Idaho
A tenth litter of pups has been found by biologists in Idaho. According to Curt Mack, head of the Nez Perce Tribal Wolf Recovery team, a litter has been found with wolves B20F and B31M. This pair had localized in the headwaters of the St. Joe River in northern Idaho near the Montana border for some time. My previous postings indicates that I long suspected this pair had pups.
I assume it will be called the St. Joe Pack. It will be the most northerly wolf pack in Idaho.
In other Idaho news folks at Stanley recently saw the Stanley Pack bring down a big elk just 1/2 mile from town.
Montana
In Montana news, the number of litters in Montana (outside of the Yellowstone recovery area) is numbered at just five. This means that the "one strike" rule will be out in Montana, and more effort will have to be made relocating wolves that get into trouble rather than dispatching them.
The stagnation and decline of the Montana wolf recovery is an interesting topic. It is also interesting politically because it should put off the notion of downlisting "natural" wolves to "threatened species status" in the Northern Rockies for the time being. Just two years ago, it was estimated that there were 88 to 92 natural, i.e., non-reintroduced wolves in Montana. They were in eleven packs, eight of which were known to have produced pups. Three years ago (1995) the estimated number of wolves was 87 in nine packs, eight with known pups.
Check out my new Idaho wolf territory map. I have put the St. Joe Pack on the map.
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