Yellowknife (Oct 27/03) - Denise Auriat won't be stepping around the next pile of wolf scat she sees.

She'll be scooping it. She hopes others will do the same so she can study what the wolves are eating.

Auriat is a wildlife biologist with the Gwich'in Renewable Resource Board in Inuvik.

Over the next month she'll be visiting Inuvik, Fort McPherson, Aklavik and Tsiigehtchic with hundreds of collecting kits.

The project is part of a larger Dall Sheep Management Plan being put together by the resources board.

Gwich'in beneficiaries in Aklavik and Fort McPherson have expressed some interest in offering outfitting operations, said Peter Clarkson, the board's executive director.

Although there have been no formal applications, the board is developing a management plan for the Dall sheep which will outline when surveys should be done, restrictions and hunting boundaries as agreed upon by beneficiaries.

Up until now Dall sheep have only been hunted for subsistence in the Aklavik range, he said.

Wolves helping sheep

Wolves are a part of the same ecosystem as the Dall sheep and depend on them for some of their food.

Auriat said local hunters have noticed more wolves are sticking around the Aklavik range instead of following the caribou herds like they usually do.

She suspects the wolves are eating more Dall sheep. The easiest way to find out is through the wolf feces.

Little is known about the wolf populations in this region, she said, not even the numbers.

"They are a hard species to study. They're opportunistic and move around," said Auriat.

"This is a low cost way of getting an index of what's going on."

Auriat plans to collect samples over the next three or four years. Every year she will produce a progress report for Gwich'in beneficiaries.

How to collect wolf scat

Wolf scat can be hazardous so the directions on the kits should be followed, said Denise Auriat, wildlife biologist with the Gwich'in Renewable Resource Board.

"Wolf poop can carry parasites with eggs that you can breathe in," said Auriat.

Each kit includes a face mask, rubber gloves, instructions, wipes, a collection bag and a map.

Auriat needs the entire pile of droppings and an accurate mark on the map to locate where it was found.

Wolf scat looks like a dog's but is filled with hair from its prey, she said. It will likely be found along river banks, animal trails and around fresh kills.

The resource board is paying $15 a sample.