Wolf Interaction with Whales?

[roguemoon]

I was watching a documentary earlier today, and in it a lone wolf stumbled across a beached whale carcass. It made me wonder, will wolves sometimes interact with whales? Particularly, coastal wolves. Since coastal wolves are often found right by the sea or close to it, I figured they would possibly be familiar with seeing whales in the water. I'm also wondering if killer whales can pose a threat to coastal wolves in the water or arctic wolves traveling on ice floes?

In another documentary, a polar bear was attempting to catch a beluga whale trapped in a small inlet in the ice, and the narrator mentioned arctic wolves will also sometimes attempt to catch trapped belugas. Will wolves living in the same land as whales sometimes see whales as a food source?

Thanks!

[Sintact]

3Wolves are opportunistic animals that will try to hunt or eat whatever they can get. If they see another animal in trouble; they will try to get it as you mentioned with the beluga whales. I don’t know if killer whales meant a threat to Artic wolves; I do know that killer whales are known for darting against penguins that rest at the shore and do this in groups; but I don’t believe they would do the same to wolves. Penguins and other sea mammals such as seals –killer whale preys- are slower when they get to step on land; wolves are agile since they are born and live there. If killer whales try to dart against them the wolf has all the capabilities for running away and avoid the whale.

I’m not aware of any killer whale attacking a wolf, but it's still possible.

[Koa]

Like Sintact said, wolves are indeed opportunistic feeders. As stated in the quote below, other land-goers, i.e. seals in particular, are capable of attacking whales. Though I would find it rare amongst wolves, I wouldn't say it's impossible.

Marine-mammal responses to Killer Whales
Potential prey species have a number of options when threatened with the prospect of a
Killer Whale attack. An obvious response is to fight back, and this may be a viable
option, especially for the large whales, which use their flukes to strike at their attackers
(Eschricht, 1866; Chittleborough, 1953; bow et al., 1972; Best, Canham &
MacLeod, 1984; Whitehead & Glass, 1985; D'Vincent et al., 1989). Sperm Whales
have been observed to form a 'spoke', with heads in and tails out and flailing, in response
to being attacked by whalers (Nishiwaki, 1962). Because this same response has been
observed to Killer Whale attacks on Right Whales (Payne, in press), it seems likely that
this 'marguerite formation' may have evolved as a defense against Killer Whale (and
shark) attacks. Although the effectiveness of fighting back is not always apparent, it can
at times be successful. For example, Eschricht (1866) reported an instance in which a
Bowhead Whale hit an attacking Killer Whale on the head with the edge of its flukes,
apparently killing it. Large pinnipeds, such as Steller Sea Lions and Walruses, may be
especially formidable prey, as they are very strong and manoeuvrable, and possess teeth
capable of inflicting serious wounds (see Fay, 1982; Stirling, 1984; Bigg et al., 1987;
Hubbard-Morton, 1990). Matkin (in liu.) has even observed Steller Sea Lions attacking
and nipping resting resident Killer Whales in south-east Alaska, a phenomenon similar
to that observed between Lions Panthera leo and Buffalo Syncerus caffer by Prins &
Iason (1989). Felleman (1986) has suggested that the large Killer Whale pod size
involved in an attack on 200 Narwhals (Steltner et al., 1984) was required by the danger
involved in attacking these tusked small whales.

Large whales may not defend themselves, but instead turn belly-up in the event of an
attack, presumably to protect their delicate undersides (Andrews, 1914; Zenkovich,
1938; Lockley, 1979; D'Vincent et al., 1989) or may hold their flukes, rostrum, or
flippers above the surface to restrict Killer Whale access to these appendages (Sharpe,
D'Vincent & Nilson, 1990). Similar lack of active defense by ungulates has been
observed in response to attacks by terrestrial predators (Kruuk, 1972a; Schaller, 1972).
Most marine mammal species are gregarious to some extent, a pattern likely related
partially to predator avoidance and protection, through increased vigilance and the
'encounter', 'dilution' and 'confusion' effects (see Landau & Terborgh, 1986; Inman &
Krebs, 1987; Norris & Schilt, 1988). For small odontocetes, Wells, Irvine & Scott
(1980) identified predation as an important pressure toward evolution of group-living,
with those species that have the least predation pressure (i.e. riverine species) also
tending to be the most solitary of the small toothed whales. Some beaked whales are also
more or less solitary, but little else is known of their ecology.

Attempts to avoid or hide from Killer Whales in shallow water, kelp beds, river
mouths, the surf zone (where the sound of the surf may help to 'acoustically hide'
the animal), or among ice floes have been observed for many species. Large whales
(Burrage, 1964; Morejohn, 1968; Baldridge, 1972; Poole, 1984; Finley, 1990), small
cetaceans (Scheffer & Slipp, 1948; Saayman & Tayler, 1979; Wursig & Wursig, 1980;
Rice & Saayman, 1987; Bloch & Lockyer, 1988; Campbell, Yurick & Snow, 1988), and
pinnipeds (Zenkovich, 1938) all appear to use these tactics on occasion, and pinnipeds
sometimes have the additional option of hauling out on shore to avoid Killer Whales
(Moran, 1924; Tomilin, 1957). On the other hand, Killer Whales may intentionally
herd cetaceans into coves to prevent their escape (Hancock, 1965; Hall & Cornell, 1986;
Lowry et al., 1987). The superior diving capabilities of Sperm and Beaked whales and
some pinnipeds (such as elephant seals, Mirounga spp.-see Le Boeuf et al., 1989) may
provide these species with an additional escape option when they are not limited by the
presence of young calves or shallow water. This would probably only be effective if they
were far away from the predators or had not been detected yet, as Killer Whales may
otherwise be able to corral the animals and thus prevent their escape, or chase and tire
them, reducing their diving capabilities.

http://www.cascadiaresearch.org/robin/k ... onsrev.pdf


As far as feeding goes, here's a thread on wolves consuming beached whale carcasses :
http://www.wolfquest.org/bb/viewtopic.p ... e#p1565099

[roguemoon]

So, basically, it's not impossible for a wolf to hunt a whale (such as with the arctic wolves and the trapped beluga scenario), but it's not a common occurrence. Likewise, a whale could hunt a wolf if it had the chance (like if a wolf was in the water or on an ice floe).
Or at least that''s what I understand. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Thank you both very much, Sintact and Koa!

[Alpha Female]

As Sintact has said, it is possible for a killer whale to attack a wolf, though I haven't seen any documentation of this occuring.

Anyways, since your question seems answered I'll go ahead and lock. Thanks for helping guys! ^^

-Locked-