Wolf Predation on Beavers and Moose in Voyageurs National Park

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The project would examine gray wolf hunting behavior in an area with abundant beavers to better understand how the availability of vulnerable beaver prey may affect wolf predation on moose and deer. Gray wolves are widely known to prey on adults and fawns/calves of deer and moose. Beavers also make up a large portion of the diet in areas where beavers are plentiful. Recent studies in Voyageurs National Park (VNP) and surrounding area, where beaver densities are very high, demonstrated that up to 38% of the summer diet is beavers. In other areas of the state beavers are much less a part of wolf diet, generally <5-15%. Moose persist in VNP at low numbers, despite a healthy gray wolf population. Does the high abundance of beavers, a more easily killed prey item than moose, result in lower predation on moose? Likewise, how does the availability of beaver prey affect wolf predation on adult and fawn deer in summer and fall?

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