This page is dedicated to the wolf, a beautiful, mystic creature that we are only now beginning to study and learn about. A predator at the top of the food chain, wolves are skilled and mighty hunters. They live in family units called packs and have a well defined social order. The pack is led by the Alpha; second in command is the Beta; and the lowest ranking wolf in the pack is the Omega.
The Omega resides at the outer fringes of the pack, he must eat last, and he often receives the brunt of the pack's hostility. In spite of his low status, he is still better off living within a pack than being on his own. And there is always a possibility that one day, he may move up in rank. Wolves take care of their pack members; they will bring food and care for an injured, sick or elderly wolf. Supposedly, only the Alpha male and Alpha female of the pack will breed, and they will mate for life as long as they each remain the Alpha. This practice may have evolved to prevent inbreeding among the wolves. If a lower ranking wolf is determined to breed, he must either challenge the Alpha for his position, or he must leave the pack to search for a mate and begin a new pack in a new territory. The females come into heat only once a year after they reach 2 years of age. In the wild, 25% of the pups will survive to adulthood. The entire pack raises the pups and they are never left unattended. While the mother is off hunting, another wolf is always left watching the pups. When the pups are old enough, they will be brought to the kill to feed, but until then, they are fed by the mother who regurgitates food for the pups.
Each
wolf pack has its own territory which can be hundreds, even a thousand,
square miles. Wolves easily travel 25 or 50 miles a day in search for food.
If prey is plentiful, their territories will be smaller. Other wolf packs
are not permitted in their territory which is defined by urine marking and
scat. The lifespan of a wolf in the wild is approximately 7 years. Their
main food source is ungulates, which are hooved animals such as deer and
elk, although they will also eat small game if necessary. Only the hide
and hair of the animal is not eaten by the wolves. Wolves hunt in groups,
each knowing what the other wolf is doing. Sometimes, one wolf will chase
prey into an area where other wolves are waiting. They attack prey from
the front, going for the throat and hanging on with their sharp teeth until
the animal stops struggling. Wolves will not expend energy needlessly, therefore,
they single out weak, sick and young prey for the kill. This in turn serves
to make the prey's herd stronger by removing the weaker members and leaving
the healthy and strong. They avoid attacking larger animals, like bison,
unless absolutely necessary. There is a delicate ecosystem between wolves
and their prey. If there are large numbers of prey, the wolves and their
young eat well, live longer and the number of wolves increase. The number
of prey needed to sustain the larger wolf population will also increase,
and this in turn causes a reduction in available prey. When prey becomes
scarce, the wolves will not have enough to eat, and many will die. Less
predation by wolves will allow the prey population to grow again.
Wolves in the wild are always on guard and will avoid people at all costs. Even though there is not one recorded case of a wolf killing a human, fear of wolves was so widespread among our ancestors that beginning in the late 1800's and continuing as late as the 1960's and 70's, wolves were slaughtered on sight. This action was government sanctioned and there was a bounty to be made on each dead wolf. The slaughter of wolves was so successful that two million wolves were killed in North America alone and they became almost extinct in the lower 48 states. In Europe, entire forests were burnt to the ground for the sole purpose of killing wolves. Some countries, such as the USSR, still practice the killing of wolves today. What few wolves remain in the U.S. are now protected by the Endangered Species Act, with the exception of wolves in parts of Montana which are considered "threatened," and wolves in Alaska which remain at viable numbers.
The grey wolf was native to Yellowstone Park in 1872. By 1970, there was not a single wolf left alive. In 1995, a project was undertaken to restore wolves to Yellowstone Park. Fourteen wolves from Canada were trapped, fitted with radio collars, and transplanted into three different acclimation pens. It was hoped they would establish territories in certain areas, away from ranches with cattle and sheep. To facilitate this, they confined the wolves to acclimation pens in the area where they wanted them to establish their territory. They had no human interaction with the wolves except for bringing them roadkill once a week. After 8-10 weeks, the pens were opened and the wolves were allowed to leave. In most cases, the wolves established territories around the area of the pens. The packs were named according to the geographic area of their pens. The first pack of wolves to be reintroduced into the wild was the Rose Creek Pack. This pack consisted of an adult male and female and some yearling wolves. To the amazement of the researchers, the adult male and female bonded and mated while still confined to the acclimation pen. Wolf #10 was the Alpha Male, and Wolf #9 the Alpha Female. Upon their release, they eventually traveled outside of park boundaries and within 5 miles of Red Lodge, Montana. Within one month after being released into the wild, and on the very day #9 was to give birth to the first wolf puppies born in Yellowstone Park in sixty years, #10 was illegally shot and killed by a hunter from Red Lodge who wanted a wolf trophy for his wall. #9 was left without her mate and without someone to hunt and bring food to her and the pups. #9 gave birth alone to eight pups.
As
the den was so close to the town of Red Lodge, and since she would have
no help in obtaining food or caring for the pups, the decision was made
to move her and her pups back to the Rose Creek pen. After all, her eight
pups now comprised almost 50% of all wolves in Yellowstone. #9 was darted
and captured without incident, but when they went to retrieve the pups
from the den, they were not there. #9 had moved them to another site,
and unless they were found by nightfall, the pups would not survive. Fortunately,
after hours of searching, one weary searcher gave out a wolf howl, and
it was answered by eight tiny pups. The pups were successfully reunited
with their anxious Mother in the Rose Creek pen. The researchers intended
to keep #9 and her pups in the pen for several months until the pups were
old enough to fend for themselves. However, a freak storm destroyed part
of the pen and the pups escaped. All but three of the pups were captured
and returned to the pen. The remaining three pups, although continuing
to elude capture, remained near the pen and food was left outside for
them. Soon, a male grey wolf showed up in the area, and began caring for
the three pups. Before #9 was even released from the pen, she had a new
suitor. When she and the other five pups were finally released, she immediately
accepted the grey wolf as her mate. All eight of the pups survived and
went on to mate and establish new packs within Yellowstone. She remained
the Alpha female of the Rose Creek Pack until October of 1999, when her
daughter, #18, displaced her as Alpha, and #9 left the pack. As of January
2001, #9 was seen with a new mate, an uncollared grey wolf.
In early 2002, we learned that #9's radio-collar had finally gone dead after 6 years. The signal from her collar had begun to weaken several months ago and finally stopped transmitting completely. Sadly, there will no longer be any way of tracking her whereabouts. Unless there are any aerial sightings, which are extremely unlikely due to her remote location, the world's most famous and beloved wolf, the "grand matriarch" of over 70% of all Yellowstone's wolves, will likely one day vanish into the vast wilderness and die an obscure and unknown death. Perhaps this is how it should be.
No other wolf has contributed as much to the restoration of wolves in Yellowstone as has Wolf #9.
In
1996, seventeen wolves were transplanted from Canada into Yellowstone, and
in 1997, ten young orphaned wolves from Montana were introduced into the
park. As of January 2001, there are 16 packs of wolves residing in Yellowstone,
numbering 164 to 169 wolves. 43 of these wolves have been fitted with radio
collars and are monitored via radio telemetry. Aerial surveillance and ground
tracking is also used when weather permits. There have been incidences of
wolves killing sheep and cattle on ranches near Yellowstone. Ranchers are
allowed to kill a wolf who is attacking its livestock. The ranchers are
also reimbursed for any livestock losses incurred by wolf attacks. The money
for this comes from donations to Defenders of Wildlife. Wolves spotted near
ranches are darted and relocated to their original territory. If they travel
to the ranch areas a second time, they are killed in legal control actions. 
