Yellowstone wolves give scientists close-up view

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. — For decades wolf biologists have had to make do with furtive and fleeting glimpses of the wild behavior of the animal they study, usually in remote and harsh corners of the world.

But now they can watch packs of wolves here go about the full range of their lives, from hunting to raising pups to courtship rituals and sex. The observations are beginning to create a much more complex portrait of wolves.

"It's the best wolf laboratory ever," said Dr. L. David Mech, a senior research scientist with the U.S. Geological Survey in St. Paul, Minn., and a leading expert on wolves.

Several factors came together to create the unparalleled view. One is volume. In early 1995, 14 gray wolves were released into the prey-rich park, and the next year 52 more here and in central Idaho. Nine years later their number in the park has grown to 14 packs, or 148 animals, not including 14 new pups this year. Experts say it is the highest density of wolves in the world.

Topography also plays a part. There are wolf packs in Alaska and northern Minnesota and Wisconsin, but the terrain is either remote and access to it difficult, or it is heavily forested. Here it is hilly but treeless and open, and the wolves are easily visible, allowing biologists to watch without getting too close. They can even watch from their cars if they choose.

It may also be that the animals are oblivious. "They were held in pens and got used to the sights, sounds and smells of people," Mech said. "They may have realized they didn't have to be afraid," a trait the first generation may have passed on.

That doesn't diminish their wild behavior, he said. As Daniel Stahler, a National Park Service wildlife specialist, sat in his white government-issue SUV recently, with cars and trailers whizzing by, he pointed to a broad grassy meadow on the side of a mountain. "I've probably seen 25 kills on that slope," he said. "Their whole life unfolds in front of observers a couple of miles away. Kill rate, prey selection, interaction with prey and scavengers. Yellowstone is the first to do this at this level."

In nearly four decades as a researcher before the Yellowstone reintroduction, Mech estimated that he saw 100 to 200 wolf-prey encounters. Dan McNulty, a former student of Mech who has been researching wolves for eight years here, has witnessed more than 700.