been due to a good fox crop as a result of a large carry-over of breeders and an abundant food supply. Little was learned concerning the dispersal of the young each year. They probably wander about considerably and fill in unoccupied territories.

The proximity of some of the occupied dens suggests the size of the home ranges but of course there may be a deep overlap of territories. Two dens were 5 miles apart. Two others were 6 miles apart. About half way between the latter two I was sure there was a third den, which would place these dens about 3 miles apart. The ranges of these foxes overlapped to an unknown extent.

Home Life

Dens were found in various situations—in the open and in the woods, on sunny knolls far up the slopes, and on the flats. Most of them were dug in sandy loam, but a few were located in hard clay. Generally they were found on south-facing knolls where the soil was somewhat loose. A typical den has from 6 or 7 to 19 or more entrances. In one instance there were 19 entrances over an area 10 yards across and 25 yards long.

Ten occupied dens were found without making a special search for them. In 1940 five were located along a 32-mile stretch of the highway. In this same stretch the approximate location of four other dens was known. This gives some indication of the abundance of the foxes in the park.

The parents at one of the dens, which I kept under observation, both participated in feeding the pups. There was no difficulty in supplying the required food, for uneaten remains of mice and ground squirrels were frequently seen about the den. Sometimes when there was a surplus, the food was cached by the foxes on the premises. In caching food, a shallow hole is dug with the paws, and the food is covered with dirt by making forward strokes with the nose.

The pups rested most of the day, usually inside the den, but not infrequently on a mound at one of the entrances. In the daytime the pups behaved as though they were tired and sleepy. Most activity was noted in the evening and in the early morning, which was perhaps the beginning and the ending of their nocturnal activity. At these times the pups played together vigorously.

On July 9 at 4 p. m. an adult brought a ground squirrel and dropped it near one of the entrances. After lying down a few moments the adult returned to the ground squirrel and dropped it in front of one of the pups. Two other pups suddenly appeared and there was a scramble for the squirrel; one of the pups dove into a hole with it. Later a pup was seen playing with a dead mouse. The parent lay down at one side of the den on a favorite spot. She licked one of the pups thoroughly with her tongue. Two other pups appeared and they all trailed after the mother as she moved about the den, playing among themselves when she sat on her haunches. She left them and hunted mice on a slope while they watched her intently from the den. This activity at the den was typical when a parent was with the pups.

I do not know how long the young remained at the den. In one case the pups were still at a den on September 21. On September 28 a black pup was seen alone half a mile from this den so it appeared the pups at this time were wandering widely. During the summer the foxes sometimes changed dens; in two instances changes were made when the foxes were undisturbed so far as I knew. There sometimes are several vacant dens near an occupied one.

The same dens are sometimes used in successive years just as is the case among the wolves.

Injuries and Disease

Only two crippled foxes were seen. One was not using a front leg, the other, a silver fox, was limping badly on a hind leg.

No foxes definitely known to be sick were noted, but a fox seen on June 14, 1940, behaved as though it might have been ailing. It would not move from a clump of spruces where it was lying until I crawled in after it and then it ran out and stopped only 20 yards away. When I walked toward it, it returned to its bed. I approached it again and it moved over to another clump and lay down. It may not have been sick but only behaving toward me as it would toward a caribou that disturbed its rest. Possibly it had not seen a human being before.

In the spring of 1922 a trader told O. J. Murie that foxes had been unusually abundant in the lower Kuskokwim country in 1907, and that they had died of a disease which was thought to be rabies, since several dogs bitten by the foxes had died.

In early June of 1939 I found a dead female fox at Stony Creek which had not been touched by anything. It was an old fox with well-worn teeth so it may have died of old age. In the stomach was a ground squirrel.

Food Habits

The information on the food habits of foxes was largely secured by the analysis of scats. In the summer months most of them were gathered at eight fox dens; in winter they were picked up along the roads and trails. It is felt that sufficient data were secured to give a satisfactory picture of the food habits under existing conditions. Snowshoe hares were extremely scarce where the scats were gathered so consequently there were few remains of hares. If the hares had been numerous they would no doubt have been well represented in the diet.

