Month: March 2010

Rolf Peterson and member of Doug Smith’s research team examine an elk carcass with WCC staff and volunteers. Doug Smith, the National Park Service’s director of the Yellowstone Wolf Recovery Project, illustrated the value of wolves in the Yellowstone ecosystem with the following quote I often refer to: “Wolves are to Yellowstone what water is…

The National Park Service is at odds with the the Alaska Department of Fish and Game for killing the Webber Creek Pack, one of seven packs the park service is following in the Yukon Charley Rivers National Preserve using GPS radio collars. The Yukon-Charley superintendent, Greg Dudgeon, believes that the loss of the pack is…

Apache died a week ago today. When we announced his death, we expected that the news would weigh heavy on the hearts of many. We did not anticipate, however, the scale of Apache’s impact on people all around the world. Thank you so much for sharing your kind words, memories and photos. It has become…

Apache, the leader of the Wolf Conservation Center’s “ambassador”pack, passed away on March 10, 2010 at the age of 12. A benevolent alpha, Apache thrilled tens of thousands of visitors lucky enough to howl along with him. His presence and personality will be missed. Music: “Do you realize?” by The Flaming Lips

Apache May 5, 1997 – March 10, 2010 “We reached the old wolf in time to watch a fierce green fire dying in her eyes. I realized then, and have known ever since, that there was something new to me in those eyes – something known only to her and to the mountain.”~ Aldo Leopold,…

The Druid Pack, perhaps Yellowstone’s most famous pack, is in danger of “fading away.” Wolves were exterminated from Yellowstone Park in the mid-1920’s. In the absence of natural predators, the elk population gradually increased over the next 70 years. In 1995 and 1996, Canadian gray wolves were transported from Canada to Yellowstone National Park with…

Here’s some recent video of our exhibit red wolves. Can you see why we think pups may be on the way? Keep your fingers crossed!Music: “Chicago Falcon” by The Budos Band (available on iTunes)