JUNCTION BUTTE PACK:

The normal count for this well-known pack is now 15; 10 black and 5 gray. As of this writing, the five pups (4 black and 1 gray) are consistently traveling with the adults.

Blacks: alpha male, 1386F, 1385F, 1477F, 1479F, uncollared black male and 4 black pups.

(There could be an additional uncollared black female making 16 but she is often missing and has likely dispersed.)

Grays: 907F, 1479F, uncollared gray male, uncollared gray female and gray pup

At this time of year, wolf packs are in their nomadic phase, visiting areas within their territory (and sometimes beyond it) in search of elk or other hunting opportunities.

The Junctions still return to their Slough rendezvous on occasion in the flats below the Marge Simpson tree, but it’s no longer as reliable a place to find them as it was during early fall.

The Winter wolf study will begin in mid-November. This year one crew will follow Junctions and another will follow Rescue.

RESCUE CREEK PACK:

The normal count for this pack is now 21; they have 7 black pups. 17 black (including 1273M, 1393M, 1489M, 1490F) and 4 grays (including 1484M).

I have not seen this pack as often as I’ve seen the Junctions so I don’t have a lot of current info. Hopefully I will glean more after the wolf study begins.

1048M:

This beloved wolf had a bit of a hard time recently, after some sort of run-in with another predator animal (wolves? bear? cougar?) in October which left him with noticeable injuries. He was seen several times on the Northern Range by himself, without any other Mollie’s nearby.

Many hoped his former pack (especially 907F) would take him back. But that does not seem to have happened.

Although he seems basically recovered from whatever caused the initial trauma, he seems weakened and slow and may not be able to hunt for himself.

I was lucky to see him in late October in Rescue territory, where individual wolves seemed to tolerate him sharing a bison carcass just northeast of North Butte.

His injuries included missing fur in several places; healed-over scarring on the back of his neck, shoulders and left hip; and an overall slow gait. Why he is traveling so far from his current pack’s territory is a mystery at the moment.

The good news is that his mouth still works fine and he is putting weight on all four legs. He was observed feeding well (and often) at a bison carcass over four days in late October/early November.

He is related to many older members of the Rescue pack, as well as many members of the Junctions. He is also closely related to the Mollie’s males, so it’s possible he has a greater than normal chance of finding at least temporary acceptance with any of those three packs.

If he can shadow either the Rescues or the Junctions and if he’s tolerated at least for short periods of time at their carcasses, he might pull through. But, realistically speaking, it’s not in a pack’s interest to allow an outsider to feed when not contributing to the hunt.

This situation demonstrates again how hard life can be for a wild wolf.

Note: weeks after I wrote this but before I published it, 1048M was seen in Lamar, travelling again with the Mollie’s. Which is wonderful, yet still leaves a mystery.

WAPITI LAKE PACK:

The current count for this well-known pack is 27 with 15 adults and 12 pups (from several litters). They are being seen on and off in Hayden but the roads there close at midnight on Oct 31. It remains to be seen whether or not they will visit Mammoth or the Blacktail as they often do over the winter.

They have a lot of mouths to feed!

WOLF HUNT UPDATE

Alas, I must also report some sad news. Four members of the 8 Mile pack were (legally) killed in Unit 313 in Beatty Gulch by hunters yesterday, including a collared female.

The only good side of this is the even closed the unit for the year, which will hopefully offer some protection to other Yellowstone wolves who might venture there in search of elk.

RIP Bear 399

And finally, I am sorry to add that beloved grizzly bear 399, the “Queen of the Tetons” was struck and killed by a car on Thursday night in the Snake River Canyon. Her single yearling cub seems to have escaped but is now on its own a little too early for the best result.

Several well-attended memorials to this bear took place in the Teton area. Wyoming’s FWS surprisingly had the good sense to ignore a few proposals to have her stuffed and displayed. Thank the gods they sensibly had her remains cremated and scattered in the Pilgrim Creek area, where she frequently denned. She was an amazing bear.