The Human Dimensions of Wolf Ecotourism in North America

by Matthew A. Wilson, Departments of Sociology and Rural Sociology
University of Wisconsin Madison

A growing number of Americans are pursuing recreational experiences with wolves in their search for authentic encounters with wild nature. Once vilified as a beast of waste and desolation, the wolf has experienced a remarkable turnaround in public opinion and in that transition, has emerged as a new wildlife attraction . For many wildlife enthusiasts, to look into the eyes of a wolf, or to hear it cry from a distance is to experience the thrill of touching another world, a world where wildness still exists.

The Rise of Ecotourism In America
Who wants to recreate with wolves and why? Growth in wolf-oriented ecotourism is part of a much larger social trend. The best available data show that among a growing number of wealthy, well-educated, urban Americans there is a sub-population of individuals who express a desire for first-hand contact with wildlife wherein that contact does not involve killing or removing the animal. Since large predators like wolves do not generally live near residential areas, however, these individuals must often travel long distances away from home for the opportunity to see or hear wild wolves. As a result, “wolf ecotourists are easily identified as people who are willing to travel long distances just to be near wolves.

Every year, increasing numbers of the American public are expressing an interest in recreation with wildlife¹. Over the past two decades, the gowth of the nonconsumptive use of wildlife has expanded dramatically in the United States. The best available socioeconomic data show that the number of Americans who took trips away from home for the primary purpose of observing, hearing, or photographing wildlife increased by 6% from 1980 to 1990, with a total of approximately 37 million Americans participating in 1990 (see Figure 1). This trend contrasts with a decrease of 1% for the 18 million Americans who hunted animals during that same time. In short, a large and growing segment of the American public is actively pursuing wildlife viewing as a form of outdoor recreation and that this group is steadily outpacing traditional forms of interaction with wildlife like hunting and fishing.

Nonconsumptive ecotourists are generally well educated and are likely to have higher household incomes than the average American. For example, tourists who visit the International Wolf Center tend to have higher household incomes and levels of education than the general U.S. population². In a 1990 survey, 34% of all individuals who visited and later joined the International Wolf Center (IWC) reported that they held at least a college degree while over 31% held a graduate degree. In contrast, according to 1990 US census data only 13% of the US population held a college degree and 7% a graduate degree.

It is also interesting to note that public attitudes toward the wolf exhibit similar patterns: positive attitudes toward wolves are more likely to be held by highly educated and wealthier Americans. When asked to report their attitudes towards wolves in surveys, less educated respondents tend to report more negative views of wolves than individuals who are college educated. Furthermore, public attitudes toward wolves are split along a rural-urban continuum and notably differ by occupation. For example, in a 1986 survey of Minnesota residents, Dr. Steve Kellert found that Minnesota’s Twin City residents exhibited the least knowledge about wild wolves yet expressed a significant recreational interest in wolves while rural northern farmers and livestock owners tended to show greater levels of knowledge and direct experience with wolves while expressing more negative, hostile, and unsympathetic views towards wolves³.

With trends of increasing urbanization, rising education levels, and declines in agricultural employment in America, it is not surprising that attitudes toward the wolf have also changed. The wolf is a charismatic animal. The intensity of its gaze, its legendary skill as a predator, and the eeriness of its howl, all combine to make the wolf a symbol of wildness and untamed nature. The wolf is also elusive, however, avoiding contact with humans if at all possible. The avoidance of humans by wolves in the wild is well documented and probably well founded. Whereas wolf populations were once high and their numbers well distributed across North America, the wolf’s range and density declined precipitously as a result of eradication by humans. Government programs such as the now infamous wolf bounties were so effective in most areas of the United States that wolf populations were annihilated by the first quarter of this century. Today, the wolf is found in significant numbers throughout the Canadian provinces, Alaska, and from eastern Europe to Siberia, but the only significant population south of Canada exists in northern Minnesota where approximately 2,000-2,200 wolves remain⁴. Northern Michigan and Wisconsin support approximately 250 animals and Montana an additional 80. Now, with reintroduction efforts underway, Idaho and Wyoming, support an additional 140 or so animals.

In short, there are very few places in the United States where the ecotourist can go to see, hear, or photograph wolves in the wild. Because of the wolf’s low population density and its inherently elusive nature, the likelihood of seeing a free ranging, wild wolf is extremely low⁵. Interestingly, however, in contrast to its low visibility, the probability of hearing a wolf howl in the wild is far more likely. Wolves howl for a variety of reasons and the practical consequence of this tendency is that the wolf ecotourist is more likely to hear a wolf in the wild than he or she is likely to see one.

Bringing the Ecotourist and the Wolf Together
The successful development of wolf-oriented ecotourism, like any nature tourism enterprise, requires the convergence of three key factors: a reliable tourist base, a resident wolf population, and a stable, underlying tourist infrastructure in the host community. Wolves and tourists do not come together in close proximity merely by chance. Rather, a series of critical social and biophysical arrangements must be in place before the link between the ecotourist and the wild wolf can be made.

First and foremost, viewing, hearing, or photographing wildlife requires a resident animal population with relatively predictable appearances within an easily identified area. It is for this reason that most wildlife viewing areas can be found in locations that coincide with the ecology of the target animal. Unfortunately, as explained above, this requirement collides head on with the wolf’s life history. In short, wolves and people do not mix easily. To overcome challenges posed by bringing people and large predators together in close proximity, several innovations are being employed by educational and recreational programs throughout North America. As Figure 2 shows, all wolf ecotourism programs in America today employ techniques ranging from bringing wolves to the tourist (complete control over wolves) to bringing the tourist within range of a wild wolf or its sign (low control over wolves).