Wolves observations last weekend in NE Yellowstone
3-1-2004
Mike O'Connell, a good and a persistent wolf watcher from Bozeman, emailed the following description of another glorious day and what went on in the general area from Tower Junction up into the Lamar last weekend. Thanks, Mike!Note: I have edited the story slightly to add information. Ralph Maughan
Saturday morning, eleven Slough Creek wolves (four blacks and seven grays) traveled from the Slough Valley through Little America and almost to Tower Junction before turning around.
Along the way, the wolves confronted a bull bison, which charged them several times, before they climbed a hill with about 60 elk bunched and alert near the top. One of the black wolves charged the elk and got them and the other wolves moving. We lost track of the wolves quickly; most of the elk went west and a small group east.
The wolves eventually regrouped on a hill before disappearing over it. A good while later they appeared on another hill near Junction Butte and then trotted back towards Slough Creek.
Maybe 30 minutes after the pack went out of sight, a lone black wolf appeared, following their trail. It passed some of the still-nervous elk from downhill and eventually made it to the hill near Tower Junction, where the eleven had been. It bark howled a few times and listened to replies. The black wolf stayed in this area for 15 minutes before vanishing, too.
At the "Wrecker pullout" above the Yellowstone River, three wolves were bedded down several hundred yards from where the Slough wolves had turned around. A volunteer there said it was 302M and his group, which hadn't been seen in a few weeks.
While skiing the Lost Lake trail in the afternoon, I saw wolf, coyote and fox sign.
Sunday morning, 255F was bedded in the flats near Jasper Bench, actually closer to the road than the bench, but still a speck with the unaided eye. A Yellowstone Institute guide said three wolves had also been seen north of the road high on a hill, and that eagles flew into the area, too, so there might have been a kill out of view.
Three, and later four other, bull elk seemed to keep a relaxed watch in that area, and a golden eagle sat on the ground for more than 90 minutes looking over the hill, as well. The guide said five coyotes had also made a foray to the hill top before disappearing.
255F remained motionless for several hours except for turning a few times. Howls came from the southwest but brought no wolves with them.
A Ph.D. candidate from Boston College stopped to see the sleeping wolf. He and his assistants came to study coyotes, and their first morning in the Park saw them filming a coyote on a bull elk carcass at close range near Wraith Falls. The bull had died earlier in the week, succumbing to winter and old age. By the time these students leave, they'll learn just how special a place Yellowstone is for wildlife, and they'll likely see more coyotes here in the wild than in and around Boston, perhaps in a lifetime.
By 10:45 or so, 255F got up, stretched and yawned. She rolled around in the snow several times and then headed towards the road. She didn't get far before stopping and looking things over. People had stopped at one pullout east of where I now stood alone and at several others down the road.
255 decided to travel another, longer way to rejoin the rest of her group across the road. She started south and found the going slower, breaking often through the deep snow.
Four coyotes trotted a few hundred yards south of the Lamar River and took notice of her, but she ignored them, watching instead three researchers. One on snowshoes got within a hundred yards of her, but I don't think he initially saw her. A small group of bison grazed between them. Two other researchers on skis were farther away, but she changed course again, deciding to head back along her original route.
She stopped several more times to look at the people traveling over the snow and then the less active ones watching her from the road. Slowly, she moved closer to the road.
A small hill soon obscured my view of her, but I watched the people at the next pullout to measure her progress. When she was within a hundred yards or so, it looked liked she dashed to the road, crossed it and darted up the hill to rejoin her group.
The guide from the Institute later drove by and said she had crossed east of them and fairly close. She also relayed a report that 302M's group had been seen in Little America bedded on a hillside.
The Druids apparently didn't come into view over the weekend. I heard they were above the Buffalo Ranch Friday night, and Sunday morning, wolf watchers thought they might appear east in the Lamar but didn't.
Also, U-Black female and 194M had been seen in Little America during the week.
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