TABLE 18.— Classification of 827 summer food items found in 662 red fox scats gathered in Mount McKinley National Park from June 1 to October 1 in 1939, 1940, and 1941.

TABLE 19.— Classification of 178 winter food items found in 124 red fox scats gathered in Mount McKinley National Park between October 2 and May 31 in 1939, 1940, and 1941.

Discussion of Food Items

Field Mice.—Four species of Microtus, a Lemmus, and a Clethrionomys are available to the fox. At least some of the species are subject to definite cyclic fluctuations. In 1938 mice were extremely abundant; rangers reported seeing them frequently scurrying about in the open. They died off in large numbers sometime during the winter of 1938-39 so were quite scarce in the late spring of 1939. In 1940 and 1941 mice were more plentiful than in 1939 but had not by any means reached a peak of abundance. They were common enough, however, to furnish good hunting for the foxes. Species of the genus Microtus were most abundant.

Mice were found in 415 or in almost two-thirds of the summer scats. In some of them, remains of two or three mice were found, but generally remains of only one mouse were identified. Most of these scats were gathered at various dens so that the majority of them were from pups. Possibly the diet of adult foxes includes an even higher proportion of mice than does the diet of pups, since odd mice captured while hunting for the pups probably are eaten more often than ground squirrels. Parent foxes seemed to prefer to carry to their pups the bulkier ground squirrels rather than the much smaller mice. Such a practice would be efficient.

The scats gathered in 1939 when mice were scarcest showed a predominance of mice in the diet. This may be due to the location of the den at which the majority of the 1939 scats were gathered. It was in a grove of trees at Teklanika Forks, surrounded by flats, where ground squirrels were less abundant than they were near the other dens located on mountain slopes and passes. Even though mice were scarce at the 1939 den they may have been more conveniently secured than ground squirrels.

During the winter and in the absence of hares, mice usually form the staple diet. Meadow mice are easily captured even when their activity is carried on under moderate depths of snow. The fox locates the mouse by scent or hearing, then pounces so as to break through the snow directly over the mouse and pin it down. Even if the first pounce fails it may block runways so that escape is shut off and the mouse is captured in the ensuing scramble.

Ground Squirrel.—Ground squirrels are abundant and much used. They hibernate in winter but are obtainable from April to October. Their remains were found in 307 of the 662 summer scats.

On June 17, 1941, a silver fox was seen moving steathily along a ditch beside a road, hunting for squirrels. At intervals he stopped to look. Meanwhile, the squirrels from surrounding points were calling sharply and disappearing into their holes as he neared them. After moving along slowly with no success, the fox made a quick dash of 200 yards through some hummocks, apparently to get into new territory where his presence was not widely advertised. After making this long spurt he stood still, watching, then moved out of my view among the hummocks. When hunting mice, no attempt is made to hide, but while hunting ground squirrels the fox keeps hidden as much as possible.

On July 2, 1941, this same silver fox was again observed hunting. He captured three mice in 10 or 15 minutes. I then had to leave, but when I returned an hour later the fox was carrying a ground squirrel. Three times he laid it down in order to pounce for mice. Once he lay watching a hummock for several minutes waiting for a mouse to come out. Then, weary of waiting he picked up his ground squirrel and trotted homeward.

A fox appeared at the Mount Eielson tent camp and quickly captured three of the ground squirrels which had been tamed by feeding (a good example of one effect of domestication). After catching the three squirrels he piled them so that the second squirrel crossed the first, and the third crossed the second. Then he seized all three where they crossed each other and left for his den with the heavy burden.

On October 14, 1939, a red fox appeared at our cabin looking for food scraps. He was about to feed on some morsels we had tossed to him when he suddenly turned, crouched, ran forward a few steps, and pounced. We did not know what he had pounced upon until he lifted his catch—our pet ground squirrel which had not been out of its burrow for several days and this day was probably taking its last look around before the long winter's sleep. My assistant and I looked at each other open-mouthed, and then Emmet said, "Well, that's Nature."

The fox with this treasure would not trust us so galloped away to feed in security.

