The terrestrial mammals and birds of North-East Greenland. 63 



from the station) and on March 2P^ a white wolf walking along 

 the foot of the mountain towards Mørkefjorden. 



While partaking in a sledge party to the inland ice, Dr. Lind- 

 hard saw on Lakseelven March 23^'^* 1908 fresh traces of a singly 

 walking wolf which had followed the old sledge track of the tra- 

 vellers for a long distances. 



On the south end of Hochstetters Forland and on Shannon Is- 

 land, Jarner found towards the end of April 1908 in several places 

 both fresh and older foot-prints of singly walking wolves. 



A highly decayed wolf's cranium was found by Koch and Gun- 

 dahl-Knudsen on "Varderyggen" northwest of the ship's harbour, 

 about 350 meter over the sea. This cranium which has been 

 brought home to the museum and identified, belongs to a young, 

 hardly full-grown animal. Judging from its appearance that was 

 strongly damaged by time, and the manner in which it was lying, 

 it is easy to infer that it must have remained there for a great 

 number of years. The discovery is so far interesting as it proves 

 with certainty that the point of time for the immigration of the 

 wolf to Greenland must be sought several years further back than 

 hitherto supposed by some investigators. 



In the tracts visited by the Danmark Expedition, according to 

 the existing observations the arctic wolf must be sought almost ex- 

 clusively in localities also affording refuge for larger and smaller 

 herds of musk-oxen, the North-East Greenland wolf being reduced 

 doubtlessly to live most essentially on these animals after the ex- 

 tinction of the reindeer in the country. That the species here — 

 especially in winter — leads a very wretched existence and is going 

 to destruction, if it does not prefer to wander soi\thward to tracts 

 inhabited by reindeer, is probably as certain. In the summer time 

 the wolf will be able to procure his food rather easily, hunting 

 musk-ox calves, lemmings, leverets and brood of birds, besides sear- 

 ching along the beach and on the shores of rivers for the lower 

 animals washed up here, with which he is also satisfied, so far as 

 I was able to conclude from the numerous foot-prints of wolves 

 left in such places. 



As above mentioned, the wolf killed in August 1906 was extre- 

 mely well-nourished, a proof of the abundant food offered in the 

 summer. The emaciated, almost skeleton-like bodies of the animals 

 killed in January, February and March furnished proofs as convin- 

 cing of the extremely miserable conditions of life to which the wolf 

 is subjected during the long, hard winter. 



That in the winter time the w^lf should be able to live partly 



