wolves choose to use it. 



Fish and Wildlife officials say 

 that's not the case. The wolf feeds on 

 small animals. It's afraid of humans. 

 And, they say, it will continue to be 

 classified as nonessential, meaning it 

 wouldn't impinge on landowner 

 rights. Yet they have been unable to 

 satisfy many opponents. 



Indeed, opposition stems from 

 worries about more than just the 

 wolf. The two counties are economi- 

 cally strangled by high unemploy- 

 ment rates and low tax bases. 

 Washington County officials, for 

 example, see the refuge as an eco- 

 nomic loss, as land that long-range 

 plans had designated for industrial 

 use until it was donated to Fish and 

 Wildlife. 



"We don't have a lot of industry 

 in this area," says Andy Allen, chair- 

 man of the Washington County 

 Board of Commissioners. "We need 

 to expand our industrial base. We 

 would love to see some industry 

 develop in that area. I doubt that it 

 ever will now." 



Allen says people aren't angry 

 enough to start fighting. But he wor- 

 ries they will. If they do, the program 

 could suffer. 



"Once we get off Alligator River 

 and Pocosin Lakes, it's private land," 

 says Art Beyer, a biologist with the 

 wolf program. "If we can't work 

 with these people, there's no way this 

 will work." 



For the most part, biologists say, 

 residents aren't even aware of the 

 wolf once it's released. The animals 

 are nocturnal and shy, and people 

 rarely see them. 



"We get a lot of people who 

 want to come out and see wolves," 

 Beyer says. "We know where they're 

 at, and we don't see them very of- 

 ten." 



DURANT ISLAND — There is a 

 wolf in the tree. At least, that's what 

 it looks like just for a minute. 



The branch near the wolfs head 



moves, revealing a chain-link over- 

 hang that prevents the animal from 

 doing what he wants to do: leave 

 his pen. 



There's a thud as the wolf falls to 

 the ground. He leaps up, runs to a 

 corner of the pen. He pauses momen- 

 tarily to eye his human visitors, then 

 charges again for the fence, scaling 

 a full 8 feet before the overhang 

 sends him tumbling to the ground 

 once more. 



It is the 

 puppy play of a 

 3-month-old, 

 yet it is a sign. 

 These wolves 

 want out. In fact, 

 one of the 

 puppy's siblings 

 already has suc- 

 ceeded in escap- 

 ing. She was re- 

 captured a few 

 days later. 



Biologists 

 may keep the 

 Durant Island 

 wolf family 

 caged a few 

 months longer to 

 give the wolves 

 time to identify 

 with the island. 

 The last family 

 of wolves re- 

 leased here did 

 not make the 

 connection. 



"They 

 didn't associate 



Durant with home," Beyer says. The 

 wolves tried to leave by crossing a 

 wide expanse of the Albemarle 

 Sound. All but one drowned. 



As the possible release dates 

 near, biologists are doing everything 

 they can to increase the pups' 

 chances of survival: rabies shots, 

 parvo vaccinations, help with food. 



In addition to the bowls of kibble 

 and weekly horse meat "C-logs," or 



"carnivore logs," biologists leave car- 

 casses of road-kill deer to help the 

 wolves practice eating other animals 

 and to make sure they are at a healthy 

 weight. Released wolves don't al- 

 ways begin to hunt immediately. 



Biologists will continue to 

 supplement the wolves' food for a 

 short while after the release, until 

 analyses of the animals' scats show 

 hair and bone, meaning they are 



hunting on their own. 



"Once we do, we quit," Dagen 

 says. "We have found that they really 

 don't seem to lose the hunting in- 

 stinct." 



From then, biologists' only con- 

 tact with the wolves will be by radio 

 collar, save for occasional trappings 

 for shots and collar changes. The 

 wolves will be watched closely, but 

 they'll be on their own. 



COASTWATCH 1 1 