Once a fox chased a ground squirrel into a hole and spent considerable time digging for it. Another fox ran for 15 yards and pounced at a ground squirrel but missed him. He put so much energy into his pounce that he rolled over. As this fox continued on his way the squirrels in the neighborhood sat on their hind legs and scolded him loudly, and sparrows darted at him.

Hoary Marmot.—Remains of marmot were found in four scats only.

Porcupine.—Porcupine remains were found in four summer scats and one winter scat.

John Colvin and Lee Swisher, trappers along the north boundary of the park, both told me that on skinning foxes they frequently found porcupine quills lying against the inner side of the hide. One fox trapped by Swisher had festered sores over its throat and shoulders caused by the presence of numerous quills. Swisher once found the remains of two or three porcupines at a fox den. A road crew once captured a half grown fox at Savage River with eight or nine quills in its face. The fox was weak and easily run down but after the quills were removed it regained its strength in a few days.

Like the coyote and wolf, it appears that foxes occasionally kill porcupines.

Snowshoe Hare.—Remains of snowshoe hare were found in only one scat, but hares were extremely scarce in the region studied. Dixon (1938, p. 161) found remains of 25 hares at a single den at a time when hares were abundant. Hares are no doubt an important food when they are available.

Cony.—Remains of cony (Ochotona collaris) were found in but one scat. The cony is probably rarely captured.

Caribou.—Remains of adults and calves were found in 20 scats. Probably all caribou eaten is carrion, although on rare occasions I suppose a very young calf might be killed. I have no record of such predation, however.

Dall Sheep.—Adult remains were found in 34 scats. Leg bones were found at one den. Sheep are frequently eaten as carrion.

Remains, representing at least three lambs, were found in 11 scats. It is of interest to note that lamb remains were found only in the 1939 scats, the year that the wolves preyed to some extent on lambs. This suggests that foxes were feeding on what the wolves left.

Shrew.—Although very abundant, no shrews (Sorex sp.) were found in any of the scats. A dead one, uneaten, was found at one of the dens. In Michigan I found that foxes often killed shrews but scarcely ever ate them (Murie, 1935).

Birds.—Ptarmigan remains were identified in only one scat but some of the remains classified only as "bird" may have been ptarmigan. Feathers of ptarmigan were found at one den. On May 15, 1939, a fox was seen carrying a female willow ptarmigan it had just captured. After playing with it, he ate most of it, then carried the remainder off through the woods. While he fed, some magpies watched from the willows, and two or three gulls, attracted by the kill, lit on a nearby gravel bar. During the course of the study willow ptarmigan were relatively scarce, especially near the particular dens studied. This accounts for the few remains in the scats. At a time when ptarmigan were abundant, Dixon (1938, p. 161) reports finding remains of 20, mainly males, at a den.

Small birds are picked up incidentally. Several of the scats contained remains of small birds, two of which were identified as sparrows. At one den a pup captured a nestling sparrow which fluttered on the ground nearby.

Egg shells were found in two scats at one of the dens. The shells possibly were those of ptarmigan eggs.

Snails.—Traces of snails were found in two scats.

Wasp.—Wasps were found in six scats. There were at least five wasps in one of the scats.

Blueberry.—Blueberries were found in 52 of 124 scats picked up in winter and in 8 of the summer scats. The volume of blueberries in these scats generally varied from 50 to 100 percent of the contents. Blueberries are common over the fox range and are a highly important winter food. They began to appear in the droppings as early as September 13, and the foxes fed on them throughout the winter and into April. Mice during this time were present in moderate numbers. When foxes were first noted feeding on this berry, mice were available in sufficient quantity to furnish the foxes food, which would indicate that they are especially fond of blueberries. But no doubt the blueberries are at times eaten from necessity. Lee Swisher said that in the winter of 1939-40, when mice were scarce, foxes were living almost entirely on blueberries. They dug down through the snow for the berries lying on the ground. That winter, probably because of the scarcity of mice, foxes captured in traps were eaten more than usual by other foxes.

Bearberry.—One fresh dropping picked up in February, and two collected in March, contained mainly bearberries. This plant is not abundant in the park.

