At least four pups seen with park wolf pack
Wildlife researchers at Glacier National Park say a litter of at least
four gray wolf pups has been seen among the Whitefish Pack in the park’s
northwest corner. A park ranger saw four black pups with a female wolf
over the Fourth of July weekend. The Whitefish Pack has two other adult
wolves and three yearlings.
A year ago, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service wolf biologist Tom Meier observed
two litters totaling 10 pups in the Whitefish Pack. Only three yearlings
have been seen this year, according to biological sciences technician Amy
Edmonds.
“It’s hard to say what happened to the pups,” she said. “We simply don’t
know.”
The Whitefish Pack is one of two wolf packs being monitored in Glacier
with radio transmitter collars.
The Kintla Pack is located farther north in the North Fork Valley, along
the park’s northwest boundary. The Kintla Pack is made up of at least four
adults and two yearlings.
Researchers suspect there may also be Kintla pups because of the sites the
pack has visited and the sound of pups heard when the wolves are howling.
Radio signals from collared wolves in the Kintla Pack were located from
the air earlier this week but researchers were unable to spot the pack.
Three wolves in the Whitefish Pack and two wolves in the Kintla Pack are
wearing with radio collars.
Biologists believe the Kintla Pack is likely a consolidation of the former
North Camas Pack and the Spruce Creek Pack, which often roamed in
southwest British Columbia.
Because no collared wolves remain from the North Camas Pack, biologists
are not able to confirm that theory.