Wolf Watching tips

Today I am happy to respond to two emails send to me by two different people around the world. I've placed the emails but omitted the names for security. Both emails are about wolf watching and any tips I can offer.

"Hi Pete,
I live in East Washigton state, close to the Strawberry and Ni'icn territories. I've been living here for about three years now and although I have heard wolves and seen evidence of wolves but never actually seen one. I've been in the woods a few times but to no avail. Any tips to see them?"

"Dear blogger,
I am writing to say that I enjoy your blog and particularly your nice words about wolves. I just moved to Brandeburg in Germany and the locals here say that the forests near my house have wolves in them. I went walking a few times and I haven't seen any,nor have I heard any. One of the locals uses the same path I do and has seen wolves two different times. Any tips on how to see any?"

So first things first, I've never seen a wild wolf before. It's sad but I was never given the opportunity(never lived in a country with wild wolves) but I hope to rectify that soon by going wolf watching. I can however provide a few tips I've heard from other wolf watchers as well as from a behavioural point of view. I wish a good luck to you both and if you can snap a picture then send me one. I'd love to see it.

The main thing you should know is that wolves are early risers. So if you want to see wolves you gotta be out there early. And I do mean early. Like 4-5 am depending on the sunlight. This is usually the best time to catch a glimpse of them as they tend to be active at dusk and dawn. During noon they tend to rest.

Another thing is to learn about rendezvous points or identify areas of high traffic. Usually areas with wolf scat(poop) or pee as well as highly used areas(you can usually identify those by the frequency of tracks) are your best bet. Make sure you situate yourself downstream(to avoid them picking up on your scent), keep a respectable distance(about 100-300 feet/50-100m)  and try and make yourself as less obvious as possible. Be patient. An encounter could take days but wolves are creatures of habit. If they use a route you can bet they will use it again. Stalk it and you just might see it.

Observing other wildlife and signs is actually a good bet itself too. If you happen to find a deer carcass that has been partially eaten or a den then make a note of it and stalk it from a distance. The key word is distance. If you are hoping for a really close encounter then I wouldn't recommend that.  Following ravens to carcasses is also a good idea as wolves and ravens tend to hang out together.

Make sure you don't make your presence known. Wolves are naturally scared and cautious of humans so making noise, moving around and other stuff that reveal your presence, can be detrimental to your wolf watching. Don't try and catch their attention by yelling and so forth. Rather just be silent and watch.

Ideally if you are going wolf watching, finding experienced wolf watchers will definitely help a lot. Locals who have experience with the packs, their behaviours and where they hang out is a good way to figure out where to look. Sometimes government organisations and researchers will provide you with the location of radio collared wolves and that can help.

Hopefully these tips will help out

Wildlife Watching. Is there more to it?

Seeing as I am on my final year, the words CV, employment and experience get tosses around a lot. I've been recently thinking about what kind of skills you can gain by simply analysing your hobbies. And so today I decided I want to just talk about wildlife watching and whether there is something to it than just watching animals. For clarification purposes, all the skills I talk about here are gained when watching wildlife without a tour guide/tour. Also these are just ideas and not solid facts.

1) Determination/Patience: It takes a lot of determination and patience to watch wildlife. Very rarely have I arrived somewhere and got sighting of wildlife upon arrival. Usually you have to wait around a bit, scout further locations and return to the same spot time after time before you catch a glimpse of an animal. The harbour next to my house is a hotspot for dolphins and porpoises. It doesn't mean you just have to show up and they will be there. More often than not there are a lot of hours spend to catch a glimpse of an animal.

2)Local area knowledge: Even if you are tourist, the time it takes to scout and find the best locations, to view wildlife and the research you put into it give you a good lay of the land. Local wildlife watchers are familiar with the best times, seasons and places to view specific species. This is often a valuable skill that many outdoor jobs appreciate.

3)Keen eyes/eye for detail: Have you ever tried spotting an animal in their native environment? They usually aren't easy to spot. Wildlife watchers have often been self trained to spot the tiniest movement or a camouflaged animal. It's not an easy task and more often than not it will be something completely irrelevant but slowly and steadily we all get to a point where we can spot wildlife from a distance faster than inexperienced watchers.

4)Identification: This is perhaps the most important skill you can add to your CV. Most wildlife watchers can often narrow down the animal they are watching to at least the genus of subject. This is a pretty cool skill to have and it's usually highly sought after. Most places unfortunately won't just take your word for it so try and get as many courses or certificates about this as possible. However most places will accept the fact that you have been an avid wildlife watcher if you are able to prove it somehow.

5) Affinity with Nature: It may sound like something off a role-playing game but wildlife watchers are usually the first to report changes in habitats as well as notice details in animas and their social units. Some watchers follow the stories of particular wolf packs in Yellowstone, others run an unofficial survey of dolphins they spot at Monterey bay and so forth. All of this information and your knowledge means that you are more sensitive to nature and the environment and you can make for a good surveyor or a good ranger. Never underestimate the gut feeling you have regarding nature.