The Last of the Druid Wolf Pack... It had started out so hopefully.....

Sad, lonely ending...
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http://yellowstonewolves.org/content/view/44/107/+
Druid Peak Pack

Formed 1996 from original transplanted wolves from Canada, currently ~8 wolves.

“The Druid Peak pack, perhaps Yellowstone’s most famous wolf pack, has been the subject of two feature length documentaries by National Geographic television, Wolves: A Legend Returns to Yellowstone, and Wolf Pack. For six years the pack was led by the venerable pair Wolf 21M and Wolf 42F who have become prominent figures in the history of wolf recovery in the park. After passing away in 2004, the pair left the pack to their offspring including the wander, Wolf 253M, whose trek to Utah and back has been one of the longest journeys recorded for a Yellowstone wolf, only to return to his pack of origin. Currently the pack numbers about 8 individuals.”

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http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episodes/in-the-valley-of-the-wolves/introduction/212/
In the Valley of the Wolves
Introduction

In 1995, the first gray wolves were transported from Alberta, Canada to Yellowstone National Park, to repopulate the sprawling landscape with the species, absent for more than 70 years. The following year, a second wave of wolves was brought to the park from British Columbia, Canada; five of them were released together, and they were named the Druid Peak pack. Since the arrival of those first immigrants, wolves have thrived in Yellowstone — and none more dramatically than the Druids.

The epic history of the Druids, one of more than a dozen packs now occupying the 2.2 million acres of Yellowstone, is documented in NATURE’s In the Valley of the Wolves, was produced and shot in High Definition by Emmy-award winning filmmaker Bob Landis.

On the Web site for In the Valley of the Wolves, you’ll learn how the successful reintroduction of Yellowstone’s apex predator has changed the entire ecosystem of the park, and about the threats that these majestic animals continue to face on their road to recovery.

Watch an online-exclusive video. In this video, Emmy Award-winning wildlife cinematographer Bob Landis discusses the making of the film, including the ideal circumstances for filming a predation scene; the importance of spending a vast amount of time in the field; the uniqueness of Yellowstone’s Druid wolf pack, and more.

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http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episodes/in-the-valley-of-the-wolves/the-druid-wolf-pack-story/209/

In true soap opera fashion, however, the Druids’ epic tale does not conclude with their exile. In 2006, from their new location in an area called Cache Creek, aided by Casanova and #480, the new alpha male, the pack began to rebuild. Both of the pack’s adult females successfully bred, producing eight surviving pups. The Druids pushed back against the Slough Creek pack — which suffered its own losses earlier in the year after a run-in with an unknown pack from the north — and reclaimed their traditional territory in the Soda Butte and Lamar Valleys; six pups were born there in 2007. The Druids, for now, are home.

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and has ended so sadly...
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http://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/wyoming/article_33d60bd8-2755-11df-b3d9-001cc4c03286.html

Wolf pack featured in movies now down to 1

After a dominating 14-year reign in the northwestern corner of Yellowstone National Park, one of the park’s most prolific and most viewed gray wolf packs in the world may have perished.

“The Druid pack is kaput,” said Doug Smith, Yellowstone’s wolf biologist.

It happened quickly.

Only two months ago, there were 11 wolves in the pack. But after the alpha female was killed by another pack, the old alpha male wandered off rather than breed with one of the other female wolves that were his offspring. He also suffered from a bad case of mange. Mange is a skin infection caused by a mite that leads to hair loss. In animals with weakened immune systems, it can be fatal. Seven other females in the pack also had mange, and all but one have died either from mange or been killed by other packs.

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http://www.sltrib.com/nationworld/ci_14633522

Yellowstone National Park, Wyo. » One of the most studied, photographed and filmed wolf packs in Yellowstone National Park appears to have reached the end of the trail.

Officials estimate more than 100,000 people saw the Druid Peak pack during its 14-year-run in the northeast corner of the park.

The pack numbered 11 wolves two months ago, but officials say the alpha female and other members were killed by other packs, the alpha male wandered off, and a skin infection called mange killed others.

"They're down to one and that one probably won't make it through the winter," said Doug Smith, Yellowstone's wolf biologist.

Other wolves have already moved into the Druid's old territory in the Lamar Valley, including the newly named Silver pack of four wolves.

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A great interview from NPR
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=124501314

Druid Peak Pack Down To Lone Wolf

NORRIS: Those are grey wolves, specifically the wolves of the Druid Peak Pack. The Druids, as they're called, were the dominant pack in Yellowstone's Lamar Valley for more than a decade. Because their den was close to a main road, they became the most closely watched wolves in the park and perhaps in the world. Researchers studied them day after day gaining new information about wolf behavior. Last summer there were 18 wolves in the pack, but since then they've been decimated by disease and by competition from other wolves. Yellowstone biologist Doug Smith says the Druids are now down to just one wolf, and she's not doing well.

Mr. DOUG SMITH (Biologist, Yellowstone): She's very, very thin. She's missing hair on about half of her body. She's moved out of Lamar Valley. So, she's on the fringe now. And I just don't think she's going to make it.

NORRIS: What do you do in situation like that? Do you leave her to the wild or do you try to take her in an attempt to nurse her back to health?

Mr. SMITH: Well, that's a great question and it deals with the heart of what national parks are all about. We let nature take its course. This decline of the Druid pack and the state of this last female is all part of the natural scheme of things. So, we allow nature to take its course.

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:cry:

Yellowstone has always been special to me.