Wolf Reintroduction: How the Wolves Came Back

Wolves Come Home: Accomplishing Reintroduction

Once the legal aspects of reintroducing wolves to Yellowstone and Central Idaho were largely resolved, the actual procedure of relocating the animals began. The wolves were taken from Canada and flown to the United States after thorough medical examinations. The goal of the officially adopted recovery plan is to reintroduce 30 wolves to Yellowstone and Idaho each year for the next 3-5 years, or until 10 wolf packs of at least 10 members each are comfortably established (United States Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service 1994). Once the population has stabilized at this pre-designated level, the wolf will be down-listed (United States Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service 1994). There is also the possibility that once these minimum desirable population levels are reached, regulated hunting of wolves will be permitted. This would help to control the population from becoming too large (United States Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service 1994).

Canadian wolves were used in reintroduction. The helicopter sent to tranquilize and capture the wolves set out in the early morning on January 10, 1995. As the aircraft flew over the Canadian wilderness, biologists in the helicopter spotted wolves. The area was heavily forested, and researchers feared they might not be able to capture the wolves because of the terrain. They decided to try. The tranquilizer gun was loaded with Telazol, a drug that immobilizes a wolf within 4-10 minutes (Fischer 1995).

The crew spotted the wolves again. This time they were within sight of a clearing. The pilot began to chase a wolf that was heading toward the clearing. The strategy worked--the wolf ran for the open space. With the helicopter following close behind, the wolf made every attempt to escape. The darter leaned out of the helicopter, aiming at the wolf. He shot, and the wolf was hit. The shot landed squarely in the wolf’s flank and soon immobilized the animal.

The helicopter landed quickly, and the crew followed tracks until they reached the wolf. The crew tied the legs of the wolf together, fastened a muzzle around its mouth and returned to the helicopter with the sleeping wolf (Fischer 1995). Quickly, the crew took off in search of more wolves. The helicopter circled back to the place where the remaining wolves of the pack were hiding in the thick forest. Soon, another wolf made the same mad dash for freedom and was darted. However, this wolf was not as easy to stop as the first wolf. After running more than a mile, the wolf still did not succumb to the tranquilizer. The helicopter landed, and the crew dashed out in pursuit of the wolf. They realized that the only way they could capture this wolf was on foot. By looking at the tracks in the snow, the biologists could see the tranquilizer was having some effect. The men started running. The wolf was still some distance ahead of them. When they finally caught up to the wolf, it growled and snarled. The biologists grabbed the wolf and held the animal down while it received another dose of tranquilizer (Fischer 1995).

The helicopter entered the air once again and resumed pursuit. One after the other, each wolf attempted the flight toward freedom, and each was caught as it entered the clearing. Only 5 members of the pack managed to escape (Fischer 1995).

The captured wolves were flown back to the rest of the crew; biologists and veterinarians inspected the wolves thoroughly and treated their dart wounds. Their age, sex, sexual development, size and weight were carefully determined and recorded. The biologists inserted ear tags and took blood and tissue samples from each wolf (Fischer 1995). The ear tags were inserted so that they could not be seen. The blood and tissue samples serve to identify the wolf genetically if it is someday found dead. In addition, the blood samples allow the biologists to test for and diagnose diseases the wolves may carry.

Soon these wolves and many others that went through similar ordeals were on their way to Idaho and Wyoming. Canadian trappers received up to $2,000 for the capture and radio-collaring of a single wolf. The wolves these trappers captured and tagged will be tracked by United States Wolf Reintroduction personnel by monitoring the radio collar signals to locate and tranquilize the animals for their relocation to Idaho and Wyoming.

The Reintroductions

The culmination of years of preparation all began to pay off on January 12, 1995. With the captive wolves, a caravan of wolf supporters started toward Yellowstone National Park. The train of vehicles detoured to enter Yellowstone Park from the Gardiner, Montana, entrance, symbolically passing through the Roosevelt Arch. The arch was constructed to honor the creation of the nation’s first National Park. Its inscription reads, "For the benefit and enjoyment of the people--Yellowstone National Park, created by an act of Congress, March 1, 1872." For many this passage through the Roosevelt Arch symbolizes the shift in American consciousness toward a more holistic understanding of the wild and our human relationship to it. In the words of Hank Fischer, "It’s curious how time has so changed our perception of wolves and their public benefit" (Fischer 1995:160).

