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"We scarely see a gang of buffaloe without observing a psrsel of those faithfull shepherds on their skirts in readiness to take care of the maimed wounded. The large wolf never barks, but howls as those of the atlantic states do." -- Meriwether Lewis
Early on in their travels with the Corps of Discovery, as they headed to the Platte River, passing big bluestem meadows and cottonwoods along the riverbanks, brothers Rueben and Joseph Field captured a wolf cub. They tied it up, planning to make it a pet. It turned out to be easier to catch a wolf than to keep one. It quickly gnawed its way free and scampered back into the wild.
Lewis and Clark called the gray wolf the "large wolf" to distinguish it from the smaller coyotes, which they dubbed the "prairie wolf." Wolves were familiar from the East, but Lewis and Clark discovered a subspecies, the plains gray wolf, or Canis lupus nubilus. As usual, Lewis offered detailed observations, noting how a pack would isolate an antelope from the herd so they could chase it down. Clark wrote, "The large Wolves are very numerous," and they saw them throughout the western part of their trip, feeding on bison and stalking wild turkeys. They heard them howling through the night. |
The wolf has been the victim of a nasty public-relations campaign. For many years, the animals were the target of bounty hunters, who could redeem a carcass or wolf pelt for $50. The wolves were poisoned, trapped, and shot. In the second half of the 19th century, 2 million were killed in the Lower 48. The West wiped out its wolves, and they made their way onto the endangered species list.
In 1995 and 1996, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service took the first step in righting these wrongs by introducing 31 wolves to Yellowstone National Park and 20 to central Idaho. Currently there are approximately 220 in the greater Yellowstone area, while in Idaho, the number of wolves has grown to 260. Additional wolves keep coming from Canada into northern Montana, reintroducing themselves.
The newly released wolves encounter a world different from that of their Lewis and Clark-era ancestors. The areas around Yellowstone National Park, the Rocky Mountain Front, and the mountains of central Idaho where wolves are staging their comeback are being eyed by the oil and gas industries and timber interests. Dirt bikes and snowmobiles roar through their habitat. Anti-wolf sentiments are still entrenched in some areas, but these opinions are now moderated by a public that largely wants to hear the wolf howl again in the West. Because of wolf introduction, Wyoming is becoming the most balanced ecosystem in the lower 48 states.
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