This 4-year study compared population density and related behavioral attributes of wolves (14 packs) at two different moose densities: 0.23 (LP, low prey density), and 0.37 (HP, high prey density) moose∙km −2 . Wolf densities in January averaged 0.8 and 1.4 animals∙100 km −2 , packs consisted of 3.7 and 5.7 individuals, year-long territory sizes were 255 and 390 km 2 , and interstices between territories represented 30 and [Formula: see text] of available area, for the LP and HP areas, respectively. Territory size increased significantly with pack size. The LP wolf population suffered from a higher mortality rate owing to a higher occurrence of deaths from malnutrition and intraspecific strife, and from a lower success in producing pups (61% of the possible occasions, compared with 93% in HP). When no other ungulate species is present, a density of 0.2 moose∙km −2 would approximate the density threshold below which a pack could not subsist and (or) reproduce successfully. The study reveals that naturally regulated moose–wolf systems may stabilize at low prey and low predator densities.
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François Messier (1985) studied this question.