Wandering Wolf Is Well Known to Yellowstone Visitors
Wednesday, December 4, 2002
BY BRENT ISRAELSEN
© 2002, THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE
Until he disappeared from Yellowstone National Park in mid-October,
the
wolf captured Saturday in Utah had been a crowd favorite in the
world-famous nature reserve.
Known by his collar number, “253” had a pronounced limp and was
considered one of the hardest-working members of the famous Druid Peak
Pack, which roams the park’s Lamar Valley.
“Two fifty-three was a star because he limped but he still got
everything done. He was always doing something,” said park wolf expert
Doug Smith. “It was a real contributing pack member. . . . People bonded
with it.”
On Saturday, a Utah coyote trapper caught 253 alive in the mountains
north of Morgan, about 30 miles northeast of Salt Lake City. A federal
Fish and Wildlife Service biologist took custody of the unharmed animal
Monday and released him that night in Grand Teton National Park, more than
125 miles to the north.
There is a “good chance,” Smith says, that the wolf will attempt a
return to Utah.
“He may walk around for a while [in Grand Teton] but he will find out
how to get back if he wants to go back. [Wolves] are very good at finding
their way.”
This wolf may have a strong motivation to return: love.
A second set of prints was found near where 253 was captured in Utah,
leading biologists to believe he hooked up with a female from another
Wyoming pack.
The couple, in the throes of mating season, were probably planning to
begin their own pack in northern Utah, which is rich in mule deer.
If he does return to Utah, it could set a record for the farthest a
wolf
has returned to a spot from which it was removed, Smith said.
Wolf No. 253 was born in April 2000 to a Canadian mother and a
Yellowstone-born father. As a yearling, he suffered a leg injury, probably
while learning how to topple an elk.
“It’s a tough life killing elk,” said Smith. “It was not a minor
injury.”
Last February, Smith tranquilized 253, weighed him (90 pounds) and
fitted him with a collar that emits a radio wave for tracking.
Along the highway that bisects the Lamar Valley in the northeastern
part
of Yellowstone, droves of park visitors with binoculars and scopes watch
the Druid Peak Pack, which has become the most observed wolf clan in the
world.
More than 100,000 people have spotted Druid wolves, said Smith.
Smith, who often mingles with the crowds, said 253 captured the
public’s
imagination for his diligence in tending pups, hunting elk and defending
the pack’s main den from bears.
“He did more than some of the more healthy wolves,” said Smith.
Smith, who frequently flies over Yellowstone to track wolves, last saw
253 on Oct. 17 and has been searching for him ever since.
A veteran wolf biologist, Smith acknowledged being impressed by the
wolf’s ability to cover so much territory in so little time.
“This is certainly a standout case.”
On the other hand, Smith said, wolves are conditioned to hardship.
“They don’t have a concept of difficulty or pain. They don’t say to
themselves, ‘Gee, I got a limp so I can’t go very far today.’ They just do
it.
“They’re not like humans.”