The
SE corner of Yellowstone adjoins the huge Washakie
Wilderness to its east and the Teton Wilderness
to its south. Altogether here lie 2.1-million acres of roadless, wild country,
all in one big block. This wildland is famous for its population of moose,
bighorn sheep, deer, and, especially for the Jackson Hole elk herd which
summers there. The area is ideal wolf habitat, and during the time
the Soda Butte Pack was penned at Trail Lake, two lone wolves (no. 35M
and 30F), both from the 1996 wolf release, formed a pair and settled into
the area around the upper Yellowstone River just SE of the Park.
In 1997 they whelped at least two pups, and they have been named the Thorofare
Pack. "Thorofare" is a name applied to part of this wild country (named
after Thorofare Creek, a major tributary of the upper Yellowstone River).
August 29, 1997