For the last 14 years, the "Druid Peak Pack" has been the
dominant wolf pack in Yellowstone's Lamar Valley. The Druids, as
they're called, numbered 37 when they were at their peak. Because
their den was close to a main road, they became the most closely
watched grey wolves in the park and perhaps in the world.
Researchers studied them day after day gaining new information
about wolf behavior.
My favorite piece of footage involving the Druids is the ritual
that took place in 2003. The Druid Pack provided a 'first' when
researchers recorded a six-hour-long ritual song and dance that
ended with a new wolf joining the pack as the breeding male. The
rites had never been recorded in the wild. If you ever get a chance
to see the video, it's really cool.
Last summer there were 18 wolves in the pack, but since then
they've been decimated by disease and by competition from other
wolves. Now, the Druid's, the most closely watched and photographed
wolf pack in the world, is down to its last wolf. The remaining
wolf is a very thin female who has lost most of the hair on her
body. Biologists speculate that she will not make it through the
winter. I wanted to hurry and place this cache because, as of the
publication of this cache, she still survives.
