Wolf, Pups Moved Back Into Park Biologists Say New Family Has Better Chance At Survival Off Public Land

The Yellowstone National Park wolf that gave birth to eight pups on a ranch near Red Lodge, Mont., earlier this month was captured and moved back into the park Thursday.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife spokesman Mike Smith said in a release that biologists had decided on Sunday that the wolf and her pups would have a better chance of survival in the park than on the private land, which is near restaurants, other ranches, hotels and other sources of human activity.

Smith said biologists on Tuesday set specially designed snares to trap the adult wolf without hurting her.

One of the snares sent an electronic signal to biologists that the wolf was rapped shortly after 4 a.m. Thursday.

“The area where she had the pups was not the best for them to learn how to be wolves,” said Ed Bangs, head of the agency’s wolf reintroduction program.

“With the added stress associated with single parenthood, this was not the most desirable of situations.”

Biologists have been bringing elk and deer meet to the female and her pups. She has not been able to leave the pups to hunt for herself because her mate was killed in late April.

The male’s radio tracking collar was found April 27 near Red Lodge, and its skinned carcass was found May 7.

A 42-year-old unemployed carpenter from Red Lodge was charged earlier this week with a misdemeanor violation of violating the Endangered Species Act.

Federal authorities in Montana said Chad McKittrick had admitted to shooting the wolf and keeping its head and skin in his house.

The wolves were among the 14 Canadian wolves brought to Yellowstone in January as part of the federal government’s reintroduction program.

Another 15 wolves were released in a wilderness area in central Idaho.

Bangs said the wolf and her pups initially will be kept in the one-acre acclimation pen where they spent their first six weeks in the park’s Lamar Valley.

He said because the wolf has not established her territory in the park, biologists feared other wolves may threaten the pups.

Bangs also said the capture and relocation of the female and her pups was a highly unusual action dictated by circumstances.

“In this instance, we determined that human assistance was warranted,” he said.

“This in no way indicates a plan of action for any other occurrences where wolves have pups outside the park.”

Biologists have said the births appeared to be the first among any of the transplanted wolves.