It looks like famous wolf number 9F, the alpha female of the Rose Creek Pack, has denned and probably has whelped her fourth litter of pups since she arrived in Yellowstone in 1995.
Everybody knows the story of number 9F and 10M, the latter shot by Chad McKittrick back in 1995 just as no. 9 was whelping a litter of eight under pine tree on Mount Maurice. The eight pups from this union were brought back to the Rose Creek pen and raised until Oct. 1995, when they were set free and immediately joined by dispersing number 8M from the nearby Crystal Creek Pack.
The union of 8 and 9 brought three more pups in 1996 and seven more in 1997. Unfortunately, all but one (no. 85) of 9's 1997 pups did not survive the summer. This may have been for a number of reasons, but it is significant that her den was in full view of the NE entrance road and thousands of people stopped to observe the nearby den site with binoculars and scopes.
In 1997 two of her daughters from 1995, no. 18F and 19F, also whelped pups. Number 18 had a litter of eleven! Most of no. 18's survived the summer. Number 19 was soon killed by other wolves, probably the nearby Druid Peak Pack. 19's four pups soon perished.
This year she appears to have returned to the vicinity of her 1996 den which is about two miles from the road. I'm not sure if she dug a new den or is using the old one. I have been getting reports from Kevin Sanders and others for about two weeks that she was localizing in this area. For detailed information see the Yellowstone Wolf Tracker.
Undoubtedly other packs have denned and before long more reports of pups will trickle in. It will be interesting to see how the 1998 pups number compared to 1997. The harsh winter of 1996-7 provided enormous numbers of weakened elk and many frozen carcasses. As a result, wolf pup litters were numerous and large.
Kevin Sanders reports that 9F has moved her den, perhaps due to a grizzly that was hanging around the area. He also reports that the Druids have denned again in the thick timber of Druid Peak. Has the new alpha male, no. 21M, mated with more than one of the pack's females? He was observed mating with no. 42F of the Druid Peak Pack a couple months ago.
Return To Maughan Wolf Report Page
Copyright ©1998 Ralph Maughan
Not to be reprinted, archived, redistributed, etc., without
permission.
Ralph Maughan PO Box 8264, Pocatello, ID 83209