We await the release of the 17 new Yellowstone
wolves in late March. Meanwhile here is an
update on the wolves introduced last year.

The remaining three wolves in the Crystal Creek
pack are together in the Lamar Valley. This is
the alpha pair and the remaining young male.
Winter visitors have seen them chasing, killing,
and eating elk. They have also killed eight
coyotes.

The Rose Creek pack spends most of its time in
the Slough Creek, Hellroaring, and Buffalo Creek
areas. This is just to the NW of the Lamar
Valley. This pack consists of seven pups, the
offspring of R9 and R10 (R10 was shot by Chad
McKittrick) and R8, originally from the Crystal
Creek pack.

The Soda Butte pack remains on the Beartooth
Front, where they have spent most of the winter.
They spent much of last summer in the Beartooth
Mountains. Early this winter this pack killed
a lion-tracking dog that came upon them. Other
that, they have not been involved in any live-
stock or domestic pet "depredations."

R2 formerly from the Crystal Creek pack, remains
paired with R7, the young female (but now sexually
mature) that was the daughter of R9 and R10 from
the Rose Creek pack. According the Park Service,
the recent union of R2 and R7 appears to be the
first "naturally-forming wolf pack in Yellowstone
for more than 60 years."

This is mating season. I expect that from 10 to
30 pups will be born in the Greater Yellowstone
eco-system in May. My guess anyway.

Note: most of this information was taken from
the "Yellowstone Wolf Tracker" published by
the Park Service.