Two Yellowstone wolf pups killed by vehicle; habituation to blame, biologist says
A Yellowstone National Park male and female wolf pup were killed by a vehicle in November and a park official is blaming some park visitors for making them less afraid of humans.
The pups were struck the evening of Nov. 19 on the road between Tower Junction and the Northeast Entrance. The park’s law enforcement officers are investigating. The young wolves were members of the Junction Butte pack. At last count, the pack numbered 11 wolves — eight adults and three pups — one of the largest in the northern portion of the park.
A necropsy confirmed that a vehicle was the cause of the black male and female’s deaths.
The Junction Butte Pack is one of the most frequently observed packs in the park because they roam the area between Tower Junction and the Lamar Valley along a road that remains open to vehicles year-round. That ease of observation is in part what Yellowstone senior wolf biologist Doug Smith is saying made the pups less afraid of humans.
“During the summer of 2019, the pack of 11 adults attended a den of pups near a popular hiking trail in the northeastern section of the park,” the park noted in a press release. “Wanting to keep visitors and wolves apart, the park closed the den and surrounding area to the public. When the pups approached the trail and were in proximity to hikers, most people quickly moved away. However, some people violated the required 100-yard distance from wolves and approached the pups when they were on or near the trail to take a photo. Other people illegally entered the closed area to get near the wolves. Having grown accustomed to hikers, the pups then came close to visitors along a road.
“Yellowstone staff hazed the pups several times over the last five months in an attempt to make them more wary of people and roads. This effort was never fully successful and the pups continued to demonstrate habituated behavior due to continued close encounters with visitors.”
“Having studied these pups since birth, I believe their exposure to, and fearlessness of people and roads could have been a factor in their death,” Smith said in the press release. “Visitors must protect wolves from becoming habituated to people and roads. Stay at least 100 yards from wolves, never enter a closed area, and notify a park ranger of others who are in violation of these rules.”
To learn more about Yellowstone wolf packs, read the 2018 Yellowstone Wolf Project Annual Report.