Yellowstone Wolf Update:

Here is the latest Yellowstone wolf news.

Druid Peak Pack attacks and kills Rose Creek female 85F.

Perhaps the biggest news was the recent attack by the Druid Peak Pack on a member of the Rose Creek Pack which had become separated from the nearby 21 Rose Creek members.

For about a year-and-a-half the overt antagonism between these two packs seemed to have abated, perhaps due to the ascension of former Rose Creek Pack member 21M to be the the Druid's alpha male. Last week, however, Park observers noticed the two packs as close as a quarter mile apart. Doug Smith was doing a track flight at the time.  He told me that he noticed some canids chasing another canid. When he got closer he could see the canids were the Druid Peak Pack. At first he thought they were chasing a coyote, then he realized they were attacking a wolf.  He took photos of the attack, which lasted a half hour. Rose Creek wolf 85F was attacked by the entire Druid Peak Pack, but the attack was lead by females 40F and 42F. Recovery of 85's body showed her to have been a healthy wolf of 90 pounds. She died of massive injuries. The Rose Creek Pack was about a half mile away when the attack took place. They did not come to the aid of 85.

The aggressiveness of the Druid Peak Pack has always seemed unique. My hypothesis is that it may have something to do with the fact the pack has always had an overabundance of females.  In fact two females have left, or been forced out of the pack in the past -- the late 39F and 41F (now part of the Sunlight Pair). Presently, the entire pack may be female except the alpha male.  Not all of the wolves have been handled for radio-collaring, so the sex of some is unknown, but their behavior suggests this possibility. The sole known subordinate male in the pack was 104M, who, as a yearling,   dispersed in the early fall to become alpha male in the Crystal Creek pack.

So far the Druids have killed four other wolves -- three members of the Rose Creek Pack and a former alpha male of the Crystal Creek Pack.

In other Druid Pack news, Nathan Varley reports that survivor of the Druid's two pups-of-the-year has grown large. Last winter in January when Druid pop no. 104M (then a pup) was captured and weighed, he was already 105 pounds.

Nathan also reports that it is not clear that the wolf the Druids killed was 85F.  Because the dead wolf had never been collared, positive ID is more difficult. Some think it was no. 51F (from 9's second pack and also never collared). 85F was given first choice because the size of the dead wolf seemed more that of a yearling than an adult.

Thirteen members of the Leopold Pack seen.

It is unclear how many members are in the Leopold Pack, but a recent observation showed 13 wolves. The number may vary as a number are likely on the verge of dispersal.

The Chief Joseph Packs.

These two packs have generally been n their normal territory, although Chief Joe no. 1 hasn't ventured into Tom Miner Basin (north of the Park) for about six weeks now.   Earlier this year, they killed a sheep dog there. Chief Joe no. 2 has recently been repeatedly located deep in the mountains about 10-15 miles north of Gardiner, although the pack (no. 16F and her six pups) occasionally come as far south as the Gardiner/Jardine area.

Crystal Creek Pack is out of the Park.

Until just recently the large Crystal Creek Pack was in the Pelican or the Hayden Valley, but they recently migrated eastward over the top and down into the North Fork of the Shoshone River, where the highway comes from Cody.  This may seem odd, but they did the same thing last year about this time. They wandered into and out of the North Fork area for about two months before returning to the Park's Pelican Valley.

Nez Perce Pack sticks to the Firehole River area.

The Nez Perce Pack has been keeping tightly to the Firehole River area according to Doug Smith.  The Pack now clearly consists of seven wolves -- four adults and three pups. The adults are 48F, the alpha female; and 70M, 72M, and 92M. It is the only pack where all the wolves are gray.  It is not known which male has replaced no. 29M as the alpha male. As most folks know, no. 29 is in Jackson Hole with two of the the Thorofare yearlings.

Sunlight Pair-

After not being located in the previous tracking flight, the Sunlight Pair (52M, 41F) was located in the upper reaches of Sunlight Creek, just the east of Yellowstone National Park.

Soda Butte Pack (and wolves to the south)-

After showing up in the north end of Jackson Hole, this pack has, as Ed Bangs said they might headed back towards Yellowstone. They were last located back in the Thorofare on the kill of a spike and a calf elk. As mentioned previously 24F has dispersed and is still near Moran Junction with her potential mate Washakie yearling 133M. They have especially favored the Elk Ranch Reservoir area, although they have gone as far south as Spread Creek and also went easterly to Turpin Meadows (a major trailhead area into the Teton Wilderness). The other wolf that has dispersed from the Soda Butte pack is now known to be wolf no. 123M. Doug Smith recently saw him in deep snow near Heart Lake.  He has been wandering the southern boundary of Yellowstone Park and the Teton Wilderness.  This wolf too could end up in Jackson Hole.

Update on Soda Butte. Apparently they have now gone all the way back to Yellowstone.  I wouldn't be surprised, however, to see them still return to the Jackson Hole area this winter.

Another M44 mortality-
Is there any excuse for this?

Last week the fifth wolf to be killed by an M44 (a cyanide gun, intended for coyotes) was found about 12 miles north of Cody, Wyoming in Badger Basin. The dead wolf, a gray female, officially a "canid," did not have a radio collar.

Other M44 mortalities are two in SW Montana near Ruby Reservoir and two in northern Idaho. These latter two were separate incidents involving wolves dispersing on their own from Canada.

12-16-98. Story in the Billings Gazette on the M44-caused mortality.

1-11-99. Defenders of Wildlife has announced they want those responsible (Wildlife Services)  for setting out this trap prosecuted under the Endangered Species Act.

Note: Wildlife Services and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service should refrain from appearing surprised that a wolf should appear in such as area. Badger Basin is only about 20 miles south of where Chad McKittrick shot wolf 10M back in 1995, and in very similar country (Bear Creek).  In 1996 Jay York shot wolf 11F on the Deseret Ranch 20 miles south of Cody in country similar to both Bear Creek and Badger Basin. . . Ralph Maughan.
 
 

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