Things seem to have calmed down a bit
among wolf pack in the Park's Northern Range

March 21, 2005, with a major update March 22

Denning season is approaching and the wolf packs in the Northern Range of the Park seem to be mostly in their traditional territories, except for the Swan Lake Pack, which seems to have split apart.

The Druid Pack has been in the Lamar for a couple days and the Slough Creek Pack not. On March 21, the Sloughs were in Slough Creek, and the Druids checked out their traditional den site on Druid Pack. Later the six Druids went up Cache Creek. Last year 286F denned on April 7. Both Druid females -- 255F and 286F mated this winter. All four of the Slough Creek females mated. There could be a lot of pups, but as the wolves prey has become less abundant and probably stronger, there might not be food available for multiple litters of wolves. Park wolf biologist Dan Stahler told me that the 6 Druids appeared to be well fed and healthy.

The Geode Pack has been consistently seen lately on Hellroaring Slopes, the core of their territory. On March 21 the Agates were on Specimen Ridge.

Recently the "phantom pack," first seen last November, showed up again and killed an elk just east of Icebox Canyon on Soda Butte Creek. It is my speculation that this new pack's home range has been in the Beartooth Wilderness most of time, perhaps just N by NW of Henderson Mountain. As long as they stayed there in the Wilderness and backcountry, they would not be noticed much, and if seen, folks thought them to be Slough Creek wolves.

A few wolves have shifted to new packs. Most significantly the very light gray Agate Creek wolf 295M moved well to the west and joined the Swan Lake Pack. In addition an uncollared black wolf has joined the pack. Because the Agate Pack is down 2 members, both wolves might have been Agates.

The Swan Lake Pack originated back in the winter of 1999-2000, and it has always been a pack composed completely of gray wolves. At times it has been a very large pack.

With the arrival of the two new wolves, the Swan Lake Pack seems to have split. It is not known if the new wolves are the cause, but the Swan Lake alpha female 152F is with the group with the two new wolves. Moreover, 295M or the black wolf may be her new mate. Her group of 6 wolves is holding to the pack's traditional territory, but the other group of 6 wolves, which has just one collared wolf, 473M, is mostly ranging north of the Park between Gardiner and Cinnabar Basin on the north.

The Leopold Pack remains the Park's largest pack and recently it gained some members (or more likely dispersers returned to the pack), and its size is now 25, up from 22 wolves. Leopold and Slough Creek packs are the major forces on the northern range.

Mange continues to creep closer to the Park, and on March 21, the USFWS reported that the alpha female of the Chief Joseph Pack, 327F was found dead on March 14 near her usual den in Daly Creek (just inside the NW Corner of the Park). She had a bad case of mange, and her "Bone marrow condition showed her to be in very poor condition." Other members of this pack, which was one of the first dating way back to 1996, have mange. The Chief Joe Pack used to be a Park pack at least half of the time, but in recent years they have spent more time north of the Park (especially in or near Tom Miner Basin), and as of late all of the packs north of the Park have showed up with mange including the Casey Lake pair, which lives very near the Park boundary in Eagle Creek between Gardiner and Jardine.

With the split of the Swan Lake Pack, it is possible that the northern group could contact mange.

The yearly intensive study of the interactions of Mollies Pack, bison and early emerging grizzlies bears is now underway in the Pelican Valley. Mollies Pack is now seen as 8 wolves, and the old alpha male, 193M, thought to be gone, is with them and probably still leading the pack, although his very tough former mate is dead.

Mollies Pack is the Park's most predatory on bison, and every March it wages tough battles with the winter weakened bison, and then has to deal with the Pelican's many grizzly bears who have figured out that if they emerge from their dens early, there is likely bison meat for the taking.

Grizzly bears are indeed out, and one was seen to seize an elk carcass from the Geodes. Another grizzly may have taken one over from the Sloughs.

Most folks are aware of the recent article indicating that wolves are helping other animals, including grizzly bears, overcome the limitations on spring time scavenging the have resulted from the increasingly mild winters. So maybe wolves are a wildlife buffer against global warming.

You can read the scientific article here. "Gray Wolves as Climate Change Buffers in Yellowstone." By Christopher C. Wilmers and Wayne M. Getz. , University of California, Berkeley, California, and Mammal Research Institute, Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, South Africa. PLOS Biology. April 2005. (note that this is a peer reviewed article).

I want to thank Rick McIntyre and Dan Stahler for most of the information used in this wolf update.