Brief Yellowstone Wolf Update:

No. 29M pairs with a lone Thorofare yearling, but throws collar.

Three mortalities.

10-27-98, with additions on 10-28

Number 29M, the alpha male of the Nez Perce Pack has left his mate (and sister no. 48F) to join with lone Thorofare yearling no. 129F. Unfortunately no. 29, the famous Nez Perce pen escape artist, threw off his collar and the pair has not been located.

The remainder of the Nez Pack (4 adult or sub-adult wolves) is together. Dr. Doug Smith saw an amazing swimming chase of an elk all the way across backcountry Beach Lake. The pack chased the elk into this backcountry lake. She swam all the way across, with the pack behind her. The elk escaped.

The rest of the packs were in their normal locations.

There are three mortalities to report -- two involve unnumbered pups-of-the-year.  One of the Chief Joseph Pack's pups was killed on US 191 in the northwest corner of the Park. This black pup is the third wolf mortality on the high speed highway leading through a sliver of the Park: Chief Joe's alpha female back in 1996, no. 32F was killed on the highway. One of 16F's pups from l997 was killed last summer on the highway, and number 16F herself was hit, but fully recovered. Her time in recovery, however, cost her most of her litter.  In the latest tracking flight no. 16 remained just north of the Park with her 1998 pups. The Chief Joseph Pack remains with six of its 1998 pups. Half of them are gray and half of them a black.

To everyone's surprise, the Druid Peak Pack had only two pups this year -- a black and a gray.  The black pup has not been seen for a long time, so it is presumed dead. The gray is frequently seen with the pack.

Number 83M, one of the pups born to the Rose Creek Pack in 1997, has just been found dead. The death of this 1 1/2 year-old wolf appears to be a natural cause.  He weighed 87 pounds and was in good condition. Number 83 was one of the diminishing number of radio-collared wolves. His body was found along the Lamar River in the Lamar Valley.  The only sign of injury was a puncture wound in the chest. Death by other wolves has been ruled out. The cause could possibly be injury while hunting, such as puncture with an elk antler.

As mentioned above, the rest of the packs were located in their typical locations. There are a number of yearlings from the former Washakie and Thorofare Packs roaming the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem.  A few have been monitored.  Washakie yearling 133M seems to be roaming widely in an area with Heart Lake on the north, the Thorofare on the east and Enos Lake in the Teton Wilderness on the south. Washakie 132M (radio-collared) hasn't been located for over a month.

Regarding the unnumbered pups. . . last year the pups were assigned numbers when pups were first seen, but many did not survive the summer and/or couldn't be identified as to which was which later on.  This year the wolf team is withholding numbering the pups until November.
 

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Copyright © 1998 Ralph Maughan
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Ralph Maughan PO Box 8264, Pocatello, ID 83209