A Thorofare Pack wolf moves into the Dunoir
(9-28-98)
Email addresses for members of Congress, the media, and other officials.Results of the latest Yellowstone wolf tracking flight are in, and it looks like Druid yearling no.104M did disperse to the Crystal Creek Pack, but yearling Druid 106F rejoined the pack when it returned to the Lamar Valley area. Yesterday, September 23, the pack was in the Opal Creek area near Specimen Ridge. No. 106 was with them.
It will be interesting to see if 104M becomes Crystal Creek's alpha male. The pack has 14 other members.
In other dispersal news, it looks like the expected dispersal of the Soda Butte Pack's beta female, no. 24F, may have taken place. She was tracked at Fox Park, deep in the wilderness on the southern boundary of Yellowstone. The rest of pack, led by her mother no. 14F, was north of Heart Lake. This is a considerate distance north of Fox Park. Whether she is with one of more uncollared Washakie or Thorofare Pack yearlings is not known. Collared Washakie male no. 133M was located in the Thorofare area, the other collared wolf in Washakie was not located. None of the Thorofare pack yearlings were located. Only one of these has a radio collar.
Dispersal of no. 24F is significant not just because this summer/fall has been her first real chance to find an unrelated male to pair with, but it could lead to a new pack, possibly one with a home territory in the Teton Wilderness. A pack in this location could be one that would follow elk into Jackson Hole in the winter. Such an event would open a whole new chapter in the book of the Yellowstone wolf restoration.
Let's hope she doesn't drop southeastward into the Dunoir instead (but see the update below).
Here are the locations of the rest of the wolves:
Chief Joseph Pack -- in the Gallatin Range near Fawn Pass on September 23.
Chief Joseph Pack II (no 16F and pups) -- not located in Cottonwood Creek (where they were found on the last tracking flight) , but a wider search was precluded due to low fuel.
Crystal Creek Pack -- in the Pelican Valley with no. 104M.
Leopold Pack -- as usual on the Blacktail Deer Plateau.
Nez Perce Pack -- west of the Firehole River. This is a somewhat new location for them.
Rose Creek Pack -- Slough Creek (have they come down from the Buffalo Plateau for the winter?).
Sunlight pair -- not searched for.
Thorofare -- A wolf in the Dunoir was identified on September 23. It is the radio-collared Thorofare yearling 129F, not one of the Washakie yearlings. It is possible that this wolf is alone or with one or more of her brothers and sisters. These are all uncollared.
Washakie -- Radio-collared Washakie yearling 133M was located in Mountain Creek, a deep wilderness tributary of the Yellowstone River in the SE corner of the Park. His radio-collared brother 132M was not located.
Comment: earlier this year, Ed Bangs said wolves will continue to return to the Dunoir area regardless of the outcome of Gordon's lawsuit (the owner of the Diamond G). We have now seen it happen. I suppose the reason is the terrific habitat and the fact that it is a natural funnel for wildlife moving southward. The heads of the two forks of Dunoir Creek consist of miles of rimrock, but with two passes -- Shoshone Pass and Bonneville Pass. These are natural migration corridors.
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