Yellowstone National Park Wolves
There are three (3) canids that inhabit Yellowstone National Park, the red fox (Vulpes vulpes), the coyote (Canis latrans), and the gray wolf (Canis lupus). "The gray wolf was purposefully shot, trapped, or poisoned in Yellowstone National Park from its establishment in 1872 until 1933, when the National Park Service ended its predator control efforts. By the mid-1930s, however, the last wolf pack was gone from Yellowstone " (Yellowstone Wolf Project Report 1995/1996). Studies started in 1972 through 1994 on restoring wolves to Yellowstone. In March of 1995 gray wolves were reintroduced thus bringing all natural wildlife back to the ecosystem.
| National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Press Release - 16 September 2009 |
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| Yellowstone National Park P.O. Box 168 Yellowstone National Park, WY 82190 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 16, 2009 09-088 Al Nash or Stacy Vallie 307-344-2015 YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK NEWS RELEASE ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- New Study Shows Distemper Linked To Yellowstone Wolf Pup Deaths Since wolves were reintroduced in Yellowstone in the 1990s, there have been three years when the pup survival rate was extremely low: 1999, 2005, and 2008. Canine parvovirus was believed to be the cause of the wolf pup deaths in 1999 and 2005. That was because parvovirus is known to cause a high mortality rate in domestic dogs, and was suspected in the high death rate of wolves at Isle Royale National Park in Michigan in the early 1980s. Results of newly published research point to canine distemper as the cause of the low pup survival rates. Researchers took blood samples from wolves and coyotes in Yellowstone National Park. They looked for exposure to a number of canine diseases. The results indicate that some diseases like parvovirus are chronic in the park's wild canines. However, signs of distemper appeared only in the years when pup mortality was high. Since distemper weakens the immune system and makes infected animals susceptible to other infections, it can be difficult to determine the actual cause of death. The research also indicates that the wolf population seems to fare well despite some chronic infections, and rebounds well from periodic exposure to distemper. While the research was unable to conclusively determine the episodic source of the canine distemper, data suggests it is not linked to the region's domestic dog population. The research was conducted by the Yellowstone Wolf Project, the University of Minnesota, and the Yellowstone Ecological Research Center. The findings were recently posted to PLoS ONE, a peer reviewed online journal which posts reports of original research in science and medicine: A Serological Survey of Infectious Disease in Yellowstone National Park’s Canid Community. |
| Northern Range | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Pack | Adults | End of Year Pup Count | Total |
| 471F Group | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 527F Group | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Agate | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| Blacktail Deer Plateau | 8 | 0 | 8 |
| Druid | 8 | 5 | 13 |
| Everts | 5 | 3 | 8 |
| Slough | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| Quadrant Mountain (469F) | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| Lone / Non-Pack Wolves | 6 | - | 6 |
| Northern Range Totals | 48 | 8 | 56 |
| Non-Northern Range | |||
| Pack | Adults | End of Year Pup Count | Total |
| Bechler | 6 | 3 | 9 |
| Canyon | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| Cougar Creek | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| Gibbon Meadows | 19 | 6 | 25 |
| Mollie's | 10 | 3 | 13 |
| Yellowstone Delta | 7 | 2 | 9 |
| Yellowstone Delta Subgroup | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| Non-Northern Range Totals | 54 | 14 | 68 |
| Totals | 102 | 22 | 124 |
| Yellowstone Wolf Summary for 2008 |
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| At the end of 2008, at least 124 wolves in 12 packs and various groups occupied Yellowstone National Park. This is one more pack than in 2007, but several long-term, stable packs were lost and smaller, newly formed packs replaced them. This represents a 27% decline compared to the 2007 population and was similar to the 30% decline in 2005. Only six of these packs were breeding pairs, the smallest count since 2000 (when wolves first reached the minimum requirement for delisting of 30 breeding pairs in Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming). High mortality of both pups and adults caused the low breeding pair count, despite there being 12 packs. Disease and intraspecific mortality are the two primary factors that caused the wolf population decline. |
| Northern Range | |||
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| Pack | Adults | End of Year Pup Count | Total |
| Agate | 8 | 9 | 17 |
| Druid | 9 | 7 | 16 |
| Gardiner's Hole Group | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Leopold | 13 | 3 | 16 |
| Oxbow Creek | 8 | 8 | 16 |
| Slough | 7 | 9 | 16 |
| 469 F Group | 4 | - | 4 |
| 527 F / B 271 M Idaho Wolf | 2 | - | 2 |
| Lone / Non-Pack Wolves | 5 | - | 5 |
| Northern Range Totals | 57 | 37 | 94 |
| Non-Northern Range | |||
| Pack | Adults | End of Year Pup Count | Total |
| Bechler | 8 | 3 | 11 |
| Cougar Creek | 3 | 4 | 7 |
| Gibbon Meadows | 11 | 6 | 17 |
| Hayden Valley (no collars) | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| Mollie's | 9 | 5 | 14 |
| Yellowstone Delta | 16 | 6 | 22 |
| Lone / Non-Pack Wolves | 2 | - | 2 |
| Non-Northern Range Totals | 50 | 27 | 77 |
| Totals | 107 | 64 | 171 |
| 1995 / 1996 | 2000 | 2004 | 2008 |
| 1997 | 2001 | 2005 | |
| 1998 | 2002 | 2006 | |
| 1999 | 2003 | 2007 |
| Let Her Be... She Is Me... By John William Uhler Dedicated to Wolf Number 9 |
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| Let her die with the stars and sky in her eyes and the wind in her face - forever wild, free and in her home...
She is our sister. We have watched her in the wilds of Yellowstone. Her story has captivated us and awed us. She has given us joy and happiness and pleasure. Though her life has been short by our standards, she lived great! She lived wild and free and has cared for and extended the pack, her family. God will bless and take care of her as only He can. Someday, we will all understand that we are all related. We are all part of nature and the great plan. When that day comes, we will see the wisdom of God in all things! Let her die with the stars and sky in her eyes and the wind in her face - forever wild, free and at home... |
Information provided by Yellowstone National Park
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by John William Uhler