The Wolves of Yellowstone Park

In early February it was my privilege to travel to Chicago to meet up with Jan Fennell and 16 other Dog Listeners.

From there we travelled to Bozeman in Montana and then on to the town of Gardiner. Gardiner is home to the North entrance to Yellowstone Park.

Nothing could have prepared me for the sheer scale and beauty of this inspiring wilderness. We had come to observe and watch the wolves.

Our guides were Linda Thurston and Nathan Varley.

Linda and Nathan, both Wildlife Biologists, have been involved with the reintroduction of the wolves to Yellowstone Park from the beginning.

Wolf watching began at 6a.m when we entered Yellowstone in darkness. Our first sighting was a coyote trotting along the road. At this time of year travelling the road is often the easiest option when it is quiet as the animals can cover a greater distance than having to wade through the deep snow drifts.

We cross from the state of Montana into Wyoming and on to the Lamar Valley. This is the north eastern part of Yellowstone and home to several packs of wolves.

There are currently 150 wolves who live in the Park but this a continuing story and hopefully will increase.

Reintroducing The Wolves

By 1926 the wolf was viewed as "vermin" .Man snared and poisoned the wolf to extinction in Yellowstone.

In the 1970's the wolf was listed as an Endangered Species.

Yellowstone Park is considered as one of the last great wildernesses on earth and home to a variety of wildlife…the only species and key player that was missing was…canis lupis…the Grey Wolf.

The reintroduction of these magnificent animals to Yellowstone Park began in 1995. Initially 14 wolves were brought in from Alberta and later, 17 wolves from British Columbia.

The wolves spent 10 weeks in an acclimation chain link pen. Linda was working on the project and her first day involved cutting a whole in the fencing to release the wolves into the wilderness of Yellowstone Park…not a bad first day!

The reason they had to cut the fencing was because the wolves would not pass through the gateway that the humans had used to enter in to throw the carcasses of meat to feed the wolves. Therefore a new entrance…or exit had to be created.

Now 13 years later this wonderful project has recovered an endangered species and is viewed as one of the greatest conservation achievements of the 20th century.

If you would like to read more about this amazing achievement then"Decade Of The Wolf" by Douglas W. Smith & Gary Ferguson is an informative and good book.

Doug Smith is one of the pioneers of wolf recovery.

In January 2008 there were reported to be about 1500 wolves in and around the North Rockies. Biologically they are considered to be recovered. Now there is a need for good management of this population to prevent the wolf being removed from the Endangered species list. Because the wolves have spread out they are considered to be recovered…this is not necessarily so… and the balance could so easily be tipped.

This is a cause dear to my heart as it is so important to conserve these often misunderstood sentinels of the wilderness.

Wolf Pack Territories

In 2007 there were 11 pack territories recorded:

This is a fluid situation that changes constantly the names of the packs are usually attributed to the area of the Park where their acclimation pen was located. The two exceptions are: Leopold, named after a great conservationist, Aldo Leopold ,and Mollie's pack named after Mollie Beattie. Mollie Beattie was the director of U.S Fish and Wildlife Service and fought hard to get the wolves back into Yellowstone.

Keeping Track Of the Wolves

We were able to meet and talk to two field biologists Libby and Nick. They work for The Wolf Project and radio collar the wolves. Not all the wolves are collared. They collar about a third of the total population and this is done by darting them from the air. They have found this is the quickest way and causes the wolf the least amount of stress. I asked Libby if the collar hampered or hindered the wolves and she said that no it didn't and after 18 months the collar has a device which implodes and the collar falls off and is recovered by the scientists.

The radio collars are all numbered and enable the researchers to keep track of individual wolves and monitor their behaviour.

Libby and Nick also take samples from the animals the wolves kills so they can monitor the age of the animal and if they are ill. Wolf droppings or "scat" is also collected and over the years a constantly changing picture of wolf society and behaviour has emerged.

The Druid Peak Pack

It was the Druid Peak pack that held special interest to us as Dog Listeners. This particular pack had first inspired Jan to develop the communication method that is Amichien Bonding.

