Wolves of Yellowstone: Encounters and Controversy
“I realized then, and have known ever since, that there was something new to me in those eyes—something known only to her and to the mountain”
In January of 1995 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) released 14 Gray Wolves into the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem after being extinct from the area for 70 years. Since then their population had grown to nearly 124 wolves in 2024 Since then the wolves have bred and the original pack has split into approximately 10 separate packs. Wolves tend to be elusive, not really wanting to interact with people, so spotting them in the GYE can be a real treat. In May 2024 I spent 6 days in YNP and saw 3 wolves, one was very distant just barely visible even with optics, one was just on the far range of the 600mm Nikon lens, and the third, well, the third graced us with his presence for over 45 minutes along the road.
On this trip we only saw wolves in the northern part of the park. The first two were part of the 8 mile pack and were seen near the Bunsen Peak trailhead, feeding on a bison carcass.
On our second day in the park we saw two coyotes fighting over a red dog (baby bison) carcass. So we went back the next morning to see if anything might be attracted to the carcass. Having seen nothing for 30 minutes at the pond, we pulled out of the pull off and stopped due to movement on the far side of the pond. A large black wolf was slowly trotting along the backside of the pond headed west. I figured it would stay along that line and continue up the valley keeping its distance from the road. At the end of the pond the wolf turned toward the road and came within just over 100 yards. It spent some time checking out an old adult bison carcass picking at the bones and then moving on west up the valley. After a short while he turned around and headed back east along the backside of the pond again stopping to howl twice. After his howl he continued east. By this time huge crowds had gathered and the wolf moved off over the hills and disappeared.
Wolves and man have always had an interesting relationship. Native American tribes revered them for their strength, intelligence and connection to the land. While hunted by the native americans, this was more of a ceremonious coming of age or warrior right to kill a wolf. Not for food. And it wasn’t that common. Overall the native americans respected the wolf. Modern man on the other hand has demonized the wolf and made it a mortal enemy. Wolves are seen to be a threat to livestock and to humans. While they are certainly the apex predator of North America there have only been 2 documented cases of a wolf killing a human in the last 100 years both in alaska. In January of 1995 14 Gray Wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone. Since then their population had grown to nearly 124 wolves in 2024. The reintroduction was and remains to be controversial due to the threat that wolves will leave the park and kill cattle on the ranches and land bordering the national park. Wolves kill less than half a percent of all cattle in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming combined. The cattle industry loses far more than that to health problems, weather and even theft! Under the conservative leadership in 2021, Idaho passed legislation to reduce its wolf population by 90%. In Montana, individuals can hunt up to 20 wolves a year while private landowners can hunt up to 100 per year. In Wyoming there are no limits on how many wolves can be hunted. This creates huge problems for the wolves of Yellowstone. They don't understand boundaries. In 2022 thanks to legislation from conservative led state governments, 25 wolves from the national park were killed as they crossed out of the park and onto private land. This number reflects nearly 20% of the total wolf population for the park. Legislation and lobbying are a huge problem for the wolf and wolves are vital to the ecosystem of the park. The USFWS is working on a wolf recovery plan which should be finished by 2025. The plan will include conserving current wolf populations, conflict prevention, education and national dialogue and including Tribes in the wolf management planning.. This overall plan does not include changing the legal status of the wolf meaning they can still be hunted in some areas, so more work needs to be done.
https://extension.colostate.edu/topic-areas/people-predators/wolves-and-livestock-8-010/
https://extension.colostate.edu/topic-areas/people-predators/wolves-and-human-safety-8-003/
