On August 10, I wrote about the rejuvenated Chief Joseph Pack -- a happy scenario following the accidental, but natural death of number 17F, who had whelped a litter of five pups sired by no. 34F.Number 34 also sired a litter of five with 17's sister, no. 16F. The dens of 16 and 17 were not close together. Number 16 denned in Daly Creek, which is in the extreme northwest corner of Yellowstone. Number 17 denned on the outskirts of the town of Gardiner, Montana. Out of necessity, this site was a closely-guarded secret. Upon the death of no. 17, it was reported that the two litters of pups had joined and 16 and 34 were providing for all the ten pups. Things didn't turn out that way.
In late August, number 16 was injured. There are two theories about her injury. The first is that she was yet another victim of traffic on US Highway 191, which runs through a sliver of the northwest corner of Yellowstone. The second theory is that wolf 33F injured her and drove her off. Number 33 is the sometimes pack mate of number 34. 31M, 32F, 33F, and 34M were introduced from British Columbia in 1996 as the "Chief Joseph Pack". The pack's alpha female, number 32F, was killed by a semi-truck in the dead of night in the summer of 1996, once again on the U.S. 191 speedway. Since then the name "Chief Joseph Pack" implies a continuity that has barely existed. Number 31M joined the Druid Peak Pack, and number 33 has joined number 34 only on occasion. In the meantime, 34M mated the two dispersed Rose Creek females, 16 and 17.
Number 16 seems to have partially recovered from her injuries. As evidence, she was observed killing a deer in Tom Miner Basin north of Yellowstone this morning (Sept. 9). She is still not able to effectively use one of her rear legs.
At any rate number, 33 and 34 are together and may be attending to number 17's pups. Number 16's are starving and are down on US 191 almost every day. People are stopping. Buses have even come from West Yellowstone. The pups are being conditioned to humans, and as a result of all of this, pup number 108 was hit by a vehicle and killed on US 191 this morning (Sept. 9). Of course, it is likely the remaining three will starve, although this is not a certainty.
In recent news, two or three of the 16's pups have successfully crossed over the Gallatin mountain range and are with their mother in the vicinity of Tom Miner Basin. There are still several pups near US 191, raising the possibility that one pup may be 17's, or that 16 whelped more than five pups.
The Park Service has now closed the area near the highway to human foot traffic.
For background, folks may want to reread the August 10 story on the rejuvenated Chief Joseph pack.