Folks have been wondering what is the latest wolf news from Yellowstone Park.
There are no clear signs of denning yet, although this is not always easy to determine. In recent years Druid wolf 42F was always the first known wolf to give birth (usually about April 1), but, of course, she gone now.
Currently there are still about 12 Druids, the 4 adults or yearlings and 8 or so pups.
Druid 255F and the U-Black have not returned to the pack, according to Rick McIntyre. Both are off in separate trios (each with 2 males). McIntrye believes that 255F is more likely to return than the U-Black because she is more often seen by herself and has approached the traditional Druid den area.
The U-Black is still with 194M and another male. 194M originated with the Rose Creek Pack, joining the hard core Mollies Pack, and then returned to the lower Lamar area. He was the biggest wolf radio-collared this winter -- 130 pounds.
The Slough Creek Pack of about 12 has been sticking pretty much in lower Slough Creek. McIntyre says the new alpha female (uncollared) is quite identifiable. She is a black wolf, but with a gray face, making her pretty distinct from the pack's other black wolves.
Doug Smith told me the Geode Pack, just west of the Slough Creek pack, on Hellroaring Slopes is down to 6 wolves, and the Agate Pack as well down to 6 wolves. The Agate Pack has been in its traditional area -- Elk Creek, Pleasant Valley, Antelope Creek, with some forays to the contested Junction Butte area.
The Leopolds are still at 15 or 16 members, and the Swan Lake Pack at about 11. There have been dispersers and a new pack, including a limping wolf has formed between Mammoth Hot Springs and Gardiner and the Swan Lake Pack has been in and near Mammoth, having killed 4 elk at night among the buildings. This has prompted concern among some, and Dr. Smith has written a long piece on the matter (see below).
The annual study of grizzly bear, bison, and Mollie's Pack interactions is just getting underway in the remote Pelican Valley. We, the Wolf Recovery Foundation, are partial financial supporters of this project. Smith just skied out of the Pelican on March 19. He told me they didn't see Mollie's Pack, but radio tracking showed them in Astringent Creek (upstream a bit), probably on a kill or a carcass. Smith said he watched 2 bison succumb to late winter woes. Two apparently lone wolves were seen on the carcasses. No grizzlies were spotted, somewhat unusual, but griz tracks were seen.
Last year in early spring, Mollies Pack had an epic battle with a bison bull in the Pelican, which they finally killed after a 12 hour fight, and the death of one pack member and a broken leg for the tough alpha female. She went to whelp pups and continue to lead the pack.
I don't have info on the other packs except the Nez Perce Pack is now much smaller and has lost members to a new pack that has formed in the Firehole River area. The Gibbon group of (5) wolves has now also become a full fledged pack. Folks may recall the long time suspected Nez Perce alpha male, 72M, migrated far to the south to join the Green River Pack female (Wind Rivers). He has since disappeared. 72M's bother, 70M also thought perhaps to be the alpha male migrated west and was shot the other day when the government wiped out two wolf packs in the Madison Valley after a few depredations and a lot of noisy politicians and hysterical ranchers.
Just south of Yellowstone Park, the 8-member Bechler Pack was finally captured this winter. The alpha male (originally from the Rose Creek Pack) was recollared and two other pack members got collars.
Here is Smith's article on the Mammoth wolf situation. He wrote it for the employees who live at Park headquarters. His suggestions about wolves also apply to wolf watchers and hikers throughout the Park. It is rare, but has happened (in fact to me) to run into a wolf. This is a lot less serious than surprising a grizzly bear, but folks want advice.
Living with Wolves
The situation. The last few weeks, and similar to the last couple of years, a wolf pack has been in close proximity to Mammoth. Most activity is at night, although the wolves are seen some days as well. Four elk have been killed near buildings, two of which had to be moved. Many people are concerned for human safety and how we should all respond. Many are concerned what the wolves might do. What can we expect when wolves are close to where we live and work?
The wolves: The wolves mostly frequenting the area are from a pack known as the Swan Lake pack. This pack typically ranges around Swan Lake flats and Gardner’s Hole, but their territory includes the north side of Sepulcher and Mammoth. This pack started when a female from the Leopold pack (Blacktail Deer Plateau) left and paired with a male in 2000. They have produced pups every year since and the pack has hovered around 10-12 individuals. Currently it has 11 members. They are unique in that they are only one of two packs out of the roughly 31 that occupy the Yellowstone ecosystem that are all gray (the other is the Nez Perce pack north of Old Faithful). All the other packs in the GYA are a mixture of gray and black colored wolves. Five of the wolves are radio collared allowing us to follow their movements and learn about them.
Lately, a new group of wolves has been spotted around Mammoth. One of these wolves is black and has a limp, setting them apart from the Swan Lake wolves. Two of the three wolves are radio collared (the two grays, one male and one female); the black limping wolf is a female and is not radio collared. This group recently formed during the breeding season, a time of year when we expect such associations. They have not been reported in as close proximity to Mammoth as Swan Lake, nor have they killed any elk in the Mammoth area.
