It's been some time since I did an update on the Druid Pack, and folks wonder because its visibility makes it famous and especially interesting to follow.

According to Ranger Rick McIntyre the pack has been at 17 members for a couple months now. An uncollared 2 ^1/2 year old male dispersed about 2 months ago. This male had been a potential rival to beta male 253M. 21M and 253M are now the only adult males in the Druid Pack.

The Druids have been in the Lamar Valley almost exclusively for the last week or so. 

McIntrye said that for some reason there are a lot of limping wolves. Of course 253M has been the "3-legged wolf" ever since he was probably injured by the Nez Perce Pack during their incursion on the Northern Range 2 winters ago, but recently he got a second limp, but it seems to be healing.  In addition the "half black" female is limping and 2 Druid pups are limping.

Over in the nearby Slough Creek Pack, the alpha male 261M has "a bad limp." The Slough Creek Pack normally has 13 members, 5 adults and 8 pups. They have, not surprisingly, been mostly in Slough Creek.

302M's group has remained together and their territory continues to center around Tower Junction -- 4 wolves -- probably remnants of 251F's brief pack.

The Agate Creek Pack, which spent most of the summer in the Agate Creek/Antelope Creek area (often seen from the Mt. Washburn road) has, like last winter, begun to come north. The other day they were in Little America. McIntrye suspects they travel up and over Specimen Ridge, then down into the Little America area (that's place with the ponds and all the glacial erratics).

On Oct. 15, the Geode Creek Pack approached the road. They currently have 7 or 8 members, including 2 (and maybe 3 surviving pups). Folks will recall that this pack is suspected to have killed a number of wolves from other packs, including 2 or 3 Leopolds, a lone wolf, and a maybe, most recently a low ranking member of the Rose Creek pack who was found long dead on Hellroaring Slopes. The core of their territory is Hellroaring Slopes.

McIntrye said the Slough Creek Pack the Druid Pack seem to have accommodation for the time being. No boundary conflicts have been observed.

The Little America area. Copyright © Ralph Maughan