Yellowstone Wolf Update. Delta and Mollies Packs missing.
Gibbon Pack has nine members!
11-19-2005
The first phase of the annual Yellowstone Park wolf winter
study is well under way now, and many observations of wolves are being made.
Doug Smith, head of the Park's wolf team reported to me some
new news that adds to
Kathie Lynch's recent update.
Two wolf packs are missing, and two are exploring new
territory.
This has happened before but Mollies Pack and the Yellowstone
Delta Pack cannot be found. Folks may recall that the Delta Pack was missing
for so long late last winter into summer, that it was though the pack had meet
some ill fate. When they were rediscovered they had pups, quite a few members,
but only one radio collar. Mollies pack often leaves the Park for country east of the
Park on the Shoshone National Forest one or more times during the fall and
winter.
This winter there are plans to put a GPS collar on the Delta
Pack in an effort to see where it goes during its disappearing acts. The GPS
collars keep getting better and now they can send email to the researcher
giving their location. Another good thing about GPS collars is that they drop
off the wolf at a predetermined time, reducing the need to capture the wolf.
The can also be programmed to report location at more frequent and less
frequent intervals.
The Nez Perce Pack, one of the Park's oldest packs seems
reduced in numbers, and is using an unusual area. It has been near West Thumb.
A big surprise is the Gibbon Pack. It is one
of the few Park packs that grew in size this year. It had been difficult to
get a pup count, but lately the Gibbon Pack has been exploring all the way
from the southern edge of Leopold territory southward all the way to the
geysers near Old Faithful. The Gibbon Pack has 9 members.
Smith reported that the
Cougar Creek Pack has dropped in size, but no exact
count.
Of course, the
Leopolds have split and group that left occupies the territory
of the Geode Creek Pack, which the Leopolds destroyed late last winter. This
new pack, derived from the split, which might have some non-Leopold wolves in
it, is named the Hellroaring Pack (the physical landmarks
Geode Creek and Hellroaring Creek are close together).
The Agate Creek Pack did survive the summer
fairly well. Their pup mortality was less than other packs. Three pups
survived and they have nine members. The Agates prefer the Elk Creek,
Tower Junction area in the winter and this could bring them into conflict with
the Hellroaring Pack just as it did with the previous Geode Creek Pack.
The Slough Creek Pack is doing well, despite
only three surviving pups. The 15-member pack has fully displaced the poor
Druids who appear to be down to just 4 members - 302M, 480M,
and two female yearlings (uncollared). Smith said he thinks the former alpha
and beta females 286F and 255F are probably dead. No pups survived the year.
The earlier report that a trio of Swan Lake
wolves might be getting back together didn't hold. Ever since that brief
observation reported by Lynch, the collared former pack member 295M has been observed repeatedly, and alone.
Apparently there has not been a flight to location the remote
(SW corner of the Park) Bechler Pack, which has been doing
very well this year (9 wolves). They was a report by a hunter of five wolves south of the
Pack near the SW corner. One had a radio collar. This could have been the
Bechler Pack. It does leave the Park, but I got the impression from Ed Bang's
most recent report that it is most likely a new pack. He suggested it might
not be a stable territory due to lack of prey in the winter.
Copyright © 2005 Ralph Maughan
Not to be reprinted, archived, redistributed, etc., without permission.
Ralph Maughan PO Box 8264, Pocatello, ID 83209
Wolf Recovery Foundation; PO Box
444, Pocatello, ID 83204