Bear-Fox Relationships

I do not know of any significant relationship between the fox and the grizzly bear. Both feed considerably on ground squirrels and blueberries but there is enough of this food for all. On June 28, 1940, a grizzly digging out ground squirrels was closely followed by a fox. While the grizzly excavated, the fox lay on the grass nearby. Sometimes the grizzly followed the fox, which retreated slowly before it. The fox remained near the bear for the 1-1/2 hours that I watched them. Knowing that the fox had a den somewhere in the vicinity, I wondered if it were trying to lead the bear away. Shortly before I left, the fox was sitting some distance up the hill, tall and straight, watching the bear below it. Then it trotted over a knoll out of sight.

Coyote-Fox Relationships

There were so few coyotes present in the park that there was no opportunity to learn much concerning the relationships between coyotes and foxes. Former Park Ranger Lee Swisher said that there never were many coyotes in the park and that is the general consensus. In the locality where I saw a coyote three times there were several foxes. Among others was the silver fox which I saw there at intervals for more than 2 years.

On October 10, 1939, a coyote was seen on the east side of Sable Pass. As I walked up the road toward it, it circled up the opposite slope and doubled back. A half mile down the stream a silver fox stood for a time watching the coyote approach, then galloped easily to the steep slope of Cathedral Mountain and climbed to a low rocky promontory. Here he sat and watched the coyote find his trail and begin to follow it. Previously the coyote had scented or seen the fox for he trotted forward expectantly. When the coyote commenced to climb, the fox galloped rapidly upward to the next prominence where he stopped to watch it following laboriously. Farther up the slope the fox frequently stopped to bark at the coyote until it was quite near. After the animals had disappeared near the top of the mountain, the barking of the fox could still be heard. The fox escaped, for I saw him the following spring. The incident suggested that the coyote might be in the habit of chasing foxes and perhaps capturing them at times in certain types of terrain. It showed too that in the rocky slopes the fox need not be afraid of the coyote.

The food habits of foxes and coyotes are similar in many respects, so where they both inhabit an area there is a certain amount of competition. However, this competition is probably not serious. To determine the degree to which coyotes are harmful to a fox population the study would have to be made in an area where both animals were present in sufficient numbers.

Eagle-Fox Relationships

No fox remains were found in any of the 632 eagle pellets collected. There was no evidence that the eagle affects the fox population.

Foxes are so numerous and spend so much time traveling in the open, treeless areas during daylight that the eagle would have many opportunities to prey upon them if it were so inclined. The lack of any remains in the pellets indicates that foxes are rarely, if ever, eaten by the eagle. There is some possibility that young eagles sometimes attack foxes with serious intentions but they probably learn that it is a dangerous venture. Perhaps a fox is occasionally captured by an eagle but such an incident would be exceptional.

Eagles have been observed swooping at foxes just as they swoop at almost every other mammal in the park, including grizzlies. Many of these maneuvers are in sport. On May 14, 1939, an eagle was seen soaring 30 or 40 feet over a fox which stood in the open looking grim and tense, his tail straight up in the air. (Foxes often assume this pose when excited. I have seen one holding his tail in this manner after pouncing on a mouse which he still searched for, and have seen pups at a den take this stand.) When the eagle saw us it flew away, and the fox relaxed and trotted slowly over the tundra. The pose taken by the fox is apparently one of readiness toward off an attack. If the fox should run, it would give the eagle an opportunity to strike.

Dixon (1938, p. 45) describes an incident in which he saw an eagle swoop at a fox which was crouching in the open. A second fox was driven out of a culvert nearby and when it galloped away the eagle attacked it as it ran, but the fox avoided its swoop and went into a cleft in a rock. The fox possibly would have behaved differently—probably would not have run—if he were not escaping from humans as well. To avoid humans he must run; to avoid an eagle he must stand ready for attack or discreetly retire to cover. The same maneuver was not suitable for both enemies. The incident must be interpreted in the light of this knowledge. Its significance, as I see it, lies primarily in showing that the fox can avoid the stoop of an eagle.

