Interesting encounter between former Druid 104M and Druid yearling 163M
Folks have been very interested in former Druid Peak Pack member 104M since he returned to the Northern Range of the Park. Was he displaced as alpha male of Crystal Creek Pack? Perhaps he never really was its alpha.
A number of people recently saw an encounter between 104 (born to the Druids in 1997) and their sole surviving pup from 1998, no. 163M -- between older brother, who had gone away, and baby brother, now about 104's size.
Hans Giersberg reports the event:
"A friend and I were in the Park last week and were lucky enough to witness an encounter between #104 and $163. [It} happened between approx. 8 - 9:30 p.m., Saturday [June 5], south of the Lamar River and midway between the picnic area and the Buffalo Ranch [Lamar Ranger Station]. Below is a summary of our morning and afternoon sightings, followed by a description of the evening encounter.
Earlier that morning, we watched #104 wandering around on the flats south of the Soda Butte - Lamar River confluence. He wandered south-west and displaced a small grizzly from an old bison carcass near the treeline. He then disappeared into the trees and we didn't see him again until the evening encounter.
Later around 1 p.m. # 163 showed up at a new elk carcass in the vicinity of the upcoming encounter. He fed on the carcass awhile and then pulled an unborn calf from the body. He carried off the calf to a point about 200 yards away and spent the rest of the afternoon consuming it.
Around 8 p.m. #104 was spotted approaching from the east, heading toward the elk carcass. He spotted #163and began a stalking approach. #163 saw #104 and took a few halting steps toward him, then turned and started trotting away. #163 looked nervous, stopping several times to watch #104. When they got to within a few hundred years of each other, #104 broke into a dead run and #163 took off toward the river. #163 stopped several times to look at #104 and adopt a submissive body posture, and then took off again. As a result, #104 quickly caught up.
We feared the worst, thinking that #163 was done for. But as #104 caught up, #163 again adopted a submissive posture, and #104 finally recognized him as a fellow Druid. What looked like a sure fight quickly turned into play as the two of them began to romp around, jumping against each other, licking, wagging their tails, etc. After awhile, #163 lay down in the sage near the river and #104 went south, disappearing into the treeline. It started raining pretty heavily and we all dove into our cars.
After the rain passed we saw that #104 had rejoined #163. #163 then began to head east, angling down toward the river, with #104 following. #163 would stop whenever he got too far ahead, waiting for #104 to catch up. They they played a little, and #163 would resume heading eastward. When they reached the river, #163 dove in and #104 stayed on the south bank. The river was pretty high, so #163 was swept a good bit downstream. All the while, #104 followed along on the bank, occasionally jumping up and down. After #163 got across, he waited a bit on the north bank for #104 to cross, but after #104 failed to follow, he resumed heading east and dropped out of sight.
No. 104, meanwhile, headed further downstream. He waded a little way into the river several times, like he was going to cross, but retreated back to the bank each time. We weren't sure if he was nervous about the crowd of onlookers, or just didn't want to get cold and wet. It had gotten pretty dark by this time and we finally lost #104 where the river does a big "S-turn."
It is interesting to speculate whether no. 104 will return to, or be accepted by the Druid Peak Pack. I have heard that he was radio-tracked at the Druid's den. If true, this would certainly indicate some acceptance. . . or maybe a very brave wolf, because the Druids don't take kindly to territorial intrusions.
Of course we wonder whether he was displaced from the top spot in the Crystal Creek Pack? Maybe he never really was their alpha?Because the Crystal Creek Pack regularly kills bison, no. 104 could bring that predatory knowledge to the Druids.
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