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Wolfwatcher

9 hours ago

Junction Butte Pack

The Junction Butte pack formed in April 2012 when 838M dispersed from the Agate Creek pack with two females. The two Agate females quickly disappeared but later that month 838M was seen with two new unknown females and an uncollared gray adult nicknamed “Puff”, originally from the Blacktail Deer Plateau pack. During the first year, this pack had 3 collared wolves (838M, 777M, 823F) join the pack and subsequently die (2 killed by other wolves, 1 legally harvested in Montana), leaving the pack un-trackable using telemetry equipment. After 870F sustained a neck injury during the 2013 breeding season and lost her status as the alpha female, “Ragged Tail” paired with the alpha male “Puff” to become the new alpha female. At some point in October, “Ragged Tail” disappeared and 870F regained her alpha status; the fate of “Ragged Tail” is unknown. Around the same time, the alpha male “Puff” also disappeared (fate unknown) and “New Male” briefly acted as alpha male until he was found killed by other wolves (likely the 8-Mile pack) at a carcass in December of 2013. “New Male” was identified by a distinctive scar under his right eye based on photographs posted to the Yellowstone Wolf: Project Citizen Science website. 890M took over as alpha male and paired with alpha female 870F until both were replaced by 911M and 970F as alphas in December of 2014. Three Junction Butte females, including 970F, 907F and 969F, were seen breeding during the 2015 mating season. In September 2016, 911M was killed by Prospect Peak wolves. He fought valiantly but was old and had multiple long-term injuries. After 3 wolves were harvest in late 2016, and another was not seen again, Junction Butte was only seen sporadically and it was difficult to identify who was whom. The 2017 breeding season was an interesting time for this pack; 969F was displaced as alpha female by her sister, 907F. 4 wolves from Prospect Peak took advantage of the opening in this pack and seemed to become members. The Junctions denned in April 2017, but no pups survived. In April 2018, we believe that at three females had pups at the Slough Creek dens – 907F, 969F, and an uncollared black female. 996M displayed very odd behavior towards the pups, potentially killing a few of them. The Junctions moved the remaining 8 pups out of the Slough area in early summer, but by August, only 3 pups remained. These 3 pups have been a joy to watch grow up and the pack remains a strong force in Lamar Valley! [Updated 4/2019]

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