TAMAÑO Y COMPOSICIÓN DE DIFERENTES GRUPOS DE LOBOS EN CASTILLA Y LEÓN

Size and composition of different wolves groups in Castilla y Leon Twenty-six groups were visually observed in different habitats of Castilla y Leon, mainly in agricultural areas, obtaining more than 197 observations. The total number of localized wolves was 216, with a mean value of 8,31 members per group, 123 (56,94%) of them being puppies of the year and 93 (43,06%) being adults. 41 of the adults (44%, 1,57 individuals per group) were associated to the reproductive couple whose task is mainly the care and maintenance of the puppies. We found differences concerning the number of members between the most observed groups and those groups that were less observed. For the former the average number of adults and puppies is 3,86 and 5,47, respectively, the number of individuals per group being 9,83. For the less observed groups the average number of adults is quite similar, namely 3,18, whereas the number of puppies is much smaller, 3,73, with a global average of 6,91 wolves per group. We detected a mortality of al least 14 puppies from June to September, although most likely 5 more died but this could not be personally confirmed. However these data about mortality should be taken as a minimum value, since for most of the groups (19) the puppies were observed after a month of life, and therefore an unknown number of them might have died previously.