Deer Numbers Dwindle in Alaska, Wolves Prey on Sea Otters

JUNEAU – Wolf (Canis lupus) in Alaska has been hunting and eating sea otters as a main food, after deer numbers dwindled. This condition is worrying because it could endanger the sea otter population.

Recent studies have revealed that starting in 2013 wolves inhabited the 52 Square Kilometer island located 65 Km west of Juneau, Alaska , prey on sea otters (Enhydra lutris). This suggests that the shrinking number of deer has adapted the wolves to find a new source of food, namely sea otters.

“They don’t just scavenge dead or dying sea otters, they stalk, hunt and kill for food,” said Gretchen Roffler, a wildlife research biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. /1/2023).

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In the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences published January 23, 2023, it was revealed that scientists had been tracking a group of wolves since 2015 to find out how the wolves adapted to eat otters. To study the eating habits of wolves, the researchers attached GPS to several wolves.

The researchers collected 689 Wolf Scat samples, most of which were found strewn along the island’s coastline. By analyzing the DNA in the SCAT, the team was able to identify which wolves they had come from and what they had been eating.

It is known that between 2015 and 2020, deer consumption fell from 75% to only 7% that wolves prey on. Consumption of sea otters or sea otters increased from 25% to 57% that wolves eat at the same time.

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GPS collar data also confirms that the wolves did not leave the island to hunt elsewhere. “The thing that really surprised me was that the sea otters were the main prey for the wolves on this island,” said Roffler.

This research was carried out after the discovery of the unexpected diet of wolves on Pleasant Island, Alaska, which was published in 2021 in the journal Ecosphere. Scientists have not studied interactions between wolves and sea otters in Alaska because the two species have not overlapped for about 200 years.

During the 19th and 20th centuries, the fur trade brought the region’s sea otter population to the verge of extinction. Then, the sea otter population has started to increase in recent decades, following protective measures. However, with increased hunting and consumption of wolves, the sea otter population is again under threat.

(wib)