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Decade Of The Wolf: Returning The Wild To Yellowstone
Page 15

Special Note

The stories in this book are based on the field experiences of biologist Douglas W. Smith, combined with insights from nature writer Gary Ferguson. They represent neither the official views of Yellowstone National Park nor the National Park Service. Dr. Smith, who currently serves as head of the Yellowstone Wolf Recovery Project, coauthored this book entirely on his own time, and has received no financial compensation.

Originally of the Chief Joseph Pack, wolf Number 113 helped formed the Agate Creek Pack. He died in 2007, at the ripe old age of ten.

The Swan Lake wolves were for a time unusual, being one of only two packs in the park with all gray wolves.

Above: All wolves reintroduced into Yellowstone were first acclimated for ten weeks inside chain-link enclosures. This helped break the animals’ natural inclination to head back north, searching for their Canadian homes.

Left: We captured this 130-pound wolf, a member of the Swan Lake Pack, in November of 2003. Unfortunately, his radio collar failed within the week.

A Nez Perce wolf being released into the acclimation pen. All of the original Yellowstone wolves were transported from Canada in aluminum crates, and each was radio collared.

The Gibbon Wolf Pack in 2007. After spending several years as one of the largest packs in Yellowstone, in the spring of 2010 they left the national park for Montana’s Centennial Valley. Their movement, and apparent subsequent disbanding, may be the result of having lost key older wolves, including their alpha female, Number 537.

Researchers check the health of sedated Blacktail wolf Number 778 during collaring operations in 2011. Yellowstone wolf research is based on capturing, collaring, and then tracking on a regular basis–a model used by wolf biologists at Michigan’s Isle Royale National Park as well as in Minnesota.

Collaring a wolf is just the beginning. The real work is tracking the animal from the air–in this case, through the remote lands of the Thorofare.

Helicopter darting operations in the Lamar Valley. The two wolves are members of the Druid Peak Pack.

Targeting a wolf from the Cougar Creek Pack for darting. Doug Smith is fully outside the door, with his feet on the helicopter skid. He won’t be able to take the shot, however, until the helicopter is much closer.

The members of Mollie’s Pack (formerly known as Crystal Creek Pack) live in the Pelican Valley. Over the years, deep snow and little prey has caused the size of the pack to wax and wane.

Wolves and coyotes have never been on good terms. Here wolf Number 21, alpha male of the Druid Peak Pack, digs into a coyote den.

Despite the wolf’s superior strength, this coyote can’t resist nipping the tail of Number 21, hoping to deter him from further digging into the den.

Even a wolf only has so much patience.

Here are pups from the Delta Pack in 2007. Recent research suggests that for some unknown reason, gray wolf pups enjoy a slightly higher survival rate than black ones. That advantage ends after the first year however; as adults, the black wolves we’ve collared are living significantly longer lives than gray ones.

Here are the Gibbon wolves bedded down in 2007. Wolves are comfortable in the kind of sub-zero temperatures that send even well-dressed humans running for the woodstove. The wolf’s outer guard hairs shed rain and snow, while an inner layer, called the underfur, insulates the animals against the cold.

A Leopold wolf in 2005, following a young grizzly bear that’s wandered close to the pack’s den. While wolves tend to be willing to give ground to grizzlies at a carcass, they’re less so if the bears come close to a den. Then the wolves stick with the bear, mirroring its movements, trying to “escort” it out of the area.

Mollie’s Pack in 2005. As far as we can tell, this pack has managed to live exclusively on bison during the winter months–the only wolf pack in Yellowstone to do so.

Here are the Leopold pups in 2008. The presence of a larger pup amidst the smaller ones is a dead give away that this pack has had more than one litter. The bigger pup was born about three weeks earlier than his step-siblings. (National Park Service photo)

A common escape strategy of elk being chased by wolves is to run into water. In this case, an elk pursued by Mollie’s Pack has entered Pelican Creek during spring snowmelt. Every wolf that tried to get near was swept away in the current.

Wolf Number 114 of Mollie’s Pack with a bison kill, while ravens and fox await their turn to feed. No less than a dozen species in Yellowstone are using prey killed by wolves.

Here’s a wolf from Mollie’s Pack in 2008. The vast majority of kills made by this pack, which for much of the year resides in the Pelican Valley, are soon snatched away by grizzly bears.

Wolves aren’t random hunters, but selective. By first running prey animals, a wolf can examine them for vulnerability. Most such chases do not result in a kill.

The Druid Pack gives chase to a bull elk in 2007. Recent research in the park suggests that lower snowpacks are contributing to less nutritional plant growth in the summer. Under such conditions, Yellowstone’s big bull elk sometimes can’t take in enough nutrition to stay strong through the fall rut; this leaves them more vulnerable to wolves that would otherwise steer clear of them.

When elk stand and face wolves, or even charge them, they are rarely killed.

Alpha wolves are the most dominant members of the pack. Shown here are the famous Numbers 42 and 21, alpha male and female of the Druid Peak Pack, along with two subordinates.

Despite great skill and fierce determination, Yellowstone’s wolves succeed in taking prey only about 20 percent of the time.

Here in the Lamar Valley, coyotes have learned to keep their distance. Wolves easily dominate the smaller animal, having triggered significant declines in coyote populations on Yellowstone’s northern range.

The Gibbon Pack on the move in 2009. Like many animals, wolves often conserve energy in deep snow by traveling single file. Still more energy can be saved by so-called “direct register” walking, which means the animal’s rear feet land on top of the prints made by the corresponding front feet.

To guard against wolves and other predators, mother elk often hide their calves in tall grass or sage. A wolf’s diet isn’t focused exclusively on these calves; rather, they will be taken as the opportunity arises.

Wolf 760 of the Delta Pack on top of a flat-topped mountain called the Trident, in the remote southeast corner of Yellowstone. Soaring to more than 10,000 feet, this small plateau is the highest location at which we’ve ever collared a wolf.

Two wolves overtaking a cow elk. The neck is a common attack point when trying to bring down a cow elk, while the more dangerous bull elk are typically struck from behind.

One of the surest ways to determine the age of a wolf is by its teeth. White teeth with no staining, in perfect condition and with no breaks, usually indicate a very young wolf.

Wolf Number 13, about ten years old when this photo was taken, was the oldest wolf brought from Canada to Yellowstone, and it shows.

For the wolves of North America, gray is the most common color phase, as shown by these two members of the Swan Lake Pack. They can also be either black or white.

It’s October 2004, and the Leopold Pack takes one of its first jaunts with all the pups in tow. Travel is difficult in this long grass, as the pups–still full of play–simply don’t want to follow.

Doug Smith in 2009 with the alpha female of the Agate Pack, Number 472. Born to that famous alpha pair of the Druids, male Number 21 and female Number 42, this wolf would command the lead slot in the Agate wolf pack for more than six years. She was eventually killed by other wolves in December of 2010.