Yellowstone Park and wolves to the west and northwest wolf news.

Yellowstone Park and wolves north and northwest wolf news late March. . . drought!

3-27-2004. Minor addition 3-31-04

Here is the latest Yellowstone Park wolf news. I also was able to gather quite a lot of news about wolves to the north and northwest of the Park thanks to Val Asher of TESF.

As the winter has receded early from the Northern Range, drought is filling in quickly. The snow in the Lamar looks more like late April than late March. Elk and bison are weak, and the wolves have killed or fed on a number of bison lately.

About 2 weeks ago in a well observed incident at Round Prairie on Soda Butte Creek, the Druid Pack and a grizzly bear fed on a bison that died (or may have been weakened by a wolf attack and then died).

The Slough Creek Pack has killed 2 adult bison cows in late winter, and Mollie's Pack is living exclusively on bison. Doug Smith reports that the Pelican Valley grizzly, wolf bison study shows that Mollie Pack killed a bison calf in Astringent Creek, and a mature bison in the Pelican. It has also scavenged another bison that died in the Pelican. Four grizzly bears have now been observed scavenging in the Pelican by the remote study crew. Two of them are very large bears.

More bison have probably been killed or found by other packs. Dr. Smith said each adult bison is so large that it becomes an "ecocenter" (to use a term coined by the Craigheads) -- wolves, bears, coyotes, ravens, magpies, eagles and others all make use of most bison carcasses for 4 days to a week.

According to Rick McIntrye and Smith there is no news with the Druids . . . no observed denning yet.

3-31-2004. Some news. 13 members of Druid Pack right now. 286F is clearly the new alpha female. 21M is still patrolling for rival males like 194M and 302M. 286's most likely date of birth for pups is April 4.

Dan Stahler and Rick McIntrye told me that wolves 378M, 379M, and another big male with a non-functioning radio collar have probably rejoined or joined the Slough Creek Pack, bringing the pack to 13 wolves, many of them BIG males. 379M was originally a Mollies Pack wolf (as was the pack's male founder and still alpha male 261M). 379M left the pack over a month ago to return to Mollies, but after 2 weeks came back to the Slough Creek area.

There was a bit of excitement about a week ago when blood was observed in the bed of big wolf 194M who seems to have formed a lasting trio with former Druid, the U-black female and another male wolf. Despite the possible injury, the trio was soon out hunting again and killed a bull elk.

Also about a week ago a fight between the Geode Pack and some other wolves might have occurred. It seems a new group of 6 wolves (3 black and 3 gray) has been frequenting the territory between the Geode and Agate Packs. This is a tough place to be, although the new group is about the same size as both the Geode and Agate Packs.

The Swan Lake Pack has left the Mammoth Hot Springs area, but has not returned to Swan Lake Flats/Gardner's Hole. Instead they were located just a day ago north of the Park at Cinnabar Basin, not a good place for wolves. At the end of 2003, this pack numbered 20 wolves, but lately eleven gray wolves has been the consistent count. Smith said the difference is not a split pack, but more likely the dispersal of the other nine wolves as well as the possible death of some of them.

Like the Swan Lake Pack, the Chief Joseph Pack of 9 members has been in Daly Creek (inside YNP), and outside in Cinnabar and nearby Tom Miner Basin. Val Asher is going to mothball the area beginning Monday to try to prevent the wolves from denning in the area. This has been a successful tactic in the past.

The group of 3 wolves seen between Mammoth and Gardiner -- 290F (former Leopold), 295M (former Agate), and an uncollared limping female have moved to the area between Mammoth and Tower Falls.

Southward, as mentioned in a previous report, the group of 5 or 6 wolves between Norris and Madison Junction has been named the "Gibbon group" They were named after they picked up a radio-collared disperser from the Park's Cougar Creek Pack, NW of West Yellowstone.

Another group has formed that ranges along the Firehole River. It consists of former Nez Perce wolf 340F and 4 other wolves, including some black wolves. That this not just a temporary split of Nez Perce Pack is indicated with the presence of black wolves. The Nez Perce Pack, like the Swan Lake Pack have always been pack of exclusively gray wolves. The Nez Perce Pack of 11 wolves is sharing the same territory at the present with this new group, so conflict may be in order.

The Bechler Pack, which was finally radio collared this winter has been in Idaho, and at a spot I won't mention until the snowmelts due to snowmobile access.

Nearby, outside of Yellowstone Park, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reported yesterday that "Red Rocks National Wildlife Refuge personnel confirmed the presence of two wolves, (black and gray) on the refuge. The pair was observed on the 25th close to refuge headquarters. This is probably a newly establishing pair. The refuge has offered to help keep track of their presence. A big thanks to all of you." Red Rock Lakes Refuge is about 20 miles due west of the Park.

Despite the final demise of the Taylor Peaks Pack due to mange and the government elimination of the Sentinel Pack and the belatedly named Ennis Lake Pack after some minor livestock damage and a lot of yelling from politicians, two additional wolves have been discovered in the Madison Valley. Control has ended but there is an effort to radio-collar at least one of the two wolves.

The Rose Creek Pack has been lost for the time being. Once the dominant pack of the northern range, they were forced down the Yellowstone River by the expansion of the Druids. Last summer they moved up north of the Park into the Absaroka/Beartooth Wilderness where aircraft darting is not allowed. All radio collars are now gone or have failed.

The status of the Sheep Mountain Pack north of the Park is a bit unclear. They have been ranging from above Gardiner to Dome Mountain on the north. They might be in 2 groups. 323F, 334M and 4 others have been sighted all over the place. 219M (a former Druid) and 332F were in Little Trail Creek, a few miles north of Gardiner recently.

The exact status of the Lone Bear Pack and the Mill Creek Pack on the north and east sides of Paradise Valley is a bit unclear, although there have been sightings of some of the wolves -- a visual of 3 Lone Bear wolves (looking good -- no mange) and the Mill Creek alpha female passing through cattle.

352M who was recently radio collared in the Park's Geode Pack has migrated well north of the Park into the Boulder River area and is with another wolf. This seems to make two groups of wolves in the Boulder River (of the Yellowstone) area on the north end of the Absaroka Mountains of Montana.

The Freezeout Pack, led by its alpha female (115F?) and 7 gray wolves has been all over the Gravelly and Snowcrest ranges and even into the Centennial Valley so their south.

Despite all the wolf activity, the main message of this post should that drought, now going into its 5th year on the northern range, is changing the range, and making it less productive of elk and changing many natural processes.

Related story. "Drought deepens across Wyoming." Jackson Hole Zone.

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