On June 7, 1941, an eagle was seen standing beside the entrance of one of the burrows of a fox den. I am not sure just what was taking place. The eagle would reach into the entrance with its beak and then withdraw as the fox's head emerged from the hole, its jaws wide open and snapping. When the fox's head would disappear, the eagle would stoop over the hole, only to draw back quickly as the fox's open jaws appeared again. This was repeated four or five times before the eagle flew away and the fox came out to lie on the grass. Possibly the eagle had first been attracted to the den by the presence of a dead ground squirrel or some other scrap of food.

In September 1941, a combat between a fox and an eagle was reported to a ranger. Upon investigation it was found that the animal was near an eagle with a broken wing. Examination of the eagle after it was collected disclosed no evidence that the fox had injured it. (Wildlife Report, September 1941, Mount McKinley National Park.) Apparently the fox had appeared after the eagle had broken its wing and was curious or perhaps was aware that the eagle was a potential source of food.

It is of interest to compare the relationships between the golden eagle and the red fox in Mount McKinley National Park with the relationships between the bald eagle and the blue fox on the Aleutian Islands as reported by O. J. Murie (1940, p. 198—202). The food remains of 28 eagle nests were examined and the remains of only one fox pup were found at a nest. This might even have been carrion for several dead foxes were found on the beaches. I quote (p. 201) to give the general situation and conclusions: "Depredation on blue foxes has been charged to the eagle, and this was cited by many with whom we talked. Here is a problem particularly applicable to the Aleutian Islands, since most of the islands have been leased for raising foxes. The blue foxes run wild, forage for themselves, and are usually trapped at 2- or 3-year intervals. They would seem to be vulnerable to eagle attack, living as they do on the beaches of treeless islands. Also, Aleut natives told us that eagles do take young foxes. Accordingly we gave special attention to the eagle-fox relationship. Although most of the eagle nests examined were on islands occupied by foxes, we found a fox pup in only one nest, on Rat Island. . . .

"On Amchitka Island, within 200 yards of an eagles' nest containing no fox remains, a family of young foxes was living unmolested. There was another fox family at a some what greater distance in the opposite direction. Foxes were seen on the beach within easy reach of eagles on Kavalga Island. Many such instances could be cited . . .

". . . At any rate, the evidence shows that eagles are not a serious menace to the blue foxes in the Aleutian Islands. An excellent fur crop is generally harvested on islands with suitable productive beaches."

The results of the bald eagle-blue fox study in the Aleutians are similar to the results of the golden eagle-red fox study in Mount McKinley National Park. The considerable data available indicate that neither the bald eagle nor the golden eagle is a serious enemy of foxes.

Wolf-Fox Relationships

I was especially interested in the relations between wolves and foxes because the statement has frequently been made that wolves are destroyers of foxes. It soon to me became obvious that a large fox population could maintain itself in a territory inhabited by several wolves, for foxes were unusually numerous over all the north side of the park east of Wonder Lake. The area west of Wonder Lake was not investigated. In the range of the wolf family on East Fork I observed one fox den in 1939, two in 1940, and five in 1941. So far as I know none of the foxes was destroyed by wolves. Only one of the 1,174 wolf scats examined contained fox remains.

Foxes seem to have no fear of wolves. On July 23, 1940, a red fox sat watching a wolf 60 yards below it. Later the fox trotted along parallel with the wolf as the latter traveled across the slope. When the wolf descended the slope, the fox followed it a short distance down. The actions of the fox showed a confidence in its ability to evade the wolf.

On July 19, 1941, some members of a road crew saw a black wolf sniffing about the vicinity of a fox den. An adult fox followed the wolf closely and barked at it from a distance of a few feet. Once the fox ran off as though it were trying to entice the wolf away but returned when the wolf did not follow. The wolf paid no attention to the fox. It was searching for cached food items. Wolf scats at the fox den showed that the wolves had visited the den previously. Mr. Brown of the Alaska Road Commission told me about the incident, but though I hurried to the den the wolf had gone before I arrived. However, I saw the wolf about 2 miles beyond the den and later saw it catch a calf caribou and photographed it as it fed and then cached the remains. The incident again illustrated that foxes have full confidence in their ability to run away from or avoid a wolf. I have observed magpies and short-billed gulls (Larus canus brachyrhynchos) searching for morsels at a fox den. The den is a source of food which many animals know about.

