KELLY, Wyo. – The Horsetail Creek pack, a group of nine wolves, is attracting wildlife viewers as they move between Grand Teton National Park (GTNP) and the forest land outside of Kelly.
The Wyoming Game and Fish Department (WGFD) has GPS collars on some of these wolves and have been monitoring the pack. “We’re definitely keeping an eye on them,” says Mark Gocke, WGFD public information specialist. WGFD works with wolves outside of the national parks and coordinates closely with Grand Teton National Park (GTNP) and the National Elk Refuge (NEF) on the movement of the packs.
On Wednesday, Feb. 15, and Thursday, Feb. 16, vehicles have been congregating on the side of the road as people set up scopes and use binoculars to watch these top predators. On Wednesday evening a pack of howling coyotes were also present near the wolf pack members.
Some photographers and wildlife viewers have counted ten wolves in total. This could potentially mean there’s an additional wolf trying to move in to the Horsetail Creek pack and mate.
February is typically mating season for wolves. Contrary to the common myth of the lone wolf, wolves are pack animals that mostly range and hunt within their pack territories.
Gray wolves were reintroduced to the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) in the 1990s after being almost entirely wiped out more than seven decades earlier. They are considered a keystone species, meaning the wolf population is integral to the ecological balance of the GYE.
Leaving the protection of the national parks can cut the average lifespan of a wolf in half, according to YNP. While wolves are the leading cause of death for other wolves within the parks, humans are the leading cause of death outside the parks. A recent study confirmed that human-caused wolf deaths outside of the parks can disrupt the natural ecological processes of wildlife within the parks, which can include hunting success and disease recovery.
The wolves are most active at dawn and dusk. In recent years, the Lower Gros Ventre pack, the Horsetail Creek pack and the Long Hollow pack have overlapped in this area.
