Opal, the alpha female of the native Boulder Creek Pack of SW Montana, has finally been killed by federal officials after a year of waiting.
Opal migrated southward into Montana from Canada in about 1992. She found a mate, and had several litters of pups near Deer Lodge and Philipsburg, Montana. Her pack has sporadically killed cattle over the years, and biologists finally came to believe that she was the problem wolf -- the one that taught the other wolves.
Early in 1997, officials decided to eliminate all of the adults in the pack and try to save the pups by captive rearing them. Things did not go exactly as planned, and all of the adults were killed except Opal and two pups. These three proved very elusive, but four other of her pups were captured and sent to the Running Creek enclosure in the central Idaho Wilderness where it was hoped they would be adopted by the two adults wolves already in the enclosure.
The two of the first three pups put in the enclosure were not only not adopted by the two adult wolves in the facility (no. B7M and Bl1F), they were killed by them. Later one more of Opal's pups was brought to the facility (after no. 7 and 11 were released on the North Fork of the Clearwater River). These two pups have been in the facility ever since. It is not clear to me how they will be released. I have been told and have reported several different plans.
Meanwhile Opal found another mate -- B14M a reintroduced wolf from central Idaho. Number 14 hadn't been radio tracked for about a year. Some thought he was dead. It is hoped that his bond with the two wild pups (now yearlings) will keep the pack together and out of trouble. The new adult wolf has no history of livestock killing.
Return To Maughan's Wolf Report Page
Copyright © 1998 Ralph Maughan
Not to be reprinted, archived, redistributed, etc.,
without permission.
Ralph Maughan; PO Box 8264, Pocatello, ID 83209