Wolves with adequate social distancing from humans tend to avoid nasty viruses, scientists have found.
In a study of more than 2,000 gray wolves from near Mexico to northern Canada, researchers found that the farther wolves were from people, the fewer viruses and parasites they encountered.
In the study, scientists used blood samples taken over several decades from wolves on the Alaska Peninsula, Denali National Park and Preserve and Yukon-Charley Rivers National Park and Preserve. They also used samples from wolves living as far east as the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and as far south as Arizona.
The scientists checked the blood-serum samples for antibodies to certain canine viruses and a few parasites. Alaska and northern Canada wolves had fewer of those antibodies when compared to other populations studied in North America. This suggests the far-north animals have not been exposed to those viruses and parasites.