An important point is that the wolves are around Mammoth for the elk, not because they are tame, looking for a handout, or already habituated. Elk have largely left the main part of the Swan Lake territory, so the wolves are looking around for more, and a couple years ago they discovered the "Mammoth" herd. Eventually the wolves will leave and they will not den here. Wolves are fairly traditional "denners" and their den is a good ways out of Mammoth. The denning season is April, but we expect elk movements much before then, and this will likely cause the wolves to move as well. The trio of wolves that were around Mammoth on Friday have already left the area.History of Wolf Attacks in North America: Contrary to what you may hear, wolf attacks on humans are very rare, less than for any other North American carnivore. Remember, living with wolves is not a new thing, people in Minnesota, Alaska, and Canada have been doing it for a long time. And like Yellowstone, wolves are protected in Minnesota (i.e., not shot at which some say makes YNP different) and still attacks are virtually unheard of. Two studies have tallied the number of non-rabid wolf attacks in North America during the 20th Century¾this has proven difficult because virtually no records on wolf attacks exist, so it becomes a job of summing up oral histor which total 19-21 (the 2 studies report slightly different numbers of attacks). Virtually all of these attacks (which involve not-fatal bites) are from wolves that have become conditioned to human foods. Six of the twenty or so bites were inflicted on workers from the Alaska pipeline who were feeding wolves sandwiches from their lunch.. There were 6 incidents of wolves biting small children. Five of these bites were inflicted by wolves in Algonquin Provincial Park (in Ontario, Canada) that were habituated and tearing apart packs, going into tents, and hanging around campsites. One bite was inflicted on a small child by a food-conditioned wolf in Alaska that was drawn in by a dog. None of these 20 or so wolf bites have been fatal.
Compared to wolves, bison, bears, elk, and even coyotes in Yellowstone are much more likely to interact with and hurt people. In the 20 years from 1980 to 1999, bison charged and made contact with people 79 times, inflicting 61 injuries, including one fatality. During this same time period, there were 24 bear-inflicted human injuries, including two fatalities. Between 1990 and 1999, coyotes made contact with people 16 times, inflicting 8 injuries. Elk charged people too many times to count, making contact at least once. Remember that these numbers compare 10-20 years of records inside Yellowstone National Park to 100 years of records throughout North America.
Interestingly, the wolf literature is filled with more stories of people approaching and trying to befriend wolves rather than wolves trying to attack us. In fact, many people have perfected the technique (some canoe guides in Canada, for example) of finding wolf dens, approaching them, and digging out the pups for clients to play with. No one has ever been hurt by an adult wolf defending their den, they always run off. Needless to say this is the most popular activity in 30 years of guiding for one individual guide service.What you can do: First, don’t allow wolves to become conditioned to human foods. Do not ever feed a wolf or any other wildlife. Do not leave food or garbage outside unattended. Make sure the door is shut on the garbage dumpster when you deposit a bag of trash. Second, treat wolves with the same respect that you give any other wild animal in the residential area. If you see a wolf, do not approach it. Never leave small children unattended. Third, if you have a dog, control it. Do not allow your dog to run loose (since no dogs are allowed off-leash in Yellowstone, this should not be an issue). Do not leave your dog tied up outside of your house all day or all night unattended. Dogs may attract wolves, especially during mid-winter when wolves breed. Fourth, should something happen to cause you to be concerned -- the wolf is too close, hanging around, not showing sufficient fear of humans, do not run. Stop, stand tall, and watch what the wolf is going to do. If it approaches, wave your arms, yell, flare your jacket, and if it continues, throw something at it. If someone is with you, stand closer and appear big and all of you should do the above. Think ahead, if you see a wolf, stop, see where it is headed, what it is going to do, then avoid it if you can. Finally, report all close encounters or any wolf behaving strangely. It doesn’t hurt either just to report the presence of wolves in the area, or any kills they may have made.
Management Response: The Yellowstone Center for Resources and the Ranger Division have had excellent communication about wolves across the park, especially the Mammoth area. There is an approved plan, Management of Habituated Wolves, signed by the superintendent allowing swift response to any situation should it be necessary. This plan is available to everyone and in detail discusses both the response to dealing with close encounters with wolves, and what park management is prepared to do should a problem wolf develop. The first response will likely be some form of hazing and/or aversive conditioning. Should this not solve the problem the wolf will be removed from the population proactively. This underscores the importance of communication so managers can accurately assess any potential situation.
Closing Thought: Unprovoked, wolves are not dangerous. We’re prepared. You be too. But keep in mind we do not expect anything more than has already been observed. Why then have this meeting and write this flier possibly making an issue of wolves? Because everything with wolves is a big deal, rumors abound, and legend has it that wolves are dangerous. They aren’t, I personally am more afraid of elk in Mammoth than wolves. Even though the chance of a wolf attack on you is almost zero, it is not zero, so be prepared -- after all you live in a National Park.
Contact:
Dr. Douglas Smith
Wolf Project Leader, Yellowstone Center for Resources
Yellowstone National ParkHere is a very good photo of 2 Swan Lake Pack wolves taken the other day. They are copyrighted by Doug Dance.
This is a large file (slow load).
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Copyright ©2004 Ralph Maughan
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