Dead Wolves May Have Been Fighting Tracks Indicate Both Males Were Killed In Territorial Battles Between Packs

Two male wolves have been found dead in Glacier National Park, possibly victims of territorial battles between two packs.

Chief Park Ranger Steve Frye said Saturday that a wolf wearing a radio collar was found dead near Kintla Lake on Dec. 22, and the other wolf, whose pack affiliation was not determined, was found dead nearby the next day.

Frye said tracks indicated both were killed by other wolves, and that both the North Camas pack and the South Camas Pack had been in the area.

“It is suspected that an unknown number of wolves from the South Camas Pack moved into the area occupied by the North Camas Pack and killed the two wolves,” Frye said in a news release.

“The collared wolf was probably the alpha male (of the North Camas pack) and died defending its pack territory, perhaps against overwhelming odds.”

The North Camas Pack has about eight members and had denned in the Kintla Lake area last spring. The South Camas Pack, with about 17 members, was in the area on Dec. 21, and grizzly bear tracks were found in the area on the 22nd.

The radio collar on the first wolf had signaled that the animal was alive on Dec. 20, but on Dec. 21, sensing that the animal was not moving, it signaled the wolf was dead.

The carcasses will be given a thorough examination at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service laboratory in Ashton, Ore., Frye said.

Wolves killing wolves has been documented in other areas, and this may be the second known clash between the two Glacier packs, Frye said.

He said a wolf from the North Camas Pack was found dead in the Big Prairie area two years ago, and indications were that it had been killed by wolves of the South Camas Pack.

The South Camas Pack normally roams southward from the Polebridge area, on the northwest edge of the park, but it occasionally roams northward.