Now that the winter study is underway, there is increasing amounts of wolf news from Yellowstone Park. This was going to be a supplement to the Nov. 19 update, but it should stand as a complete story.
A lot of the news involves packs other than the usual Northern Range packs.
Mollies Pack reappeared from wherever it was, but it did not go
to the Pelican Valley. Instead it went to the Central Plateau and west where they
came into conflict with the expanding Gibbon Pack. The two packs seem to have recently
had an interaction or interactions, and probably as a result, long-time
Mollies wolf 397M was just pulled out of the
Firehole River dead. He was likely killed by the Gibbon Pack.
A Google search of this web site will yield many stories that involve big wolf 379M.
Mollies Pack now has 7 wolves and Gibbon 9 wolves.
Now down to just 5 wolves, the Nez Perce, once Yellowstone's largest, have moved from West Thumb up to the Old Faithful area. This could bring them in conflict with Mollies Pack and maybe the Gibbon Pack, which has gone that far south. 48F is still leading the Nez Perce Pack. She is currently the oldest wolf in Yellowstone, born north of the Park back in 1996 to 27F, the original alpha female of the Nez Perce Pack (while it was still in British Columbia).
The Cougar Creek Pack, NW of West Yellowstone, grew slowly over the years to a pack of up to 15 wolves. Recently they were at 13, but now down to just 5 wolves. The surprise is where the rest of them went. Nine wolves, most or all from Cougar Creek, are near Daly Creek in the Northwest corner of Park. Folks will recognize that this was long the territory of the Chief Joseph Pack, one of the original 1996 reintroduced packs. Chief Joe gradually moved north, out of the Park, became infested with mange, and their current status is unknown. They might have dissipated.
I necropsied 379M yesterday afternoon. There were no obvious external injuries except a couple cuts on the lower hind leg. He had pooled blood in the mouth, suggesting internal bleeding. I skinned him, and only saw a small hemorrhaging on the right side half way down the rib cage. Upon opening him up, he had pooled blood inside the cavity. Then I discovered three fractures that caused two of the ribs to penetrate into the body cavity, causing severe internal bleeding (trauma to lungs and liver). A blunt force trauma localized to his lateral side broke the ribs, which strongly suggests ungulate hoof. In the Firehole area, I think it could be bison, but possibly elk. He was definitely not killed by wolves, and though he wasn't far from the road, a car hit would have most likely caused broader area of damage. We are classifying this as killed by ungulate. He may have been by himself, or perhaps with Mollie's in this area, trying to hunt bison or an elk. He was [found] in the river, half submerged, and likely traveled there from where the injury was received to lay in the water because of his injuries.