Kathie Lynch, a biology teacher, Los Gatos High, California goes to Yellowstone often and always writes fascinating, and detailed reports. Here is her latest from her trip of Feb. 12-20. Those interested in the Park wolves will be pleased with her accurate and detailed report.

I just spent nine wonderful days (Feb. 12-20, 2005) in Wonderland

watching wolves and other wildlife.  Things started off badly, though, when, in my

first few moments in the Lamar Valley, Rick McIntyre's voice trailed off as he

said, "I guess you heard about 375,"...and I knew it couldn't be good news. 

The untimely death of the not quite two year old shining star of the Druid Peak

pack (killed at a carcass near Soda Butte by the invading Slough Creek

wolves) came as a terrible blow.  Everyone's darling, she was a black beauty--the

fastest, the best hunter, a wonderful pup-sitter, and a friend to all.  She will

be sorely missed by all, wolves and wolf watchers alike.

     Sorrow turned to joy later that day, however, when the Druid alpha

female, 286F, and the gray pup resurfaced near the rendezvous site--both had been

missing since the attack that killed 375F.  We watched nervously as the two

Druids slowly made their way west while 13 Slough Creek wolves followed their

scent trail in a triumphant procession reminiscent of the Sloughs' January 17

march through the Lamar Valley.

     Meanwhile, the four other current Druids (alpha male 480M, beta male

302M, beta female 255F, and a black pup) dined on a bison carcass in the Slough

Creek flats.  Evidently 480M wasn't too worried about his missing alpha female,

because he took the opportunity to mate with 255F!  Eventually, 286F and the

gray pup arrived, and a joyful greeting ensued.  Before the Sloughs arrived

home, the Druids headed west to bed down near Boulder in Little America, while

hanger-on 379M (originally a Mollie's pack wolf) lurked nearby with a severely

tucked tail, hoping for, but not gaining, acceptance.  The Druids should have

welcomed him--they could use some reinforcements!

     Just to emphasize how the Druids' fortunes have turned, I was in Lamar

for the next eight days and never saw the Druids again, although a couple of

times a few signals were heard near the Lamar River corridor. 

     The rest of the week was heavy on watching Sloughs and the Specimen

Ridge pack, with a sprinkling of Leopolds (20 on a carcass and bedded in the far

distance from the Childrens Fire Trail parking lot), Geodes (six, including the

gray alpha female, 106F, and one black, 374M, on a carcass way up Hellroaring

Creek) and Agates (two one day east of Crystal Creek and five another day

bedded and moving east through Little America).

     But, of course, the big story continues to be the mighty Sloughs, 15 big

(except for the small, silver-black alpha female), strong wolves, eight black

and seven gray.  Whether parading down Lamar Valley hot on the Druid's trail,

devouring an entire elk calf carcass in 18 minutes in the Slough Creek flats,

or charging at a dead run east from Amethyst bench all the way to Midpoint to

take over the Specimen Ridge pack's bull elk carcass, they are a force to be

reckoned with--hard enough for Druid-loving wolf watchers to take, but

especially difficult since they killed 375F.

     One other development was the unexpected arrival at Slough Creek of a

black mystery wolf (who turned out to be Leopold 287M, brother or half-brother

to now Druid 302M) and a light gray uncollared female.  Though we could clearly

see an old-fashioned style plain leather collar on the black, none of the

radio frequencies seemed to match--until they noticed that his frequency had

drifted up.  The two disappeared as quickly as they had materialized, followed by

a possible Slough disperser, who later returned to the Sloughs.

     A most pleasant surprise was the return of often absent former Druid U

Black's Specimen Ridge pack, which includes her new gray alpha male, "stepdad"

to her two surviving pups, one black and one very light gray (sired by the

previous alpha, 194M, who died).  They spent all of one afternoon lounging right

out in plain sight in the middle of the Lamar Valley below Dorothy's Knoll

near an elk carcass.  This very efficient pack of four made three kills in three

days. 

     Their second kill, watched by many from Cottonwood Picnic/Midpoint,

involved the dramatic wounding of a big bull elk (which was surrounded by a herd

of bison obviously trying to protect it--fascinating behavior!).  When I

arrived, a large uncollared gray wolf was running directly north toward the road and

the crowd of cars and people; I thought at first that it was the Specimen

Ridge alpha male, but it turned out to be an unknown intruder being chased away

by the Specimen Ridge pack.  The intruder dove through the vehicles parked all

over, dashed across the road and disappeared.  Meanwhile, the bison stood

guard as the mortally wounded elk lifted his head and struggled to rise; he

finally died before the pack of four returned to feed.

     The prize for most exhilarating wildlife watching of the week does not

go to the wolves, however--it goes to the cats...THREE COUGARS...all in one 60

power field of view on my spotting scope!!!  I doubt that I'll ever see that

again!  The mother cougar, #125, was on an elk carcass while one of her two

male "kittens" (140 pound & larger than her!) was on a second elk carcass, and

the third cat lounged nearby.  Awed watchers at Hellroaring Overlook reveled in

this rare opportunity to see a cougar in the wild...and not just one, but

three ! 

     Finally, if you're feeling inspired to visit Yellowstone in the winter,

be sure to take a snowcoach trip down to Old Faithful.  My day trip there from

Mammoth was absolutely spectacular--with wonderful friends, a great guide,

bright sunshine, a deep blue cloudless sky, wolf tracks in the pure white snow,

bison standing stoically in the steam, trumpeter swans winging overhead, rime

frost draping trees around thermal features, colorful hot springs, mudpots

bubbling and belching, and Old Faithful spouting in all her ancient glory...it

was truly a sight to behold!  Yellowstone is simply magic!