Wolves kill dethroned, founding park wolf
By MIKE STARK
Gazette Wyoming Bureau

Burly, bushy and black, wolf No. 2 was a steady force among wolves in Yellowstone National Park ever since he arrived in a cage from Canada on Jan. 12, 1995.

Part of the first shipment of wolves into the park in the wolf reintroduction program, he soon co-founded the first naturally forming pack in Yellowstone.

The Leopold pack became a stable group and the eight litters of pups produced by No. 2 and his longtime mate, No. 7, helped form two other packs in the park.

"They did a lot," said Doug Smith, Yellowstone's lead wolf biologist. "They may have contributed, as a pair, more than any other pair in the park."

As time went on, other wolves from that 1995 shipment died out. No. 7 was killed last May, but No. 2 held his spot as the alpha male of the Leopolds.

In November, though, No. 2 was kicked out of the pack. A dethroned alpha now targeted by other wolves, he wandered alone mostly, on the fringes of other wolf pack territories.

His life as a lone wolf didn't last long.

He was found dead New Year's Eve, ripped and ravaged by members of the Geode pack. At 8 years old with a coat flecking gray, No. 2 had outlasted all of his 14 peers from the 1995 shipment and lived years longer than most wolves in the wild.

"He'd been through a lot," Smith said. "There were no wolves when he pulled through the gate of the park. Now there are 148."

The death of No. 2 ends an era in the controversial saga of wolf reintroduction in Yellowstone. Of the 31 wolves brought to the park in 1995 and 1996, only two from the 1996 group remain.

"He was here on day one," Smith said.

No. 2 was captured in Alberta as the federal government began collecting animals for the reintroduction program. After being released in Yellowstone in early 1995, No. 2 paired with No. 7 to form the Leopold pack.

The pack became the most stable in the park in both its size and range, Smith said.

"They never went outside the park and the size only varied by two or three wolves," he said. "They had one litter every single year."

At least 29 Leopold pups survived beyond the first year and the pack constantly numbered around 12 to 14. Some left to form the Swan Lake and Cougar Creek packs.

Wildlife managers initially thought it would take three or four years of importing wolves from Canada to establish the northern Rocky Mountain population. But only two years were needed, partially because of the success of No. 2 and No. 7.

"They had a tremendous impact on the introduction in the ecosystem," Smith said.

As the longtime head of the Leopolds, Smith said, No. 2 was efficient and dutiful.

"He was not a strong presence but a solid one," Smith said. "He was a great hunter and a great provider for his pups. He did his job."

No. 7 was found dead in May on the Black Deer Plateau, likely the victim of other wolves.

Smith said it's unclear why No. 2 lost his alpha male status in November.

Sometimes ousted alpha males are allowed to stay with the pack in a diminished position in the pecking order. Other times, "they're booted out," Smith said.

That was the case with No. 2. Biologists were able to track him by his radio-collar. He was sometimes seen traveling with a few other wolves. Most of the time he was alone.

"All wolves are aggressive to other wolves that aren't part of their pack," Smith said. "Without a territory or pack, he was vulnerable to attack."

The Geode pack, a splinter group from the Druid pack, apparently found No. 2 alone on top of a small hill near Hellroaring Overlook.

"There was no doubt he was killed by other wolves," Smith said. "It was quite a dramatic scene."

Smith said No. 2's death didn't come as a surprise.

"He was a mammoth wolf with one of the biggest, bushiest tails I've ever seen," he said. "But he was old, 8 years old, and a step slower."

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