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. Some naturalists have pointed to cyclical fluctuations in the population of small mammals, but others have suggested unusually harsh winters could have played a role. There are thought to be about 3,500 wolves in the Sakha Republic, which covers an area larger than Argentina. The local government says the territory can realistically support no more than 500. While no attacks on humans have been reported recently, the influx of predators into more populated regions has had a big impact on agriculture - especially the region's traditional reindeer herders. Wolves killed 313 horses and over 16,000 reindeer in 2012, according to the agriculture ministry.