Minor habituation to repeated experimental approaches in Scandinavian wolves

Abstract

Large carnivores may become dangerous if they habituate to humans. We repeatedly approached wild wolves Canis lupus throughout a year to test their individual response to human encounters (N = 141 trials). None of the at least 25 wolves present during the study visually or vocally exposed themselves. The wolves fled at a mean distance of 248 ± SE 11 m (range, 35–488 m). Their tolerance was most strongly influenced by the presence of site-dependent pups, while the distance at which they were initially alerted was most strongly influenced by detectability of human (wind and noise). The mean alert distance was 324 ± 19 m in the first and 264 ± 17 m in subsequent within-day trials, while tolerance distances showed no such trend, neither within a day nor throughout the year. The study indicates a high level of individual plasticity, making habituation difficult to predict.