The "Sawtooth Packs:" Trying to Eliminate the Confusion
10-29-97
Many folks recently saw Jim and Jamie Dutcher's beautiful documentary, "Wolves at our Door," on the Discovery Channel. The program detailed the organization and development of the captive Sawtooth Pack, held at the base of Idaho's Sawtooth Mountains. It ended with the movement of the pack to an enlarged enclosure in northern Idaho held by the Nez Perce tribe.
My wolf reports often refer to the "Sawtooth Pack" and the "Sawtooth Yearlings." Unfortunately with the later it is usually about them getting into trouble. This causes confusion because some folks think the captive pack has been released; has gone to the Yellowstone Country and is in trouble.
Here is the explanation.
There are two Sawtooth Packs. One is the captive pack that is now near Winchester, Idaho (northern Idaho). This is the pack the documentary was about. You can learn about this Sawtooth Pack at the web site of the Wolf Education and Research Center.
The second Sawtooth Pack is a wild pack, in northern Montana, not in Idaho. It formed about four years ago on the Rocky Mountain Front (RMF) north of Helena, near Augusta, Montana. A prominent feature on the RMF is Sawtooth Reef. The pack's name came from that geological feature. In 1996 the wild Sawtooth Pack whelped more pups than it could feed. In addition, it turned out some of the adult wolves were injured (perhaps in hunting for prey). As a result the pack took to killing cattle. ADC shot some of the adults, making matters worse as usual; and some of the pups were brought to Yellowstone. Shortly, thereafter ADC shot more of the adults and all but four pups were brought to Yellowstone. Ten "Sawtooth pups" in total were brought to Yellowstone. This is how the name "Sawtooth pups," and, now "Sawtooth Yearlings" originated.
The pups were kept in the Rose Creek pen with recaptured wolves 29M and 37F. Later when 29 and 37's mother, no. 27F was captured, they were all put in the Nez Perce enclosure. So was one of no 27F's 1996 pups put in the pen. All told the Sawtooth pups were held for almost a year before they were released. They have not fared well at all, probably because effectively hunting deer and elk, or anything else, is not instinctive for a wolf. Often the Sawtooth yearlings have, therefore, turned to cows and sheep as prey.
I think the experiment was important. Could pups be salvaged and used to expand the Yellowstone wolf reintroduction? The tentative conclusion is not unless they are taught to hunt by other wolves. This is why the proposed recapture of the Washakie Pack is so awful. They are likely to became another untrained pack that will kill cattle when they are finally released, and they fan the flames of the anti-wolfers, who, of course want them captured and penned.
How is the wild Sawtooth Pack doing in northern Montana? As far as I have heard, they are fine.
Update: Unfortunately, the Montana Sawtooth Pack began killing cattle again late in 1997. The pack has been exterminated by the ADC.
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