The Daring Druids
by Meredith and Tory Taylor
Jan. 17, 2001
The following recent story about observing the Druid Peak wolf pack was provided by Meredith and Tory Taylor, two conservation stalwarts for the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem. Thanks!!
In the article they refer to alpha female 106F of the Druids. She may have been the leader that day, but 42F is the still the alpha female of the huge pack. 106F is the beta, and given the size of the pack (still at 27 wolves total), it may only be a matter of time until it splits.
A WOLF PACK WINTERS IN YELLOWSTONE or ANOTHER HO-HUM DAY IN PARADISE
by Meredith and Tory Taylor
It's now winter in Yellowstone and what a glorious time to witness this frozen wonderland with it's wide diversity of wildlife playing out their lives. When we arrived in Lamar Valley last week at dawn the temperature of minus 17 degrees F was penetrating and bone-chilling. Yet, there were the hundreds and hundreds of elk grazing placidly on the slopes, coyotes pouncing on mice under the snow, bald eagles soaring overhead and watching great bison sweep the snow with their shaggy heads, and the Druid wolf pack curled up, taking their nap on a knoll above the valley. All of Yellowstone's inhabitants, including we two-leggeds, were taking it all in stride like any normal day. But then, it WAS a normal winter day in Yellowstone.
We waited patiently along the Lamar Valley for the Druid wolves to arise while we visited with numerous wolf watchers, biologists and photographers. The wolves seemed unaware of their expected presentation to the world as they zzzzzed away the day on a bald, snow-covered knoll in the sunlight. We retreated for a few hours midday to cross-country ski near Hell-Roaring Creek where we heard another wolf gathering across the Yellowstone River. The Rose Creek pack? Later, we skied over fresh wolf tracks along the river. Obviously other wolves besides the Druids were traveling in the area.
We learned from our fellow wolf groupies that the Druid Pack had recently returned to Lamar Valley from a three week circumnavigation of the Sunlight Basin country east of the Yellowstone. Risky business for a wolf to leave the protection of the park, but the Druids had itchy feet. Now home, they settled into their normal routine of eating, sleeping, and playing comprised of mock battles and much wrestling.
With 21 pups born to the Druid pack last season (an unheard of biological phenomenon), the pack is heavy with the young energy and puppy inexperience. Upon our return that afternoon to Lamar Valley, the wolves arose from their long winter's nap to romp and play amid much tail wagging, rolling in the snow, and expressing their joy to the world. But the alpha female, F#106, a svelte petite gray, had many mouths to feed and dinner on her mind. She started off down the snowy slope in the waning light of the setting sun with her pack strung out behind for a quarter mile. They bounded along the ridgeline silhouetted against the bright light at their backs. The primal scene before us had been played out for millennia in the historic balance of predator and prey in wild places like Yellowstone, but not often observed by humans. The 23 wolves barreled off the slope, snow flying at their heels, pups still playing tag until they regrouped in the dark timber along the valley floor.
Reassessing their strategy, the alpha female again took the lead and trotted out toward the rapidly retreating elk herd. Steam rose from the bellowing lungs of the elk now thundering away. The Druids took in the scene and went into a ground-eating trot. But life is not always what it appears and surprises occur. From our spot across the valley, it looked like the classic predator pursuit of their prey when all of a sudden several wolves stemmed from the main pack, kicked into high gear, and pounced on a very unlucky coyote. The coyote was unwittingly in the wrong place at the right time and was instantly shredded and devoured. Wolves eat coyotes? It rarely happens apparently, but this little song dog had yipped its last chorus.
After this brief detour for a coyote appetizer the wolves regained lost ground toward the elk and were soon on an open bench with the alert elk herd. The female #106 trotted right past about 25 elk as if she had already picked out her target in a larger band of elk trotting away toward the setting sun. The 25 elk seemed to understand this and watched the entire packed move past them with complete indifference. The first five Druids caught up with the large band of elk and lunged right through the herd. Female #106 is a world-class sprinter, perhaps her claim to the throne as alpha female, and she blurred away from her followers as if they were standing still. Singling out a cow that F#106 cut out, the other lead wolves pursued this elk over the crest of a hill and just out of our sight, then made the kill. RATS! We were now the ones in the wrong place at the right time in order to see the climax of the hunt.
Sooo... from the ensuing rush of all the 23 wolves to the kill site and the occasional wolf emerging to the ridgeline, we saw only a bit of the feeding in the glare of the sunset. The glowing red orb blinded all cameras, binoculars and spotting scopes as if the wolves, even at that distance, disdained the unwanted publicity. Hearing the wolf howls and seeing the occasional puppy play told us that the wolf watching was over for the day. The wolves would feed on this meal for the night and then repeat their pattern of sleeping again before awakening to check out the local ungulate population for any sign of a weakness that would make them the next offering.
As the full moon arose just after sunset, the wolf howls reminded us of the primal scene that only such a special place as Yellowstone can provide. It was a good day to be a wolf - and a wolf watcher - in this very special place in the world. We hope that Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt, who visited Yellowstone two days later to celebrate his role in this wolf success story, also witnessed such wild miracles.
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