The Economic Windfall of Wolf Reintroduction
Since Gray Wolves have been reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park, ecotourism has increased significantly, bringing an additional $5 million to the communities in Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho adjacent to the Park. With the recent reintroduction of Wolves in Colorado, the state is planning to benefit economically by marketing their Wolves as a tourist draw. Already in Alaska, Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, and in British Columbia and Ontario, Canada, Wolf ecotourism has taken hold, and it is growing.
Everybody from lodging to eateries, outfitters to guides, gift shops to gas stations, and even local entertainment, culture, and history venues, benefits. Many communities that initially resisted the return of Wolves are now coexisting peacefully and benefiting economically. Once they embraced Wolf ecotourism, people from across America and abroad began to come—they were enchanted with learning about Wolves firsthand, and maybe even seeing an actual Wolf.
Yet those communities are just the tip of the iceberg. The potential for Wolf-based ecotourism growth is tremendous, as the vast majority of communities where Wolves have made a comeback have not yet jumped on the bandwagon. Thanks to Wolves, many isolated communities have a chance for an economic comeback Here’s where Wolf Tourism Development Service comes in:
First, we hold a meeting with your local business owners, political leaders, and any other interested citizens, to lay out the potential for your community’s economic and cultural growth with Wolf ecotourism.
Second, our sister business, Wolf Protection Service, gives a presentation to help those who are concerned about Wolves in the neighborhood see how it is possible to peacefully coexist with them by keeping pets and livestock safe.
Third, if your community gets behind Wolf ecotourism, we then enlist the aid of Healing Nature Dreambuilders and White Wolf Business Consulting, to help you:
- Create a vision, and a promotional plan.
- Prepare existing businesses for increased traffic and revenues.
- Develop new businesses to meet the demand.
Presenting Your Feature Attraction
Wolves are the centerpiece of your town’s new economic plan. One of the primary services we offer is to help your new tourists have a satisfying experience with Wolves, so that they not only come back, but spread the word and bring others with them. Satisfied customers are your best advertising — research shows that you can’t begin to buy advertising nearly as effective.
The first thing to know about Wolf ecotourists is what they expect, so that you can meet the need and properly promote what you have to offer. In areas with extensive open land and overviews, such as Yellowstone National Park, there is a high likelihood of seeing Wolves. In mountainous or heavily forested regions, one is more likely to see sign of Wolves than the animals themselves. Yet that doesn’t seem to matter to people. As one person commented, “My friends and I didn’t see any Wolves on our Wolf weekend, but finding their trails and knowing that they were there made us happy.”
Just knowing that Wolves are nearby, and that one could appear in front of them at any time, is a unique experience that nearly everyone finds worthwhile. They discover it enlivening their senses and inspiring them to see Nature in a new light. This is true in most areas, where Wolf ecotourism is less focused on the observation of Wolves, and more on providing information about them and their habitats, along with finding tracks and sign, which includes scat, scent markings, trails, lays, and kill sites.
One piece of alluring information we provide for you to share with your guests is how your Wolves have contributed to the health and beauty of Nature in your area. Guests will be fascinated to learn—and see—that because of Wolves, there are more Birds and Butterflies, the animals are healthier, and erosion and flooding is controlled. This positive effect of Wolves on the ecosystem is called a trophic cascade.
A Wolf Watcher’s Guide
Another one of our services is to train you to help your visitors find and identify Wolves.
The biggest trip-up for nearly everyone is confusing Coyotes with Wolves. The following guide may seem patronizing at first, and even downright ridiculous, but one of the hardest tasks for a layperson—and even for experts at times—is to tell a Coyote from a Wolf. Here are a few tips:
Size. Wolves are typically considerably bigger than Coyotes. The exception is Eastern coyotes, who can approach the size of a small Wolf. A Wolf’s body is more massive, his head is more compact, and his legs look long and powerful, particularly in summer when his fur is short.
Movement. When Wolves move, their feet can look big and gangly, and their legs move relatively slow. Coyotes tiptoe, and there legs move fast.
