DOI: 10.5061/dryad.4xgxd257z
title: Wolves choose ambushing locations to counter and capitalize on the sensory abilities of their prey

description: Wolves (Canis lupus) are primarily cursorial predators, but they use
 ambush strategies to hunt beavers (Castor canadensis). Terrestrial beaver
 activity is predictable because beavers use well-defined, conspicuous
 habitat features repeatedly. Thus, studying where wolves wait-in-ambush
 for beavers provides a unique opportunity to understand how predators
 choose ambush locations in relation to prey activity. We searched 11,817
 clusters of GPS-locations from wolves in the Greater Voyageurs Ecosystem,
 Minnesota, USA and documented 748 ambushing sites and 214 instances where
 wolves killed beavers. Wolves chose ambush locations: 1) with olfactory
 concealment to avoid detection from the highly-developed olfactory senses
 of beavers, and 2) close (generally &lt;5 m) to beaver habitat
 features to take advantage of beavers’ inability to visually detect
 motionless predators. Our work describes in detail the ambush strategies
 wolves use to hunt beavers, and continues to overturn the traditional
 notion that wolves rely solely on cursorial hunting strategies. We also
 demonstrate that ambush predators can anticipate the movements and
 behavior of their prey due to a fundamental understanding of their prey’s
 sensory abilities. Wolves therefore, and likely ambush predators in
 general, appear capable of simultaneously accounting for abiotic and
 biotic factors when choosing ambush locations, ultimately allowing them to
 counter the defenses and exploit the sensory deficiencies of their prey.
description: We identified ambushing attempts and wolf-killed beavers by
 following wolves fitted with 20-minute fix interval GPS-collars. Please
 see the publication for detailed information on our methods. 
 The data presented is the raw data and has not been
 processed.
description: For the AmbushingAttempts_Data_2015-2019 data, the fields are as
 follows below. Note: each row of data is a unique ambushing
 attempt. Hunting Attempt ID: an unique ID
 assigned to each ambushing attempt identified Wolf
 ID: the wolf that made a specific ambushing attempt
 1st Beaver Feature: A beaver feature (e.g. feeding trail, dam) a
 wolf waited to during an ambushing attempt. If the wolf only waited next
 to one feature during the attempt than only this field (1st Beaver
 Feature) will include data whereas the fields "2nd Beaver
 Feature" and "3rd Beaver Feature" would remain
 blank. 2nd Beaver Feature. A beaver feature (e.g.
 feeding trail, dam) a wolf waited to during an ambushing attempt. If a
 wolf waited next to two beaver features at a single attempt, then both
 "1st Beaver Feature" and "2nd Beaver Feature" would be
 filled in but the field "3rd Beaver Feature" would remain
 blank.  3rd Beaver Feature. A beaver feature (e.g.
 feeding trail, dam) a wolf waited to during an ambushing attempt. If a
 wolf waited next to three beaver features at a single attempt,
 then "1st Beaver Feature", "2nd Beaver Feature", and
 "3rd Beaver Feature" would be filled in. 
 Feeding Trail Length: The length (m) of the beaver feeding trail
 a wolf waited-in-ambush next to.  Distance from
 Beaver Activity: The distance (m) the wolf waited-in-ambush from beaver
 activity Distance from Water: The distance (m) the
 wolf waited-in-ambush from water Min Time at Ambush
 Site: The minimum amount of time the wolf could have waited-in-ambush at
 that ambushing attempt based on GPS-collar locations (to see how this was
 calculated, see Gable et al. 2016. Where and how wolves kill beavers. PLoS
 One. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0165537).  Max Time at
 Ambush Site: The maximum amount of time the wolf could have
 waited-in-ambush at that ambushing attempt based on GPS-collar locations
 (to see how this was calculated, see Gable et al. 2016. Where and how
 wolves kill beavers. PLoS One. DOI:
 10.1371/journal.pone.0165537). Wind Bearing (avg):
 average wind bearing (in degrees) during the ambushing
 attempts.  Detected by Beaver?: Whether the wolf
 would have been detected via olfaction by a beaver during the ambushing
 attempt. For the BeaverKillSiteData_BEHECO
 data, the field are as follows below. Note: each row of data is a unique
 wolf-killed beaver. Kill_ID: a unique ID
 assigned to each wolf-killed beaver identified
 dateFound: the date the wolf-killed beaver was found in the
 field wolf_ID: the wolf that killed the
 beaver BeaverFeature: the beaver feature that the
 wolf-killed the beaver at or next to.