Jan always says that what we do is nothing new….wolves have been doing it for thousands of years and it has worked really well for them!!!

Whilst we were in Yellowstone Park Jan showed us Druid's Peak..home to the pack..it was a snow covered mountain set against the majestic setting that is Yellowstone.

Jan & Me at Druid's Peak

That in itself was an amazing moment for me but there was more to come in the shape of a very special" gentleman" known as number 302.

Before I left for the states I had watched a documentary by award winning cameraman and film maker Bob Landis.

We were lucky enough to meet this amazing man who showed us his work which included amazing footage of Grizzlies, Coyotes and the wolves. The documentary I had seen was called "The Valley Of the Wolves." Bob documented the fall and rise of the Druid pack from Druid's Peak and how the pack nearly split but was saved by a black wolf who was known as Number 302. When the pack was at it's peak it was led by two of the greatest Alphas of the park no . 21 and No. 42. They lived to a ripe old age and were wonderful leaders. Number 302 began life in the Leopold Pack but repeatedly kept trying to woo the females of the Druid Peak pack ..only to be chased off by the Alpha Male No.21.

However No.21 and no.42 died and their pack were chased off their land by the Slough Creek Pack. It was Number 302 who saved the Druid Peak Pack by successfully breeding and raising the new pups who would ensure the Pack survived. However 302 was not leader of the Druids for long he was superseded by his brother 480 but what is so unusual about 302 is that he continued to go to other packs to offer the females his services in the breeding season. He continues to do this and is often "beaten up " by his brother when he returns. Number 302 is referred to as the Casanova~ a lover not a fighter.

Well I was really taken by this wolf and when I first arrived in Gardiner I asked Nathan and Linda if they had seen no. 302. I was told he was off on his travels wining and dining some females outside of Druid's Peak!

It was our second day of wolf watching and we had stopped in the morning where a new drama unfolded before our eyes. A black female had strayed from the Druid Peak Pack territory and come to see a new very handsome dark Gray Male. We watched as they courted one another and then the male wolf stopped. He lifted his head to the skies and howled…it is a sight and sound that will remain with me for the rest of my life. It is a beautiful sound and reverberates through the soul. I stood there with my colleague and we exchanged looks, tears rolling down our faces…truly awesome!

Then another male was spotted coming across to join the courting pair…but the dark grey male made it very clear that this stranger was not wanted. His tail was up and his body language said it all…it was not long before the youngster walked away with his tail between his legs.

Then came the call that the Druid Peak Pack had been seen on their mountain..so off we went to Druid's Peak.

When we arrived we set our scopes up and there before my eyes sat the one and only 302 ~ this just made my day and we spent what can only be described as a mesmerising day watching the whole pack communicate and howl.

The pack leaders Alpha male 480 and Alpha Female 569 were both there. Spellbound we watched the pack pay their respects and then they began to howl.

Throughout the howling, my hero 302 curled himself up and slept! His daughter sat behind him and she had a beautiful howl but father was not impressed and continued to sleep. When the howling finished he raised his head and stood up….it really was totally addictive watching these amazing creatures that had inspired Jan and continues to inspire all that we do.

What was really brought home to me was how family orientated the wolves are. Yes there are fights over kills and territories but the individual packs are totally at one…..each knowing their place and position.

It was a privilege and a joy to observe the wolves in their natural environment but this only underlined for me how foreign our man made world is for our domestic dogs.

So much of the behaviour I observed I could relate to my own dog Seamus and the dogs I have worked with.

I have always been passionate about my work but this gave me an even greater sense of duty and direction to not only fight to conserve the wolves and keep them wild but to help people understand their dogs. To quote Jan: "You can take the dog out of the wolf pack but you can't take the wolf pack out of the dog".

My thanks go to my colleagues Pat Wright, Penny Locke and Marina Fleming for the photos….enjoy……………………….

Druid Female and the Gray Stranger ~Photo by Pat Wright

Druid Peak Pack Howling~ 302 is curled up asleep to the left of the photo and his daughter is sat behind him. ~ Photos by Pat Wright

My hero's still asleep ~photo by Pat Wright

Howling ~ photo by Penny Locke