Tail position. Wolves often carry their tails above the horizontal, particularly elder animals, and when Wolves are excited. Coyotes nearly always carry their tails lower than Wolves do.
Ears. Coyote’s are pointed and stand high over her head. A submissive Coyote holds her ears horizontally and out from her head: they are called airplane ears. A Wolf’s ears are rounded and relatively smaller than a Coyote’s.
Muzzle. Coyote’s is long and pointed, and Wolf’s is short and stocky.
Coloration. Black or white animals are nearly always Wolves. Other than that, the coloration of the two species is nearly identical.
Scat. If the diameter of the scat is more than 1 inch (2.5 cm) it is Wolf’s. Wolf’s scat volume is typically considerably more than Coyote’s.
Tracks. Pawprintslonger than 2.5 inches (6 cm) excluding claws are not Coyote’s, and those longer than 4.75 inches (12 cm) are not Dog’s. At eight weeks of age, a Wolf’s paws are already larger than a Coyote’s.
Stride. Coyote’s can range from 12 to 25 inches (30-60 cm) and a Wolf’s is typically twice that.
Wolf Watching Safety and Etiquette
Wolves are attractive to people because they are wild and free-roaming.
They are also quick to adapt to changing situations, which can alter their natural behaviors, which can be detrimental to them and make them less attractive for tourists. Here are tips for you to share with your visitors, so that they can enjoy your Wolves, while at the same time not influencing or altering their lifestyles:
- Do not ever encourage a Wolf to approach you.
- If one does, do not run away or try to scare the Wolf away. Instead, step backwards and if possible get into your car, so that the Wolf can continue on her way unimpeded.
- Keep your distance if you have nowhere to retreat to—at least 150 feet (50 m) between you and the Wolf.
- If a Wolf approaches and you are with others, do nothing other than standing quietly still and enjoying the view.
- Be fearless, which means neither showing nor feeling fear, as a Wolf will pick up on it.
- Don’t do anything that might change the Wolf’s behavior.
- In the backcountry if a Wolf approaches, stand still and dominate: make yourself look big, clap your hands, address the Wolf clearly and directly, and chase her away.
- Do not feed a Wolf—A fed Wolf is a dead Wolf. Even if only fed once, he will know where and how to get food from Humans. Leaving food and rubbish lying around picnic and campsites is harmful to both Wolves and Humans. Feeding any wild animals also affects Wolves.
- Keep Dogs leashed and on the roads, never in the backcountry. Dogs can attract Wolves, and unleashed Dogs may be attacked.
- Respect closed areas, which may have active den or rendezvous sites.
- Drive slowly, particularly at dawn and dusk.
- No howling, yelling, whistling, or any other attempts to attract the attention of animals. It disturbs their natural behavior.
- Respect other visitors and help maintain Nature’s serenity by turning off your engine, closing doors silently, and not playing music.
Tips for Finding Wolves
Seeing a Wolf in the Wilds can be the experience of a lifetime for a visitor to your community, or for a client if you are a guide.
If you can facilitate that experience, you will never be forgotten. Here are some tips for success:
- Don’t look directly for Wolves. Instead, study the whole environment. Are there any chokepoints or shortcuts where they might be easily seen? Are there any overviews where they would feel comfortable lounging and have a good forewarning of any intruders?
- Watch the behavior of their favorite prey animals. Where are the game trails they use? Where can they be found at this time of year?
- Look to the sky. Excited Ravens could indicate either a killsite or playful Wolf-Raven interaction. Ravens flying in from different directions could point to a killsite.
- Wolf kills typically feed many animals other than just themselves. Our ancestors followed other animals with keener senses than ours to Wolf kills, and we can do the same.
- During the denning season, the adults fall into a routine of going out every day to hunt for the ever-hungry pups. Rather than disturbing them at the den site, you might be able to observe them going back and forth between the den and hunting grounds.
For further information on the Wolf Tourism Development Service, or to contract with them, contact the Brother Wolf Foundation.