Kathie Lynch. Wolf watching good for two packs. New pup news.

Kathie Lynch has sent her first report of the summer. The new packs on the Yellowstone Northern Range occupy similar locations as those in days gone by.

Thanks Kathie!    Ralph Maughan

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Puppies! Yellowstone’s summer wolf watching season got off to a wonderful start with the debut of four pups each for the Silver pack and the (unofficially named) Lamar Canyon pack, also called 755’s Group. To add to the excitement, both packs denned within easy viewing distance of the road, offering the amazing opportunity to watch wolf pups grow up in the wild.

Unbelievably, both packs chose to den in the exact same areas used by famous Yellowstone packs in the past. The Silvers denned in the Druid Peak pack’s Lamar Valley rendezvous site, and the Lamar Canyon pack denned in the Slough Creek pack’s former home at Slough Creek. In fact, the Lamar Canyon pups were even born in the old Slough natal den!

The Silver pack (named after the silvery white alpha female) consists of five adults and four gray pups. Although the pack probably came from outside of the Park to the east, the alpha female had been seen in YNP several times previously over the last two or three years. When she returned in February 2010, she brought along an old gray alpha male, a gray yearling daughter and a gray female pup.

Yellowstone wolf report. Enormous change in pack compositions

Are the Sloughs gone? Plus five new wolf groups-

As wolf mortality has increased there has been a general redistribution of wolves in the Northern Range. All the packs are affected, even the Druids.

The Slough Creek Pack may no longer be intact. Two more dead members of the pack have been found and the only male in the pack, who wears the only functioning radio collar has been seen traveling alone.

As Kathie Lynch reported in her last wolf update, five members of the Druids (all males) left that pack. Since then they have found 5 females of other packs (perhaps all Agate). Leaders for the time being seem to be the famous old lover boy, Druid 302M and either a 2 year old Agate female or another Agate female nicknamed “halftail” because she lost half of her tail when run over by a van last year. This new group is being called the 302/642 group (named after the wolves with radio collars). They are one of 3 groups of wolves that are part of this year’s winter study.

The Agate Pack has no more functioning radio collars, so their status is not known.

Wolf packs attack the toughest prey in Yellowstone

Wolf packs attack the toughest prey in Yellowstone. By Brett French. Billings Gazette Staff.
“It’s not easy being a bison-eating wolf in Yellowstone National Park.”

Mollies Pack has become a rugged bison-killing wolf pack. They are a pack ideal for this with their big brawny male wolves. It’s no accident. With elk, big males in a pack are superfluous as long as their is one big guy, but not so with bison. So the big males born to Mollies tend to stay with the pack and others sees to join it.

To some degree the Cougar Creek and Gibbon Meadows Pack have become bison killers too.

Hayden Pack found near 7-mile Bridge!

The Haydens have largely survived are have been found nowhere near their old territory, where yesterday 15 !! Mollies were hanging out.

The remnants of the pack were near Sevenmile Bridge on the Madison River about 10 miles east of West Yellowstone. There were 5 Haydens spotted, the only clearly identified one was the black pup. There is probably one adult Hayden with them. So it seems the Mollies probably nailed one more adult Hayden and one pup, although perhaps they just dispersed elsewhere alone.

The Haydens are not home free, however. They are not far from the Cougar Creek Pack which holds down the territory north of Madison River between about Sevenmile Bridge and West Yellowstone.

Even more interesting, several Bechler wolves have moved way north of their territory in Bechler Meadows in the SW corner of the Park. They are probably dispersers from this rarely seen wolf pack, and one or more of them could hook up with the adult-poor Haydens.

This information came from Dan Stahler of the Yellowstone Park wolf team.

Haydens outrun Mollies! For now anyway.

This latest information again comes courtesy of Kim Kaiser who has been in contact with Leo Keeler who has been in the area. This is the email he got today. Thank you, Kim!

This will be about it for the year, because they will be closing the roads, so I hope they make it.

Keeler wrote:

This morning I found the Hayden pack near the road junction at Canyon. After seeing the old Beta, ­ now alpha ­ female and the 5 pups, I noticed the Molly pack coming out of the draw to the east ­ at full speed. The wolves of the Molly pack are significantly bigger than the Haydens, but the Haydens are much faster and they outran the Mollies.

The Molly pack remained in the area for about 20 minutes, checking for the scent markings of the Hayden’s. With the Molly wolves so focused on finding and catching the Hayden’s, the common belief is the only way the remaining Hayden’s can survive is to leave the area. When they leave, it will complete the takeover of their territory by the Molly pack.

I am saddened by the loss of viewing/photographing opportunities provided by the Haydens (likely the best in Yellowstone) and the take over of their territory by the Molly pack (the least seen group of wolves in Yellowstone). But as we all know, photographing opportunities change and in this case we can all be glad it is a natural change.

Unless something significant happens in the next two days, this will be my last post on the changing of territories by these wolves.

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Note: Keeler has a photo of the Mollies on the chase. However, to see it you have to register with NatureScapes.net

Three wolf packs in elk migration corridor probably set conditions for the Mollies/Hayden conflict

Earlier story: Mollies Pack kills Hayden alpha pair

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Dan Stahler of the Yellowstone Park wolf team told me today that Hayden, Mollies and Gibbon packs have all been in Hayden Valley the last weeks because it is a major elk migration corridor from summer range to the south to the northern range. The packs are well aware of this and show up every October.

He said about a week ago Bob Landis saw the Mollies chasing the Haydens. Mollies and Gibbon have also been howling back and forth a lot.

No one is known to have seen the actual attack.

The bleeding alpha female was spotted first. She retreated to the trees in a spot she knew was comfortable. Stahler spotted her body the next day from the air with ravens on it.

Wondering about the Hayden alpha male, he soon spotted him dead in Cascade Meadow. This is where the Haydens, at least probably the Haydens, had killed an elk. At the time a grizzly was on the carcass and now he has buried it. Also at the time Mollies Pack was only a mile away.

Reports are today Mollies is chasing the remaining Haydens and could finish them off.

Stahler did say, however, that if the Haydens survive the next while it is possible a Mollies wolf or two could come and join with the Haydens. He said there is pack aggressive behavior that often disappears when several weeks pass and the pack is more spread out. One or more wolves might then return and engage in quite different behaviors, such as join the pack.

Currently there are 8 Mollies being seen, although earlier this summer 9 adults were counted and 6 Mollies pups. Perhaps some dispersed or are simply not with the eight.

It is not hopeless for the Haydens if they are not killed today or the next several days.

Mollies kills Hayden alpha pair

Mollies Pack has killed the well known alpha pair of the Hayden Valley Pack.

I don’t have the details as to how it happened yet, but the Hayden Pack was being increasingly pressed by the larger Gibbon Pack from the SW and west and Mollies Pack from the SE.

Remaining, but with their fate not bright, are the pack’s two sub-adults and the 5 pups.

In the past, Mollies has had numerous rumbles with other packs, including the Druids. Folks might recall they killed the long time Druid alpha female 42F.

The five Hayden pups-of-the-year. Photo copyright Kim Kaiser