Wolves in Yellowstone

Thick heavy clouds laden with snow clung to the mountain tops that surround the wide expansive valley before me. Fortunately the wind was dead calm because the air temperatures were 15 to 18 degrees below zero F. Off in the distance I can hear the low mournful howl of a lone wolf. It is a true and absolute sound of nature that I never get tired of hearing.

I have returned for my annual winter trip to Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. This magnificent park has an intact ecosystem complete with the top predator the Gray Wolf (Canis lupus). I have been following the saga of the wolves in the park since 66 wolves were reintroduced back in 1995-96.

This year I am joined by several photographers from around the US and we are concentrating on finding and photographing wolves. I think many people who have never had any experience with wolves have some ill-conceived ideas about these close relatives to our family dogs. They think wolves are blood thirsty killers that run around the country-side killing indiscriminately and often just for the fun of it. I can tell you that in all my years of studying and photographing wolves I have never seen anything even remotely approaching this kind of behavior. In fact it’s just the opposite.

Our first encounter with a wolf occurred within a day of arriving in the park. A large gray female that was heavily battle scarred. She was notable because she was all alone. She was moving across the mountains and valleys in search of a mate or a pack to accept her. For several days she had been trying to work her way into the famed Druid pack which is one of the most well known packs and controlled a large territory. According to the park’s wolf biologist this female had been successful at taking down a female elk all by herself and she was allowing the Druid pack to feed on her kill. It was a jester of good will and open heartedness on the part of the lone female. However the three established females of the Druid pack still wouldn’t allow her into the pack so she was forced to hang outside of the pack.

The following day the neighboring Black-tailed pack made a kill near the Druid’s territory so the Druids went over to see if they could get in on the kill and get something to eat. The Druids hadn’t eaten in many days and many of the members of the Druid pack were suffering from mange which is caused by a parasitic mite that causes intense itching and hair loss. It was obvious the Druid pack was not doing well. Predictably the Black-tailed pack successfully defended their food source by attacking the intruding Druid pack and a savage fight broke out between the two packs. One of the Druid females was as severally injured with several large neck lacerations.

The Druid pack retreated back to their territory only to find the lone gray female waiting for them. The Druid pack took out their frustration on the lone female by attacking her and driving her off. The lone female ended up with a limp but otherwise seemed ok.

After the attack we stood and watched the Druid pack licking their wounds and it was clear that the female that was severely injured wasn’t doing well. She just stood there and didn’t move. So to sum it up, the Druid pack was starving to death and many members were suffering from mange. It was clear that these wolves were in bad shape. The sun was setting and so we packed up for the day.

The following morning we made our way back into the valley at first light only to find that the severely injured female of the Druid pack was dead. Her frozen lifeless body lay in the snow. The rest of the pack was nowhere to be found. The park biologist retrieved the lifeless body and brought it back to the road where we all got a close look at the pain and misery these wolves face every single day. It was clear that these wolves are not indiscriminant killers terrorizing the country side. In fact, they are just the opposite; the top predators of the valley were struggling to hang on to their own lives in the face of the glory of Mother Nature.

I will continue next time with the saga of the lone female. Will she find a pack that will accept her in or will she start her own pack? I guarantee it will be worth the read. Until next time

Stan Tekiela is an author / naturalist and wildlife photographer who travels the US to study and photograph wildlife. He can be contacted via his web page at www.naturesmart.com