Yellowstone Wolf Project: Annual Report 2000

Smith, Douglas; Murphy, Kerry; Guernsey, Debra

At the end of 2000, at least 177 wolves were present in the greater Yellowstone area (GYA), including 18 packs and 13 breeding pairs—pairs with at least two pups-of-the-year that survive until December 31, as defined under the criteria for delisting the wolf as an endangered species in the Rocky Mountain recovery area. A total of 28 breeding pairs were recorded in the northern Rockies (including nine in Idaho and six in northwest Montana); 30 breeding pairs with an equitable distribution throughout the three recovery areas for three successive years are needed in order to meet the requirements for delisting. Acceptable wolf management plans from the states of Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana are also required. As the GYA wolf population grew, Yellowstone National Park (YNP) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) monitored wolves in the Yellowstone ecosystem. YNP staff were primarily responsible for wolves that resided largely in the park, so this report contains more details about these wolves. Seventy-one to 77 of the pups born in the GYA in 2000 survived to the end of the year. Pup survival in YNP was higher than in 1999. The 13 packs with breeding pairs produced 16 litters of pups, including three litters in the Druid Peak pack and two in the Rose Creek pack. (Because these packs contained only a single breeding male, each pack was counted as a single breeding pair for recovery purposes.) Parturition (i.e., birth) dates ranged from April 6 to May 6 and averaged April 16, three days later than the 1999 average. Twenty of 21 pups born in the Druid Peak pack survived to year-end. Fourteen wolves were known to have died in 2000 in the GYA: nine adults, four yearlings, and one pup (not including uncounted pup mortality at dens). Half of these deaths were human caused. Six new packs were established in 2000, one inside YNP (the Swan Lake pack) and five outside: Taylor Peaks (Madison Valley, MT), Beartooth (Sunlight Basin, WY), Absaroka (Sunlight Basin, WY), Gravelly (Gravelly Range, MT), and Mill Creek (Paradise Valley, MT). Two packs outside YNP (Sheep Mountain and Washakie) reestablished themselves after management actions taken by the USFWS due to livestock depredations disturbed pack dynamics. Two packs in YNP were renamed (Crystal Creek became Mollie’s, and Soda Butte became Yellowstone Delta) because of turnover and geographic relocations. Two large packs, Druid Peak (27 wolves) and Nez Perce (22 wolves), made several extraterritorial moves in early winter 2000, and the Druid Peak pack usurped area from the smaller Rose Creek pack.

Yellowstone Wolf Project: Annual Report 2000

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