Litters-
Now there is confirmation and a count for two litters of wolf pups in Yellowstone. Number 9F and 18F of the Rose Creek pack, who denned together, have produced eleven pups between them.
Number 67F, one of the Sawtooth pups, now two years old, has whelped at litter of four inside the Nez Perce enclosure. This is the second year that pups have been produced inside the enclosure. Last year it was no. 29M and his sister no. 37F.
The father of this year's litter is also a brother -- no. 70M or 72M. The wolves in the Nez Perce pen are slated for release in mid-June when the pups are big enough to follow the adults. Folks should remember that 29M and 48F are nearby, and probably also have new pups. No. 29 has been hanging around the pen for months because his surviving pup from 1997 -- no. 92M -- was (and still is) inside.
No additional pups have yet been seen 5/10. The same is true as of 5/21
It is now conclusive that the Soda Butte Pack did not den. They are back at Heart Lake. Now they have moved into the north end of Jackson Hole and were recently tracked near Moran Junction.
It increasingly appears that no. 16F is at a den. If so, she must have mated again with no. 34M or one of the uncollared wolves that dispersed last fall. Her probable den site is at a remote location, and despite attempts the wolf team has not been able to directly observe her or the site.
Wolf Watching Conditions-
The Druid Peak Pack has been very visible. Recently, it has made a number of kills in full daylight. I saw four of them take down an elk at about 10:30 a.m. May 1 on Jasper Creek Bench. Yearling number 104M recently killed a bison calf, although the killing was facilitated by abandonment of the calf by its mother due to birth trama and perhaps human intervention for brucellosis testing.
Kevin Sanders latest update indicates the pack has been eyeing bison. To date there are only five confirmed bison kills by wolves in the Park (this from Doug Smith). None of the bison were adults.
Air quality problems-
While the Druids themselves have been visible, the air quality in the Park, and Montana as a whole has been poor for about two weeks. This is due to El Niño induced forest and grass fires in Alberta and NW Montana. El Niño caused a drought in Montana and western Canada. The haze even seeped down into southeast Idaho today. The haze has now cleared up.
NE Entrance Road Construction-
Anyone who has travelled the Lamar Valley knows the road is in bad shape. Recontruction is now underway, and ti will last two years. The prime areas of wolf observation will not be impacted until the time the pups leave the dens for rendezvous sites, but the construction will probably hamper wolf observation thereafter. Will it cause the wolves to move? Of course, I don't know.
A previously unnoted mortality-
It is now believed that wolf 127 of the Thorofare Pack, a pup, perished in the attack by the Soda Butte Pack, which also killed the alpha male of the Thorofare pack. This attack was last winter near the upper Yellowstone River's delta where it empties into Yellowstone Lake.
Chewed collars-
It was previously reported that two of the radio collars installed in late winter had been chewed off -- one in the Thorofare Pack and one in the Leopold. Since then, another collar has been chewed off in the Leopold pack.
Dead Dogs and politics in the DuNoir-
A wolf has killed three dogs on a ranch in the DuNoir Valley, about 25 miles southeast of Yellowstone. Two of the dogs were found dead about a quarter mile from the ranch -- the Diamond G. The third is missing and presumed dead. The dogs were found dead on April 21. Although this is the range of the Washakie Pack, examination of the dead dogs indicates a single wolf killed the dogs. Ed Bangs, head of the Northern Rockies Wolf Recovery was quoted in an Associated Press article that the small number of bites indicated just one wolf. He said that when several wolves are involved the dogs will have more bites. "The question is, 'Can one wolf kill two dogs?"' Bangs said. "The answer is they can if they are fighting." I reported last December that additional wolves had moved into the DuNoir. A black wolf in particular had been observed. This is the first official confirmation of this. I understand that for the time being, they plan to monitor the Washakie wolves more closely and try and collar the new wolves. The alpha male of the Washakie Pack, the late 15M, killed several cows on an area ranch last fall. He was dispatched because officials believed it was 15's second livestock depredation.
Further evidence that the Washakie Pack was not involved comes from radio tracking. The dogs were killed on April 21. On April 18 the Washakie Pack, which has three radio-collared members was 20 miles away from the ranch. On April 23, they were five miles from the ranch. Deb Robinett, the wife of the Diamond G's manager, reported seeing a single black wolf the day before the dogs were killed.
There was a meeting in Jackson, Wyoming, April 28, between Ed Bangs, head of the Northern Rockies Wolf Recovery Team, Jamie Clark, head of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and other leaders in wolf recovery effort with ranchers from the area. Suffice it to say that meetings of this magnitude don't happen over a few dead dogs.
Defenders of Wildlife will pay for the three dogs. While payment is not given for pets or hunting dogs killed by wolves, Defenders pays for livestock and livestock associated losses, such as herding and guard dogs.
The Washakie Pack was most recently located in Tappen Creek, about five miles from the DuNoir.
In late news, Carter Niemeyer, wolf specialist for Wildlife Services is reportedly now of the opinion that there are no wolves in the DuNoir Valley except for the Washakie pack. Nevertheless, reports of a single black wolf persist.
Thorofare Yearlings-
The remaining members of the Thorofare Pack were last located a couple weeks ago in the South Fork of the Shoshone River Valley, a place with many ranches and much winter/spring wildlife. They have not been located in recent flights. As of 5/21 they have finally been relocated -- once again in the South Fork of the Shoshone.
The South Fork of the Shoshone area about 20 miles SW of Cody, Wyoming.
Note the extensive foothill areas. There are many deer and elk in the winter and spring. Deer and antelope in the summer too. Notice that it is also ranchland (with lots of creeping sub-divisions that are not in this photograph). © Ralph Maughan
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