At the time of the shooting, Nakoda was nine years old and the Alpha female of the 13-member Peter Lougheed pack. She was raising six pups when she died and had produced eight pups in 1999. More than 400 people from around the world had adopted Nakoda in an effort to support the CRWP and learn more about wolves. We have not had one wolf die of old age since the CRWP study began in 1988. Most wolves die of human factors such as collisions with vehicles or are shot by hunters.
Researchers use radio telemetry as a means of tracking the movements of wolves remotely.
Each radio collar is equipped with a transmitter that emits a unique frequency in a range too high for human or canine ears to detect. The location of the signal from each wolf's radio collar is determined using a radio receiver and a directional antenna. Radio telemetry allows researchers to follow the movements of each collared wolf without getting close enough to disturb the animal. This is especially important for wolf research because wolves are sensitive to human disturbance. During the winter months researchers snow track wolves.