At Teklanika Forks in 1939 a gray wolf was observed sniffing about a fox den, perhaps looking for food. Wolves probably visit many fox dens in search of scraps, especially if their food supply is a little scant.

The relationship between the wolf and the fox seems to be one of mutual gain. The wolves benefit by having available a large number of old fox dens which they can enlarge for their own use. It is a simple matter for the wolf to enlarge a burrow and much easier than digging a new one. Although the fox burrows are too small for the adult wolves, the pups can use the entire system of burrows. So far as I know, all the wolf dens found in Mount McKinley National Park were renovated fax dens.

Although the fox loses a few food items when a wolf ransacks its den site, the loss is insignificant. If there is food present it is a surplus which can be spared, whereas if food is scarce there will be none lying around.

Generally when a wolf makes a kill of a large animal it is shared by the fox, for after the wolves have eaten there is usually some of the carcass remaining. Signs at a great many of the carcasses examined in the field showed that foxes had shared in the spoils. Much of the food supply is made available to the foxes in winter when their food is scarcest. Here the fox's large gain is the wolf's small loss. Since the fox eats much less than the wolf, the loss is usually not serious and to a degree represents a surplus, although at times of course this surplus may be later needed by the wolf.

Wolves often cache the remains of a carcass after eating their fill, and the foxes commonly track down the wolves and rob the stores. Such an incident took place on October 4, 1939. A wolf had killed a lamb on Igloo Creek in the morning and, after feeding, had removed a part of the carcass and carried it away with him. The ground was covered with 2 or 3 inches of snow, sufficient for good tracking. The first indication I had that the wolf was carrying a load was the blood and hair on the snow where he had placed it on a knoll when he had stopped to look around. At two other little prominences he had laid the meat on the snow. Although the wolf track was only a few hours old a fox was ahead of me on the trail. He probably had gotten the scent of the sheep meat from the vegetation along the way. In one place the wolf had back-tracked for 15 yards, had jumped off the trail 8 feet to one side, and then had wandered about in several loops. At this point the fox tracks circled about as though the fox had been having some difficulty in unraveling the trail. The wolf resumed his direction northward through some wet tundra, walking in shallow puddles of water apparently by choice to destroy his scent. After passing through some woods he came to Igloo Creek and there his trail disappeared. The fox had come to the stream and had stood with front feet on a snow-covered rock in the shallow water beside the shore, apparently sniffing for the scent. In two other places, tracks of the forefeet on a rock showed that the fox had stood facing the stream looking for the lost trail. The wolf had walked in the water for 15 yards and had come out on the same side of the stream again. The fox and I both followed down the stream until we came to his tracks. Down the bar 300 yards the tracks led directly across the shallow stream. Here the fox, without hesitating, had also crossed the stream. After following the bar a little farther the wolf went into the woods where his trail made an S. And there beside a tree was the cache, already raided. Here I caught a glimpse of a cross fox carrying something, probably sheep meat. All that was left at the cache was much loose sheep hair. The cache had been covered with lichens and snow. Beyond this point the wolf and fox tracks continued for 150 yards to a second cache beside a hummock. The wolf apparently did not believe in having all his eggs in one basket.

But both baskets had been robbed for the second cache was also raided. The wolf tracks continued through the woods and led up a long mountain slope. Blueberries on the ground, which he squashed as he walked, colored many of his footprints purple. The fox tracks stopped at the second cache. The fox probably knew that the wolf had cached all his load. The behavior of the wolf seemed to show that he was aware that he would be followed by foxes for it seemed he made deliberate attempts to throw them off his trail.

All the data gathered on the wolf-fox relationships strongly support the conclusion that the fox population has not been harmed by the presence of the wolves in Mount McKinley National Park and the adjacent region north of the park, and that both species can subsist in the same region in good numbers.