Local Wolves Expanding Their Territory

At least six wolves were killed by cars along a roughly half-mile stretch of the Glenn Highway outside of Anchorage last winter and fall, with wolf experts saying they've never seen that kind of carnage in a single season anywhere in Alaska -- much less on the outskirts of the state's biggest city.

"They really got whacked this year," said Rick Sinnott, area wildlife biologist for the state Department of Fish and Game.

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Gray wolves have long been known to slip across the busy freeway, disappearing in the birch, willows and cottonwood that frame the Glenn. The pack had recently grown to at least a dozen wolves and may have been expanding its hunting grounds, Sinnott said.

"It could be just that the road happens to be here, but they need more territory so they're moving a little bit more than usual across the road," he said.

The carcasses serve as a reminder that while a river of bleary-eyed commuters pours along the six-lane highway each day at 70 miles an hour, the woods on either side remain wild Alaska.

Sometimes a little too wild for homeowners like 65-year-old Beverly Bronner, who lives in the Powder Ridge subdivision of Eagle River, where a wolf ate her dog two years ago.

Clicky for the rest. We also remember that one or more wolf packs (may have been the same pack) attacked hikers & joggers on northeastern Anchorage trails, a year back. Just another reason to carry protection.