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this, setting a camera trap on a trail before a likely corner cut might help catch wolves on the travel route.
Alternately, the use of a scent attractant on a camera set on or near a trail or road junction designed to
elicit a intra-species communication response could be effective at bringing wolves all the way to the
junction and encouraging the animal to come into the field of view of the camera.
Trail Set Without Additional Attractant
Creating a trail set without any artificial attractant is less likely to cause an adverse response from trap
shy animals, a consideration for sets in locations where game managers have been trying to trap and
collar wolves. However, these sets require extremely careful attention to the specific location. Good
situations for such a set would include identifying a spot on a trail where the landscape and vegetation
strongly funnels animals along this specific location and where you have evidence that suggests multiple
events of passage of wolves, such as repeated sightings along the route or tracks on the trail of multiple
ages.
Wolves typically trot when traveling along travel routes such as roads or trails. Without an attractant
applied in the field of view of the camera to stop the wolf, the animal may pass quickly in front of the
camera causing either a very blurry image or the animal passing almost or completely through the field
of view before the camera triggers. To account for this, be sure to set your camera angled down the trail
rather than perpendicular to the trail. This will increase the time that a traveling wolf will be in the field
of view of the camera. Camera settings should be set to get as many images as possible in each burst (3
typically) and the shortest rest period between triggers (1 second typically).
Photo 1. A wolf from Washington's Lookout Pack in
the North Cascades. This camera was set at the
junction of two game trails. No additional attractant
was used. Photograph by David Moskowitz.
Trail Sets with Artificial Attractant
Adding a scent lure within the field of
view of the camera can help slow down
or stop the animal to increase the
chances of getting a clear photo with
identifying features. Similarly, in
places where there are multiple
possible travel routes, adding a scent
lure can increase the chances that a
wolf will use the one that you have set
your camera trap on.
