Wolf pack again eludes researchers
Missing: One wolf pack
Last seen: Yellowstone National Park
Size: 20 animals
Color: Gray
Answers to: Plaintive howls
For the second time in less than two years, Yellowstone’s Nez Perce wolf pack has disappeared.
The pack, about 20 strong, hasn’t been seen since mid-December. Wolf managers have spent hours searching by air and on foot for the pack — which usually hangs out in the central portion of Yellowstone — but so far have come up with nothing.
“We’d just like to know where they are,” said Ed Bangs, wolf recovery coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service office in Helena.
Six of the wolves in the pack wear radio collars. On the ground, the telemetry units are only effective when the general area of the wolves is known and the location is pinpointed by triangulation. From the air, managers can track radio collars but only if there’s a clear line of sight.
With the Nez Perce pack apparently far out of its usual territory, the radio collars aren’t very effective, so wildlife officials are hoping someone will see the pack and notify the authorities.
“If you see this pack of gray wolves out there walking around, let us know,” Bangs said.
It’s not unusual for a wolf pack to wander away from its usual territory and they almost always return home.
In the fall of 2001, the Nez Perce pack disappeared from Yellowstone and resurfaced in eastern Idaho near Ashton. Members of the pack killed a dog, caused a local stir for a few days, and then wandered back to Yellowstone.
There could be several reasons why the Nez Perce pack slipped out of the park this winter, Bangs said.
One reason could be that the area the pack inhabits may be seeing a lower number of elk or bison, which are staples of the wolf diet. The milder weather and relatively light snow accumulation also make it more difficult for the wolves to catch elk.
“My guess is the old, the sick and the weak may be getting fewer and farther between,” Bangs said. “So maybe they’re going out to look for something to eat.”
The pack may also be out scouting the competition.
Wolves tend to want to know who their neighbors are, particularly other wolf packs, and where they live, Bangs said.
“They may be just traveling around to see who the competition is and looking at other territories,” he said. “Or they may have just decided to take a walkabout, go way outside their territory to check things out.”
Wolves are capable of traveling hundreds of miles across rugged territory. Except for lone wolves or “dispersing” wolves, most return to their homes after a few weeks.
“A lot of people think the Yellowstone ecosystem is so huge, but for a wolf it’s not really that big,” Bangs said.
Managers don’t plan to relocate the wolves if they’re spotted somewhere outside Yellowstone unless they’re causing some kind of disturbance.
Bangs said he’s confident the wolves eventually will return to the park.
There is value, though, in knowing where the Nez Perce pack went because that can be an indication of where future wolf packs might establish themselves.
“We’re mainly just curious to see where they went,” Bangs said.
Anyone who spots the Nez Perce pack is encouraged to call (888) 264-0103.