Some implications of the prevalence no No. 9's genes

The dominance of wolf no 9's genes in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem is more than a human interest, or should I say "wolf interest" story.

One of the reasons to bring wolves from Canada to repopulate the Yellowstone and Central Idaho recovery areas was to provide for much more genetic diversity in a restored wolf population than if the recovery resulted only from the slow dispersion of NW Montana wolves that eventually straggled into other places.

In a sense the dominance of no. 9s genes is not a biological success. The Yellowstone population is less diverse than the Idaho population where no particular wolf or pack dominates in terms of reproductive success.

Not just the gene's of no. 9, but those of the original Crystal Creek Pack have done well. Folks may recall that two 1995 dispersers from Crystal Creek paired the with Rose Creek mother and daughter.  Wolf 8M from Crystal Creek, paired with no. 9F, and wolf 2M from Crystal Creek paired with 9's Alberta-born daughter 7F to form the Leopold Pack.

These genes not only dominate, but will probably become more dominant because they are the wolves of the Park's northern range, where human caused mortality is the least and prey very abundant.  They are also the wolves most likely to disperse to central Idaho and NW Montana, if indeed this ever happens except on more than a rare occasion (so far only one wolf has been known to have done it).

These genetic facts have policy implications.  

The least common genes are to the south and face the most danger from humans.

The packs that have none of the Crystal Creek/Rose Creek heritance are the Nez Perce Pack, the Soda Butte Pack, Teton Pack, and Gros Ventre Pack. Except for the Nez Perce Pack, they all lie to the south.  The Teton Pack and Gros Ventre Pack are in constant danger from humans and the cows that are allowed, for political reasons, to graze inside Grand Teton National Park.  The Soda Butte Pack is a 1995 pack that has contributed just two wolves to reproduction with other wolves (no. 24F, alpha female of the Teton Pack) and no. 15M (deceased alpha male of the extinct Washakie pack). The Washakie Pack was the product of a disperser from the Nez Perce Pack and the Soda Butte Pack (no. 15)

The rarest genes of all are the Gros Ventre Pack which has the genes of wolf 35M, from the  ill-fated Lone Star pair of 1996 and the similarly extinct Thorofare Pack of 1997.  The Gros Ventre pack has the genes of the original Nez Perce Pack and the Lone Star male.  It consists of one of original 1996 members of the Nez Perce Pack and two surviving pups from the Thorofare Pack which was destroyed by an avalanche and an attack by the Soda Butte Pack.

The policy implication is that these southerly wolves should receive the more care and be the least subject to management control.  Unfortunately, this is not likely to be the case, especially given the recalcitrance of Grand Teton National Park Superintendent Jack Neckels to terminate the grazing leases, or even modify the leases, of two powerful Wyoming families who graze the Park.