Transplanted Wolf Died Of Starvation Lead Male Of Boulder Pack Was Hobbled By Injured Shoulder

Lack of food killed one of two wolves transplanted to Glacier National Park in October from the Boulder River area, a federal laboratory has concluded.

The wildlife forensics laboratory in Ashland, Ore., released findings in last month’s death of a large male wolf.

The animal injured a shoulder when he was trapped in the Boulder River country several weeks before the October release at the park. The shoulder never healed completely and probably kept the wolf from hunting successfully, said Joe Fontaine, a federal wolf biologist in Helena.

The wolf limped noticeably when he was released in Glacier, but Fontaine hoped that once the animal was free, the shoulder would heal.

“It was clear he was going downhill in captivity, and he looked healthy enough to survive” in the wild, he said.

The wolf was the lead male of the Boulder pack, implicated in calf deaths near Deer Lodge.

Two adult wolves from the pack were released in Glacier. One adult female and three young were allowed to remain in the Boulder River country.

The other wolf released in Glacier continues to roam, Fontaine said. She was last spotted near the Continental Divide at Marias Pass.

Over the past decade, 11 troublesome wolves have been released in the park. Only two, including the female released in October, have survived.

Glacier also has a native population of wolves.

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