There is a lot of news from Yellowstone due to denning, other events and information from the recently held annual interagency wolf conference. This report focuses on denning.
Denning-
Six packs have denned. Two pairs may have pups and one lone female also may have denned.
The six packs are Rose Creek, Crystal Creek, Druid Peak, Chief Joseph, Leopold, and Nez Perce/Sawtooth. The pairs are Nez Perce (no. 29M and 48F), and Sunlight (no. 41F and 52M). The lone wolf that may have denned is no. 16F who also denned alone last year.
Here are the details:
Rose Creek Pack.
Both famous no. 9F and her daughter 18F have denned again this year, although this year they are sharing the same den. Last year they denned separately, and they produced a torrent of pups. Most of 9's did not survive the summer. Most of 18's did.Druid Peak Pack.
It appears that no. 21M, the new alpha male mated with both no. 40F and 42F, and both denned together at the traditional den site on Druid Peak. The den site area on Druid Peak is closed to human entry. I urge people to respect it for both the safety of the wolf pups and your own safety. Regarding the latter, here is a example. On April 30 we met folks parked along the road who reported that a hiker on Druid Peak (he was slightly outside the closure area), somehow got himself between a grizzly sow and her three large cubs and also a large grizzly boar. It appears he survived the incident as his car was gone the next morning.Crystal Creek Pack.
Number 5F has denned in the Pelican Valley, the normal home range. Number 6M, a 130-140 pound giant is the alpha male. Last year they raised six pups, all of whom are still with the pack. This pack occasionally kills a bison. The Pelican Valley does not have many elk in the winter. It's a deep snow area. In the summer it is full of elk and grizzly bears. The pack mostly inhabits a bear closure area.Chief Joseph Pack.
Number 33F mated with 34M, the alpha male. She has denned in the NW corner of the Park, apparently in the general vicinity where no. 16F denned last year. There is an area closure for this den. The Daly Creek trail is open, but off-trail travel is prohibited.Leopold Pack.
Number 7F ("Rosie"), now four years old, has denned for the third time on the Blacktail Deer Plateau. Her mate is no. 2M, who is also now four years old. Not counting the unnumbered new pups, the pack consists 8 wolves. One yearling dispersed last November. One of the pack's females appears to have become the omega wolf of the pack and may soon disperse.Soda Butte Pack.
An early report that they denned in the Thorofare proved false. They have not denned and were last observed on a kill near the Snake River along the southern boundary of the Park. The only sexually mature male in the pack is the alpha female's son (43M) born in 1996. 14F is the alpha female.Nez Perce/Sawtooth.
For the second year in a row it appear there will be pups in the Nez Perce Pen. 67F, formerly of the Sawtooth Pack in NW Montana, is pregnant. Last year number 29M mated in this pen with his sister, the late 37F. Three pups survived the summer. 29M, the famous escape artist wolf, has remained outside the pen since his third escape. He has been awaiting the release of his surviving pup, now a yearling, no. 92M. In the meantime, his younger sister, no. 48F joined him (coming from parts unknown). It appears that 48F has now denned somewhere in the general vicinity of the pen. Note: 29M and 48F do not know they are siblings. 29M was born in B.C. to the late 27F and 28M. 48F is the daughter of 28M and 27F. However, in 1996 27F left the Park and denned alone on the Beartooth Front near Nye, Montana. 48F may yet have two surviving unradio-collared litter mates somewhere in the Yellowstone Country.Sunlight Pair.
Former Druid Peak alpha female, no. 41F dispersed and met no. 52M, a disperser from the Rose Creek Pack, in mid-March in Sunlight Basin east of the Park. Although this would be a late mating, number 41 was still probably in pro-estrus. The pair recently crossed back into Yellowstone, and 52 visited the Rose Creek densite. Number 41F, known to the Rose Creek Pack only as one of the rival Druids, remained behind. Since then, however, the pair has gone back to Sunlight Basin, but probably have not denned.No. 16.
Last year she mated with no. 34M and whelped five pups as did her sister, the late no. 17. Upon 17's accidental death, 17's pups were adopted by 34M and his former packmate 33F. Most of 16's pups perished after she was hit by a vehicle on US 191. Number 16 recovered. One pups is confirmed still alive. he is radio-collared. One more may be alive. Number 16 has been a lone wolf for several months. However, she was located near number 34M one time in December 1997.She has been very localized for some time now (as on a den). Did she mate with 34 again? Did she mate with one of the several uncollared males that have dispersed? Does she have an unrecognized mate at the den?
Washakie Pack-
The alpha male was killed last winter by Wildlife Services because he had killed livestock for the second time. Lacking a sexually mature male in the pack, this pack has not denned. I should note that there still appears to be uncollared wolf or wolves that have moved into the Wasahkie's territory.
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