The Canyon Pack of Yellowstone National Park

For many years the Hayden Pack with famous alphas 540F and 540M leading them occupied the Hayden Valley Territory in the southern portion of Yellowstone National Park.

In the fall of 2007, the alphas were killed by the Mollie Pack who occupied a territory adjacent to Hayden.  It was devastating for all of us who watch the wolves often and for the visitors that looked forward to watching this pack who had become a mainstay of the Hayden.

In the spring of 2007, the alpha female and her two-year-old daughter both had pups.  After the parents were killed, the pack divided into two different packs.  One of those packs continued on as the Haydens and eventually moved to West Yellowstone.  The two-year-old gray female joined up with her mate, a black from the Mollie Pack, who was eventually collared and is now 712M.  Together they formed the Canyon Pack named for the Canyon area of Yellowstone.  As the alpha female has aged she has turned very white.  Her mother was a white wolf, so she has grown to look more like her mother.  We often refer to her as the white alpha female; however, she is still a gray wolf.

The pair was two years of age at the time they formed the pack and are both now 7 years old which is old for a wolf in the wild.  They had a hard time with survival rates with their first few litters, but with age, have gotten much at keeping their pups alive.

The Canyons often move to the Mammoth area in the winter for hunting and sometimes meet up with other rival packs and have lost young.  Often times they take the road for easier travel from the Hayden making the chance of meeting up with a car more likely.  The last few years have been much better and they seem to be able to maneuver their way around conflicts with other packs and stay off the roads more.

The pack now is comprised of 712M and the white alpha female, a 2 year-old gray male, a 2 year-old black female, a 2 year old gray female, a gray male yearling, a black female yearling 831F, and two gray pups.

Collaboration by:

Laurie Lyman,

Yellowstone Wolf Project