Wolf update Yellowstone Park, early September 2001
Sept. 11, 2001.
It has been about a month-and-a-half since I did an update on the Yellowstone Park wolves. This information mostly came from Deb Guernsey of the Park wolf team (as I interpreted it). She did a tracking flight on Sept. 4.
Nez Perce Pack. This big pack was in Trout Creek in the Hayden Valley. Although pups were never identified this spring in this often hard to observe pack, the wolf team feels they had pups, which would be now be hard to visually separate from the adults by air. Wolf 48F still appears to be the alpha female. She is the daughter of the late 27F, who came from B.C. and whelped 48F and 4 other siblings near Nye, Montana in April 1996. The alpha male is probably 70M, one of the two of the 10 Sawtooth pups brought from the Rocky Mountain Front in Montana in mid-summer 1996 that became successful wolves. His brother 72M may be dispersing. This year the pack has killed several bison and probably killed a grizzly bear cub (as did the Druid Peak pack).
Rose Creek Pack (Renamed Rose Creek II). This pack is in its usual summer range on the Buffalo Plateau. They were located at Haystack Meadows, a bit north of the Park in the Absaroka/Beartooth Wilderness. The pack gradually split over the last 2 years. No. 18's pack had been renamed Rose Creek II. The other Rose Creek wolves (who had no pups this year) are named the Tower Pack. The Rose Creek II pack was most recently seen with 6 pups. Number 18F (who amazingly has never been radio collared) is now a distinctive almost white wolf (as is her mother no. 9F). 18's mate is a 3 or 4 year old wolf 207M.
Tower Pack. This group of 5 wolves, derived from the Rose Creek Pack was not located in the last flight but faint signals from one member were heard near Little America.
Leopold Pack. This large and long-standing pack was located on Mt. Everts to the east of Mammoth Hot Springs.
Swan Lake Pack. This pack of 7 adults and 2 pups has moved to the south of their usual range near Swan Lake Flat and have been located near Grizzly Lake and Trilobite Point in the southern Gallatin Range.
Chief Joseph Pack. This pack, which recently lost 33F, the alpha female, to a semi-truck on US 191, was not flown for due to the intense forest fire activity in the northern part of its range.
Mollies Pack. This pack was still located near its rendezvous site in the northern part of Pelican Valley.
Yellowstone Delta Pack. This remote and large pack was near is rendezvous site in the Yellowstone Delta.
Sheep Mountain Pack (just north of the Park). Just a pair of two. They appeared to have denned, but no pups were seen. The presumed alpha male 195M was located in Little Pine Creek Sept. 4(no other wolves were seen). The pair (and pups if they had any) had been displaced about a month ago by the Dome Mountain Fire.
Cougar Creek Pair (just NE of West Yellowstone). This new pack was located as usual in the thick lodgepole pine of Cougar Creek.
Druid Peak Pack. This giant Druid Peak Pack was spread out, with some wolves at the rendezvous site and others near Crystal Creek.
Outside Yellowstone Park. I learned that the Teton Pack of 3 adults and 9 pups has finally left its rendezvous site near the boundary of Grand Teton National Park, and is now traveling over the prey-rich Mt. Leidy Highlands and into the Gros Ventre River drainage. I saw a lot of this pack this summer. There are 2 medium sized adult black females, and they might have both had litters. The alpha male, who I ran right into in May is a really big black guy with a white spot on his chest. I call him "hunk." Of the nine pups, 6 are black and 3 are gray.
One female wolf believed to be a member of the Gros Ventre Pack (a pack without radio collars) was recently trapped and collared. However, she has remained in the trees, so flights cannot see her and the rest of the pack. Indeed, perhaps she is really a lone wolf.
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