Scouted: Last of transplanted wolves killed

[Jon Gabriel]

I'm on the last book of Laurell K. Hamilton's Vampire Hunter series -- was surprised to see anything on wolf pack dominance on CNN.
Jon


http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/Central/01/07/yellowstone.wolf.ap/index.html

Last of transplanted wolves killed
Wednesday, January 8, 2003 Posted: 1:42 PM EST (1842 GMT)

YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyoming (AP) -- The last of the original wolves reintroduced to Yellowstone in 1995 has been killed, apparently by members of another wolf pack.

The 8-year-old male, known as No. 2, was among the original 14 wolves captured in Canada and transferred to Yellowstone as part of the federal government's controversial reintroduction program.

The wolf was credited with establishing the first new pack in the park -- the Leopold pack -- in 1996, and is believed to have fathered eight litters of pups. His mate was killed last May.

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

Cheryl Matthews, a Yellowstone spokeswoman, said that No. 2's body was discovered on New Year's Eve.

Smith said the wolf apparently had recently lost his role as the Leopold pack's dominant, or alpha, male, was driven out by other pack members and had wandered alone most of the time until his death.

"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."

_________________________________________________________________
Add photos to your e-mail with MSN 8. Get 2 months FREE*. http://join.msn.com/?page=features/featuredemail

_______________________________________________
http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l