04 APR 2001
By Ralph Maughan
The story on March 31, 2001 of the highway death of Leopold 148F near
Bozeman Pass is only part of a recent story of what is a growing population
of wolves on the northern flank of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, well
north of the Park itself.
It's all mountains to the north, northeast and northwest of Yellowstone Park
for about 20 to 50 miles. From west to east: Madison Range, Gallatin Range,
Absaroka Range, Beartooth Mountains. The exception is the Yellowstone River
area. The river runs out of the Park at Gardiner and courses northward
through a narrow valley to Yankee Jim Canyon at Dome Mountain and then into
the broad Paradise Valley. This is followed by a narrow gap in the mountains
at Allenspur just south of Livingston. Past Allenspur and Livingston, the
Yellowstone River turns east and flows out of the mountains to eventually
blend its waters with the Missouri many miles to the east.
The Chief Joseph Pack-
Right now there is but one known, clearly identified pack north of the Park,
and that only part time. The Chief Joseph Pack, one of the original packs
from 1996 has long used part of the Gallatin Range north of the Park. This
mountain chain begins in the Park but humps northward on the west side of
the Yellowstone River. It ends just south of Bozeman and Livingston.
For three years they denned inside the Park, but in 2000 they denned in
Cinnabar Basin north of the Park and just 100 yards from a horse corral.
Eventually the chased the horses and killed one cow calf. After about 2 1/2
months of harassment the pack and their six pups returned to Yellowstone.
Wolves are digging dens right now, and pups could be whelped any time from
now until early May. Unfortunately the US Fish and Wildlife Service reports
Chief Joe has been hanging out in Tom Miner and Cinnabar recently. They are
being harassed so they will den in a better place.
Remnants of the Sheep Mountain Pack-
There are two surviving members of the old Sheep Mountain Pack which used to
range on the east side of the Yellowstone River from Gardiner north to about
Chico Hot Springs (along the base and foothills of the Absaroka Range).
Brother 196M and 155F (a Rose Creek disperser) were seen last in Tom Miner
Basin. 155F was seen sniffing a new born cow calf. The livestock owner
frightened her away.
The other brother 195M had been spotted with a group of uncollared wolves
north of the Park (no recent info on this). A third brother 189M had been
with his brother 196M and female 155F, but he drowned in the creek near Tom
Miner Basin, perhaps after being pursued by Chief Joe.
Mill Creek Wolves-
In 1999 Rose Creek Wolf 78F and an uncollared mate had a litter of pups in
Yellowstone, but they eventually migrated north of the Park.
Wolves West of Livingston-
Leopold 148F was killed next to Interstate 90, nine miles west of
Livingston. There have been reports of about 3 wolves on private property
seven miles west of Livingston. Perhaps she was traveling with this new
group of wolves. This is about 60 miles north by northwest of Yellowstone
Park.
Crazy Mountains Wolves-
There have been irregular, but well substantiated reports of wolves in the
Crazy Mountains since 1997. The Crazies are an unusual, isolated, but tall,
mountain range that rises north of Interstate 90 and Big Timber, Montana.
Recently there have been sightings of one or two wolves in the Crazies.
Return of Wolves to the Beartooth Front?
The tracks of 3 wolves have been consistently seen on the Front in the area
SW of Red Lodge, Montana, this winter and early spring.
Ralph Maughan is co-author (with Lee Mercer) of
Hiking Wyoming's Teton
and Washakie Wilderness Areas (Globe, Pequot Press, June 2000). Maughan and
Mercer backpacked during the summers of 1996 and 1997. Maughan
lives in Pocatello, Idaho, where he is a Professor of Political Science at
Idaho State University. He is probably best known for
Ralph Maughan's Wolf
Reports at: http://www.forwolves.org/ralph.
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