News on the wolf situation in the southern part
of the Yellowstone country
9-19-98
The possible dispersal of some of the Druid Peak Pack is not the only Yellowstone news. The situation of the remote wolves in southern part of Yellowstone, and the Teton and Washakie Wilderness to its south, plus the Dunoir remains fluid.
On September 11, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reported:
"In Yellowstone (9/11) both Washakie wolves were located in the Park. one was by the SE arm of Yellowstone Lake where it has been for months. The other which has been missing for weeks was found along Shosone Lk. All 5 [radio-collared] Soda Butte wolves were along Yellowstone Lake."
"The Service's field crew on the Diamond G ranch found fresh wolf sign (2-3 wolves) along the Long Creek Road when they first got to the Dunoir on Sept 2. Both a black and a grey colored wolf have been reported. No radio-collared wolves are known to be in the area but on Sept. 11 a black uncollared wolf was seen by a Service biologist near a reported "den". Ravens were also seen in the area. It will be searched for possible kills and potential trapping sites. The crew will continue to search and trap the area in and around the Diamond G until Sept. 16th or so. The crew examined a possible wolf den. While the hole was big enough for wolves, the chamber was a little shorter (94") than would be expected. The den is where wolves hung out this spring and had some coyote scat and bones around it. It didn't look like it been used to raise wolf or coyote pups this spring but we don't really know what it was used for. Howling did not locate any wolf pups or adults in the Dunoir area. No wolf depredations have been reported but a large grizzly bear killed a 1500 lb. bull and was seen chasing other cattle. Wolf scats with red and black cattle hair have been found but it is unknown if scavenging or depredation was the origin."
On September 18, the Fish and Wildlife Service reported:
"The Thorofare wolf was found 5-10 miles north of Togwotee Pass on 9/16. It is getting to be that time of year and it is expected that an increasing pattern of movement and/or disperse by yearling wolves will begin to occur. The location of the other 4 uncollared Thorofare wolves is unknown."
The Service crew on the Diamond G Ranch found a calf carcass on 9/12 (where ravens had been seen the previous day). It had been fed on by both a grizzly bear and a wolf. Wildlife Services State Director Phillips investigated on 9/13 and the calf had been shot in the head, possibly by a 44 caliber bullet. Ranch manager reportedly stated that he had found a few other cattle that have been shot in past years. A large grizzly bear killed another bull on the ranch this week. Wyoming biologists are attempting to snare and move him. Trapping in an attempt to radio-collar and release a black wolf that has been seen in the area was unsuccessful and efforts terminated on the 18th. The field crew left the area on 9/18 but will return if any wolf depredations occur."
So what is going on?
It does appear that at least two of the Washakie yearlings are in a position to accept a disperser from the Soda Butte Pack. It's hard to know anything about Thorofare because only one wolf is collared. When they reported the collared Thorofare yearling was 5 to 10 miles north of Togwote Pass, I don't know if this was a visual sighting as well, and so the wolf is alone; or whether it was a radio-track and the pack may be together.
It does seem there is a wolf or two in the Dunoir, and dead cows do show up. It's hard to know what is predation from wolves versus other sources -- grizzly bears, naturally dead cows, and humans with guns. Wolves will eat dead cows they find, and they might then be blaming for killing the cow. Right now there is no evidence that the wolves have killed a single cow since the Washakie yearlings left the area.
Regarding human-caused mortality of cows, It is hunting season right now in the area, but the cow with the .44 slug in its head seems deliberate.
Other news-
Last weekend I was in Lander, Wyoming (at the base of SE slope of the Wind River range -- "The Winds"). Recently there was wolf scat collected in the Winds near Lander, and I heard that plaster casts of wolf tracks were sent to biologists. After exploring the area to the southeast of the Winds, it appears to me that there is nothing except interstate 80 that would prevent wolves from dispersing all the way to Colorado. The country south of the Wind Rivers is virtually uninhabited and there is an elk herd that spends both summer and winter on the Red Desert to the southeast of the Winds. My hope is the wolves will thumb their noses (or maybe I should say raise their legs) at the politicians and reinhabit Colorado on their own.
I drove up to the mouth of the Dunoir and got a good photo of Cross's "Trespassers will be shot; survivors will be shot again" sign. In about a week I'll put the photo up on the web.
Email addresses for members of Congress, the media and other officials.
Return To Maughan Wolf Report Page
Copyright ©1998 Ralph Maughan
Not to be reprinted, archived, redistributed, etc., without permission.
Ralph Maughan PO Box 8264, Pocatello, ID 83209