Hundreds of spectators greeted the caravan as it passed through Roosevelt Arch. It seemed that everything would go as planned. After making its symbolic entrance, the caravan began the long drive to the acclimation pen in Yellowstone’s Lamar Valley (Fischer 1995). The wolves released into Yellowstone National Park underwent what is known as a "soft" release. The wolves were transported in small metal cages, and then released into one acre acclimation pens. This kind of release allows the wolves to adjust to their surroundings. It is a sort of safety valve, helping to ensure that once the wolves are actually freed they will remain in the general recovery area. Researchers hope that a soft release will encourage the wolves to refrain from an immediate flight back toward Canada.

Just when it seemed that the wolves would be released as scheduled, the Wyoming Farm Bureau filed an appeal against the decision to reintroduce wolves. A 48 hour stay was granted to the Wyoming Farm Bureau that barred the release of wolves into Yellowstone National Park and central Idaho (Fischer 1995). The wolves, already housed in their 2 x 4 x 3 foot metal travel cages for nearly 2 days, might be forced to remain in those cramped cages for another 2 days. In response to this last minute injunction, Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbatt said, "If we don’t get those wolves out of those cages, they may turn into coffins" (Fischer 1995:162-3). Finally, later that evening, the court lifted the stay and granted permission to release the wolves from their travel cages into the Yellowstone National Park acclimation pens. Before the ordeal came to a close, the wolves were in their tiny cages for 36 hours.

With the Yellowstone wolves released into their acclimation pens, attention focused on releasing wolves into central Idaho’s wilderness. The Idaho release also suffered some setbacks. The wolves were scheduled to be flown from Missoula to the release site. However, foggy weather kept the wolves waiting. Finally, the decision was made to truck the wolves from Missoula to Salmon, Idaho, from where they would be flown to the release site. When the wolves reached Salmon, the fog did too. The release had to be delayed another day.

Finally, on January 14, 1995, four wolves were released into the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness Area. In contrast to the wolves released in Yellowstone, these wolves were released through what is known as a "hard" release. The wolves were set free directly from their cramped cages, with no acclimation period or pens. Such a release is much more risky because the wolves may immediately begin to wander in search of their old home. When the cages were opened in the wilderness of Idaho, the wolves set out running.

Eventually, 15 wolves were released into the Idaho wildernesses, and 14 were released into Yellowstone National Park. Within a week after the first reintroductions, all of the wolves were released as planned. The first stage of the reintroduction was a success. The next step was to release the wolves in Yellowstone from their acclimation pens. After remaining in these enclosures since January 12, the wolves were released on March 21, 1995. Much to everyone’s surprise, the wolves did not leave the pens. Biologists speculated that the wolves became so accustomed to shying away from the entrance (where humans regularly entered and exited, leaving food) that they still did not want to approach the opening (AP 1995a). After waiting several hours, biologists decided to cut a hole in the chain link fence away from the entrance frequented by humans opening (AP 1995a). The wolves finally entered the wilderness of Yellowstone National Park.

Political Repercussions of the Reintroduction

The trials and tribulations surrounding the wolf reintroduction process did not stop with the release of the wolves. Shortly after the reintroductions took place, a bill was introduced to the Senate that called for the establishment of a $1,000 bounty on any wolf killed outside of the Yellowstone National Park Recovery zone boundaries (AP 1995c). Fortunately for the wolves, the bill was defeated. However, another bill passed by the Wyoming Legislature set a $500 bounty for shooting any wolves wandering outside park boundaries. This bill was vetoed by the governor of Wyoming (Fischer 1995). The State of Montana responded to the reintroductions by introducing legislation to reintroduce wolves to New York City’s Central Park (Fischer 1995). Idaho responded by threatening to call in the National Guard to force the wolves out of the state (Fischer 1995). Idaho House Representative, Helen Chenoweth "called for open hunting season in Yellowstone to combat the reintroduction of the wolf boundaries (AP 1995c). In February, the Mtounain States Legal Foundation in cooperation with various farm bureaus brought the issue of reintroduction to court yet again. This time, if the judge ruled that the reintroduction arrangement was illegal, the wolves transported from Canada would be tracked down and killed (AP 1995b). This suit was also dismissed.

Perhaps even more threatening is the 1996 Republican takeover of the House and Senate. In 1996, Republicans have redirected a substantial portion of funds set aside for wolf reintroduction to the study of a piscine sickness called "whirling disease." The restriction of funds from the reintroduction program could prevent the planned relocation of Canadian wolves over the next several years.