Yellowstone in winter part 2

by Stan Tekiela
© NatureSmart
March 15, 2009

In the last column I wrote about the majesty of Yellowstone and how the park’s animals such as Bison and Bighorn Sheep eked out a living in the depths of winter. In this column I would like to concentrate on the rock stars of Yellowstone National Park--the wolves (Canus lupus).

No animal has the allure and mystic quite like the Gray Wolf. It’s a top predator that represents the ultimate in wilderness and all things wild. However, it’s also an animal that is near and dear to our human hearts because of our close relationship with the wolves first cousin—the domestic dog. 

Back in March of 1995 and again 1996, a total of 31 gray wolves were released into the greater Yellowstone ecosystem in an effort to re-establish wolves in the park. This was the last piece that completed the ecosystem puzzle. Since then the wolves have taken their rightful place at the top of the food chain and have flourished. Today they are doing extremely well.

I’ve come to Yellowstone during winter specifically for the wolves. Over the past week I have been watching and photographing several of the wolf packs. It’s mating season for the wolves so the activity within each pack is at a fevered pitch. Each day a new drama unfolds before me.

The main pack I am following has seven members. Four females and three males (four are black and three are gray). The alpha male, who is black, is busy attending to the alpha female but when the alpha female is laying down or not around the alpha male is also mating with the subordinate females. If you know anything about wolf biology it is only the alpha female that is suppose to breed so to see this kind of extra curricular activity is very interesting. It just goes to show that these animals are not wind-up toys with a set script of behaviors. I like this unpredictableness of nature. 

As I mentioned, the alpha male of the pack is black with silver highlights. His yellow eyes stand out from his black fur like two beams of sunlight. He is easy to tell apart from the other black members of the pack. He holds his tail high and seems to be spending all of his time moving around and visiting with the other pack members. He doesn’t seem to be getting much rest or eating very much. For days I watch as the alpha male spends all of his waking hours chasing after the females in his pack.

Over the past three days I have been watching the alpha male mating with all the female members of his pack. Then on the fourth day everything changed. About mid-day a lone male wolf, gray in color, that had been hanging around in the valley for several days charged into the pack and challenged the residing alpha male. For the next three hours the two fought and chased each other.

When all the fighting and chasing was done the black alpha male was driven off and the new gray male took over as the pack leader. It was stunning to witness. Also, knowing this was not something that was seen on TV in some far away and distant land was also thrilling. It happened right here and right now.

The ousted male moved about a half mile away to another ridge. He climbed to the top of the ridge and stood on a snow covered rock. Bathed in the last sunlight of the day, he stood there and howled across the river valley back to where his pack was located. As the sun set he began to trot down the side of the ridge right towards me and the road. I moved forward to get some closer images. He paused at the side of the road, turned and starred at me, then crossed the road. He ran through the deep snow on the opposite side of the road and made his way up the hill.

It was obvious where this wolf was heading. Three days before his pack killed an elk, and he was heading directly for the remains. He trotted up to what was left of the carcass. For the past couple of days the Black-billed Magpies, Ravens and Coyotes have been picking at the carcass. The male wolf trotted over and picked up one of the hind quarters as if it was a chew toy and began to trot off with it.

He carried the hind leg of the elk about 300 yards to the base of a very large rock in an open field and set it down. He looked around in all directions before he settled down and started to chew on the leg. In my mind I could hear what the wolf was thinking. “I need to start to eat right, exercise regularly and in a couple days I will be going back to flight the new gray male and win my pack back”.

It was now very dark so I started up the truck and began the long drive back to town. What a magnificent day. Until next time…

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