October 31, 2007-  Both the alpha male, 541M, and female, 540F, were killed in Yellowstone this week.  Details are sketchy, but from what I've heard, on Tuesday, the alpha female, one of only two white wolves in Yellowstone, was seen near the Canyon area bleeding badly and moving very little.  It was then reported on Wednesday on a very reliable website, that the Mollies Pack had killed the two alphas.

Both the Hayden and Mollies Packs spend the winters in Yellowstone in some of the harshest climates in the lower 48.  The Mollies home turf is the Pelican Valley and surrounding areas while the Haydens lived in the nearby Hayden Valley.  It wasn't uncommon to see Mollies wolves in Hayden Valley and during the winter, both packs roamed throughout much of the park interior.  A confrontation between the two packs was inevitable and, with the Mollies being both large in physical size as well as in total number of adults, such a confrontation was destined to be bad news for the Haydens.  And it was.

I first saw the Hayden Alphas only last summer, 2006.  541M was feeding on an elk carcass in Alum Creek in late May of that summer, tearing of chunks of meat to take back to their den site, near Otter Creek Picnic Area.  My first sighting of 540F occurred at the end of that season.  On my last day in the park, as we packed our belongings and began our drive out, we saw her in the Canyon area.  I'd be fortunate enough to see her several times this summer as well, and I had hoped for some chances to make same wonderful photos of her this winter.

At first, the news of the deaths of these two wolves saddened me, and it does to an extent.  But I think it's also a wonderful testament to Yellowstone and to the intact ecosystem that allows for these wolves to have lived long, productive lives.  Through these two wolves, many visitors gained an appreciation for Yellowstone, the ecosystem as it exists, and for wolves specifically.  They prompted questions, they helped garner support for wild wolves, and through these things, contributed greatly to the long term viability of wolves in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.  With these two wolves raising their young and living their lives often right in front of scores of park visitors, they did more for their species than could be hoped.

In a year that saw two park wolves killed by cars; the alpha male of the Slough Creek Pack was hit by a vehicle this autumn in Lamar Valley, and a Mollies wolf was hit by a car near LeHardy Rapids this past spring, at least the Haydens died naturally, doing what wolves do.  Turf wars among wolves can be intense and deaths resulting from conflicts with other wolves is very common.  These two wolves died doing what wolves do and that should be a comforting thought to anyone with an interest in wolves.  And quite frankly, having seen 541M, I'm willing to bet he put up one helluva fight...