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Wolf attacks lead to state of emergency in Russia's Siberia region Last January a "super pack" of 400 wolves laid siege to the remote town of Verkhoyansk, forcing locals to mount patrols on snow mobiles until the government could send in extra help. Wolves usually hunt in small groups of just six or seven, and naturalists believe only a serious failure of the usual food supply could have brought such a large pack together to tackle larger prey. This year naturalists say a shortage of the wolves' traditional pretty – especially blue hares – has seen vast numbers of the hungry animals migrating from their mountainous hunting grounds to central parts of the republic. While scientists agree a food shortage is at the root of the problem, it is not clear what has impacted the small mammal population. There are thought to be about 3,500 wolves in the Sakha Republic, which covers an area larger than Argentina.