Not Big, Not Bad, Just a Gray Wolf!

What do our students know about wolves? They huff and puff and blow houses down? They disguise themselves as Grandma in order to trick people? They appear during a full moon and attack? This lesson explores the reality of the gray wolf—not its mythical or fairy tale cousin—and its relationships with animals, humans, and the environment.

• Standard 4: “The physical and human characteristics of places”
• Standard 14: “How human actions modify the physical environment”
• Standard 15: “How physical systems affect human systems”

• map of North America
• May 1998 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC article “Return of the Gray Wolf”
• a long length of rope
• children’s literature about wolves
• paper, pencils

Students will identify ways in which human and natural forces alter the physical environment and discuss, write about, and illustrate examples of these changes in the environment and their effects on the life of a wolf.

1. Using a large map of North America, allow each of your students to name and locate a place. Inform the students whether or not gray wolves have lived in that place (you may want to consult the map in the May 1998 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC article “Return of the Gray Wolf”). It will quickly become apparent that the gray wolf once lived throughout most of North America. Tell students that the area in which a single gray wolf lives and travels is known as its range. The combined ranges of all living gray wolves form the current range of the species.
2. Give students time to look at children’s literature, magazines, books, or videos about wolves and encourage a brief discussion. With older, more experienced students, introduce the various families of the gray wolf—eastern timber wolf, midland wolf, northwestern wolf, Arctic wolf, Mexican wolf—then locate and label their original known ranges on the North American map.

1. Review with students the wide range and population the gray wolf enjoyed in the past. Provide the class with a map that shows national parks in the United States. List several recovery sites of the gray wolf (e.g., Yellowstone National Park, Glacier National Park) and help locate them on the map. What differences can students infer by contrasting the current gray wolf range and population with those of times past? Ask students to give reasons why they think the wolf’s numbers have decreased. Note that wolf populations in Canada are comparable to those of a century or two ago in the contiguous United States. Ask students to discuss possible reasons for this discrepancy.
2. Make a very large circle on the floor with the rope. Have students stand inside the circle. Inform them that the circle represents the population of the gray wolf in an area. Lead the class through each statement below. Ask the students to assess whether the events described would increase or decrease the wolf population. Invite the students to take turns “playing dead” when the population drops and “springing to life” when it rises.
3. Read the following statements to the students:
   
   1. There is a mild winter, and the wolf’s prey—elk, deer, moose, bison, and other wild game—are strong and able to run away. (Decrease)
   2. Due to overhunting, the wolf’s prey decrease in number. (Decrease)
   3. The federal or state government has set aside more land for the gray wolf. This makes a safer environment for the wolf pack. (Increase)
   4. Many families have decided to visit the area to try to spot a gray wolf in its natural habitat. These tourists bring their pet dogs. A few of the wolves have contracted canine parvovirus, a contagious disease transmitted by dogs to wolves, and are spreading it among the pack. (Decrease)
   5. Stricter laws have been passed to protect wolves. Now the gray wolf is less likely to be shot or trapped by people. (Increase)
   6. There has been a harsh, cold winter, and the gray wolf’s prey are weak. (Increase)
   7. A local town is expanding, building homes, shops, and factories on previously undeveloped land. (Decrease)
   8. In order to protect his cattle, a rancher illegally hunts and kills a gray wolf that has been preying on the herd. (Decrease)
   9. It has been a hot, dry summer. Lack of water has left the wolf’s prey thirsty and not very strong. (Increase)

After participating in the activity, ask the students to recall events that changed the range and population of the gray wolf. Note that some of the events are natural, while others result from human choices. Have students determine whether the statements above represent human forces or natural forces. Note as well that the outcomes are only probable, for ecosystems are complex and not absolutely predictable. Ask students to discuss circumstances which could lead to unexpected outcomes for wolf populations.

Observe students to assess map skills.

Have your students create wolf journals: illustrations and text showing changes in the environment and the impacts they have on wolf packs.

Have students write fictitious newspaper articles that highlight a human or natural force acting upon the gray wolf (example: “Disease Hits Gray Wolf Population in Yellowstone National Park”).

Create a time line showing the significant events in the history of the gray wolf in North America.

Ask students individually or as a group to create fairy tales which feature one or more wolves—not depicted as villains.

On a map of the world, locate (1) where wolves live currently or (2) habitats that would be favorable homes for wolves.