Late summer update on Wyoming wolves outside of Yellowstone Park
August 27, 2004, update Aug. 30, note Oct. 16
Here is the latest update on Wyoming wolves outside of Yellowstone National Park. I want to thank the many folks who provided the information. The opinions are my own.
Compare to the last update, July 23, 2004.
There is still no sign of any of the Daniel Pack, perhaps the largest of the Wyoming wolf packs last summer. There is increasing fear that it was poisoned, although at least one member suffered a natural death.
The "Black Widow," female 237F and her latest companion, the last of the Green River Pack, were recently shot near Union Pass after killing still more cattle. Note: I reported the demise of this pack months ago, but 237F attracted yet another male, and they started killing cattle. As a result of poisoning and control, Sublette County, Wyoming may now briefly be "wolf free" -- bad news for those hoping for migrants to Colorado and Utah.
The Teton Pack, on the other hand, continues to thrive despite the hundreds of cattle in Grand Teton National Park near its rendezvous site. The pack has killed and eaten only one of the controversial cows that were plopped into some of the most important wildlife habitat in Wyoming.
The cattle are in the process of being moved one pasture south, where they will displace bison.
An important study is underway involving the interactions of the Teton Pack with cougar and bears in the area. This week 5 radio collars were deployed in the pack -- three of them the advanced GPS collars. This is the first time these have been used outside Yellowstone Park.
Getting GPS collars are Teton Pack wolves 367M, 368F, and 445M. Wolf 446M and the alpha female 228F got regular collars. Efforts are underway to try to collar the long time alpha male. He has never worn one.
Besides USFWS wolf manager for Wyoming, Mike Jimenez, Steve Caine of Grand Teton National Park, and researchers Chuck Schultz and Howard Quigley are participating in the carnivore interaction study.
The Teton Pack has continued its unusual hunting pattern (compared to years past). They are frequently seen on the Snake River in the Park and in Pacific Creek up into the Teton Wilderness area. One backpacker, Todd Ringler had emailed me earlier this year saying he had seen tracks of 3 or 4 wolves in Pacific Creek from the trailhead all the way to Gravel Creek. I thought it must be a new pack, but it was undoubtedly the Teton Pack.
In recent weeks the pack has been a bit spread out, with small hunting groups here and there.
The Absaroka Pack has been rediscovered after fear they had all succumbed to mange. It is not known if it is really same pack, but the 6 adults and 4 pups, that were gradually discovered this summer, seem to occupy exactly the same range as the old pack. The pack now, however, appears to be mange free. Finding this pack compensates for the Daniel Pack and means the Wyoming wolf population may not suffer a decline this year.
The Sunlight Basin Pack, another mange-troubled pack nearby, did have 3-4 pups and has perhaps 6 adults. Observations of the pups from a distance did not show a mange problem.
Efforts to collar some the Beartooth Pack this year have not been successful, in part because they have moved into an area where there is more backcountry recreation. So it is hard to successfully deploy traps. The pack is believed to have pups again this year.
Control of the Washakie Pack has been heavy this year -- 6 members of the pack, including the 4 wolves, Park County conspiracy theorists concluded Jimenez had planted next to the Gooseberry Creek road between Meeteetse and Thermopolis last February. Undeterred by their loss in federal district court, and discrediting of all the "facts," Park County is now preparing an expensive appeal their criminal trespassing charge against Jimenez to the Tenth Circuit Court in Denver.
Despite the control of the pack, it still has about a dozen members, counting pups. It's normal range is the Dunoir Valley and adjacent drainages on the Washakie Front (southern end of the Absaroka Range).
The new Owl Creek Pack, a pair and 4 pups, appears to fare well despite the control shooting of the non-breeding adult in the pack earlier this year. Likewise the Carter Mountain female and her 4 pups seem OK, despite the control shooting of her mate. The nearby Greybull Pack seems to be Ok. It has about 8 adults and an unknown number of pups.
There is some evidence that some uncollared wolves have taken up residence near Squirrel, Idaho, near the Wyoming border. There have been sightings and a possible depredation. Some thought it was the Bechler Pack from the Park, but a recent flight found the Bechler Pack nowhere near Squirrel, but way up on the Pitchstone Plateau.
Despite the good news about the Absaroka Pack, wolf recovery in Wyoming outside Yellowstone Park continues to lag compared to Montana, and, especially Idaho.
Update August 30, 2004. There is a good article in the Casper Star Tribune on efforts to keep the Teton Pack away from the cattle, and brief, but very good explanation as to why these cattle are grazing inside of the Park, anyway, next to the wolf pack's rendezvous site. "Lights, shells keep wolves from attacking cattle." Casper Star Tribune. It has been shown that all this noise works, but it has also been shown it only works for a couple weeks to a month. Hopefully, this bovine intrusion on the Park's natural wonders will end for season before trouble happens.
Note. Oct. 16, 2004. The cows are still inside Grand Teton Nation Park. Will they ever go home and give room for wildlfe? Yes, at the end of October. Fortunately the Teton Pack has assumed its typical fall hunting pattern by moving into the Gros Ventre drainage. Unfortunately, the cows will probably be back again next year to threaten the Park's wildife.
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Copyright © 2004 Ralph Maughan
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