I received the following update today from Yellowstone National Park. Some of the report here is direct quotation.

There are currently 8 wolves in captivity and 60+ known free-ranging wolves (this includes 19 pups seen with three litters and unknown number of pups born to several other litters), and 3 wolves (23M, 49, 59) of unknown fate. The details follow:

Druid Peak Pack: The 6 members of this group (40F, 38M, 41F, 42F, 39F, and 31M, formerly of the Chief Joseph pack) remain in the Lamar Valley area of the park. There is evidence that both 41F and 42F have established dens and given birth to an unknown number of pups. The adult silver-colored female, no. 39F, who had splintered from the group last summer and wandered widely far to the north of the Park, has recently rejoined the group. The den(s) are believed to be on Druid Peak.

Rose Creek Pack: This group remains in the Lamar Valley area of the park and includes 8M, 9F, 18F, 21M, yearlings 51, 52, 53, and pups born this year--at least 6 pups born to 9F and at least 8 pups born to 18F. Another member of this group, 23M, dispersed from the group in December and has not been located for some time. Number 23 is a black wolf and does not wear a radio collar.

No. 9F has a den on south side of the lower Lamar Valley and no. 18F's den is on the north side of the lower Lamar near Slough Creek. It seems that each report I receive increases the number of pups born to no. 9 and/or 18.

Chief Joseph: The two females in this group, 16F and 17F, (daughters of no. 9F of the Rose Creek Pack and her mate no. 10 who was shot in May 1995) have established dens and produced an unknown number of pups. The group has remained in the west/northwest section of the park.

Crystal Creek Pack: The 2 members of the pack, 5F and 6M, are located in the Pelican Valley. There is evidence 5F has established a den and produced an unknown number of pups. Number 6M is believed to be her son (born to her and the late number 4M in Alberta).

Leopold Pack: This now large pack (7F, 2M, yearlings 54, 55, 56, and at least five new pups) remains in the Blacktail Deer Plateau area of the park. The pack formed in the winter of 1995 and 96 when yearlings 2M and 7F paired.

This pack is almost never observed by tourists because the part of the Blacktail Deer Plateau that is their range is almost always closed to human entry because it is a grizzly bear management area.

The Thorofare Pack: This pack (35M and 30F and probably pups), was originally referred to as the Lone Star Pair, but it has been renamed to the Thorofare pack. They have remained together in the Thorofare area (SE corner of the Park and the NE corner of the Teton Wilderness) for the past seven months. There is evidence that 30F has established a den and produced an unknown number of pups.

The Soda Butte Pack: The members of this pack (14F, 24F, and yearlings 43M and 44F) remain around the Heart Lake area, as they have since their release from the acclimation pen in October. There is evidence 14F has established a den and given birth to an unknown number of pups.

I believe I have learned why they wintered in this very deep snow area (there was still two feet of snow on June 3 when I passed the Heart Lake trailhead). They wintered in the Heart Lake Geyser Basin because the basin serves as a warm and low snow enclave to moose and wintering elk.

Note that that the alpha male, number 13, died this winter. Before he died, he did apparently impregnate no. 14F for the third time since she was brought from Alberta to Yellowstone.

Unnamed Pair: Yellowstone National Park states: "Soda Butte 15M and Nez Perce 26F have remained together and located northeast of Dubois, Wyoming. It is unclear at this time if 26F has denned. Park staff from Grand Teton National Park continue to assist with their monitoring."

It is my information for another source that the pair has denned in the Horse Creek drainage north of Dubois and has an unknown number of pups.

Nez Perce: Yellowstone National Park states:

The Sawtooth yearlings released in March continue to wander widely in the northwest section of the park. Four of the yearlings (63F, 64F, 65F, 68F) were not located on the last flight; 67F was located near Nez Perce Creek; 72M was located in the northern section of the park; 48F was also located in northern portion of the park; and Sawtooth wolf 69M continues to travel with 29M and Chief Joseph 33F in the western portion of the park.

There are 8 wolves remaining in the Nez Perce pen--27F, 37F, 2 Sawtooth yearlings, and 4 pups that were born to 37F this May. Plans still call for relocating and releasing the 8 wolves from the Nez Perce pen sometime in mid-June. We have been unable to monitor the other two Nez Perce yearlings (49 & 50), located outside the Park, for some time.

My notes: they seem to have changed the name of the former Sawtooth pups to "Sawtooth yearlings" rather than "Nez Perce yearlings" as they called them in the last report. This makes sense to me.

No. 29M, who escaped from the Nez Perce pen, is the father of the four pups born to no. 37F inside the pen.

I saw what may have been wolf scat in West Rosebud Creek on the Beartooth Front on May 29. It could be from uncollared nos. 49 and 50 which were born to 27F in the Stillwater River drainage in April 1996, and which have never been captured despite numerous attempts. Obviously, it is hard to tell wolf scat from that of large coyotes. One needs to also see tracks, and any such had been obliterated by two days of afternoon thunderstorms.