As I reported on Feb. 14, wolves B7M and B11F were recently returned to Idaho after a two month stay inside the Nez Perce Creek pen in Yellowstone. Upon their return to Idaho they were placed inside a newly-constructed enclosure in the Selway River drainage, deep within the Selway/Bitterroot Wilderness.The plan was to hold the pair in the one acre enclosure until it was determined if B11 was pregnant. If pregnant, there would be a "soft release" -- Idaho's first -- in May. If B11 was not pregnant, both would be released somewhere in north central Idaho. Biologists are trying to confuse the pair so that they won't return to the Big Hole Valley of SW Montana where they killed a heifer. B11 knows central Idaho very well. When she was captured last November and released far from the Big Hole Valley, she returned to join number 7 in just ten days. The distance was 170 miles.
I have learned that soon after being placed in the enclosure, B7 escaped (the escape was back on Feb. 13). He probably jumped out of the pen. Since his escape he has remained near B11 (named "Blackfire," perhaps Idaho's most famous wolf). Both wolves are being fed by biologists.
Biologists examined both wolves prior to their return to Idaho and found them healthy, although no. 7 had some tooth damage (probably from the Nez Perce pen). A friend had the opportunity to visit the pair while they were in Yellowstone inside the Nez Perce pen. She was impressed by the aggressive display the pair made as she visited the pen.
The reader may want to review the numerous references to the many travels of B11 in previous reports
© 1997 Ralph Maughan
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