ADFG Requesting Wolf Hunters To Submit Samples From Taken Animals

The following is courtesy of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game:

ADFG DWC Requests Wolf Harvest Samples

Ketchikan, AK – The Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Division of Wildlife Conservation is asking for assistance in collecting additional samples from harvested wolves from Southeast Alaska. The samples requested are:

• Skin sample (wolves harvested from Game Management Units 1–3, 5)A small piece of skin with hair attached (1.5 inches long x 0.25 inches wide). Sealers will collect a skin sample from anywhere along the cut edge of the hide using a sterile blade.
• Muscle sample (wolves harvested from Game Management Units 1–3, 5) A small piece of muscle about the size of a dime. Sealers will collect a musclesample using a sterile blade.
• Foreleg bones (wolves harvested from Game Management Unit 2 only) An entire foreleg bone (radius and ulna, see picture) from the front leg of thewolf. Sealers will collect foreleg.Samples collected from wolves harvested across Units 1-3 and 5 are used for various research projects, including genetic and diet analyses, hormone analyses, and evaluating mercury concentrations. Collected samples also aid in the management of wolves in Unit 2. Hide and muscle samples provide DNA for population estimates, and foreleg bones are used to age harvested wolves. The proportion of harvested wolves in each age class (pup or adult) is an indicator of the population’s productivity and survival.Thank you for your participation.

Sealing requirements

State sealing requirements for wolves harvested in Units 1, 3, and 5 require all hides to be sealed within 30 days of take.

State sealing requirements for wolves harvested in GMU 2 require all hides to be sequentially numbered by the hunter or trapper, who must call the ADF&G Ketchikan office at (907) 225-2475 within 7 days of take to report the date and location of take, and all hides must be sealed within 15 days of take. These regulations are intended to provide more precise data for managers to use when calculating population estimates.