Story Published:
May 26, 2009 at 5:55 PM MDT
Story Updated:
May 27, 2009 at 3:13 PM MDT
The gray wolf has made a howling return to Yellowstone National Park. Eradicated by hunting in the 1920’s, 31 wolves from Canada were reintroduced to the park in the winter of 1995-96. Now at least 124 wolves in 12 packs roam the park’s 2.2 million-acres.
“No one really thought it would go this well,” said Wolf Project leader Dr. Douglas Smith.
Smith and the Wolf Project team use overhead flights, spotting scopes, and radio and GPS tracking collars to keep tabs on the park’s booming wolf population.
But they are not the only ones who can an eye on these awesome predators. Yearly thousands of people flock to Yellowstone because it’s one of the best places in the world to view wolves in the wild.
These “wolf watchers” bring their checkbooks with them too. A 2006 study by University of Montana Economist John Duffield found that each year wolf watchers in Yellowstone contribute $35 million to the economies of Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho.
But back when they were originally returned to the park no one believed they would take off so quickly, or if park visitors would ever even see them.
“The wolves that were brought down from Canada were caught in areas where it was legal to hunt and trap them,” said Rick McIntyre of the Wolf Project. “I think most people assumed they would be very scared of people and roads, and that it would actually be a pretty rare event for people, or even park rangers, to see wolves in the wild in Yellowstone.”
But that has been far from the case as the wolves readily adapted to humans. Every day hundreds of wolf watchers with spotting scopes and telephoto lenses can be spotting along the roadway in the park’s Lamar Valley. Arriving at dawn and often staying till dusk, these dedicated fans can’t seem to take their eyes off these once bitterly hated creatures. Many spend all of their vacation time coming to the park each year, and some have retired early just so they can be there everyday. All because they say they feel a personal connection to the wolf.
“You never know in the morning when you wake up what is going to happen,” said wolf watcher Laurie Lyman who moved to Montana from California to watch the wolves daily. “It’s like watching a series on television and you can’t stay in bed because you want to see what is going to happen next.
Calvin Johnston travels to view the wolves several times each year from his home in Kansas. “It’s just the mystique of them and the wildness,” he said. “It’s something we don’t have back in Kansas.”
Recently the gray wolf has been de-listed from the endangered species list in Montana and hunts are planned for later this year. But officials say Yellowstone will always be a sanctuary for these animals and their future looks bright thanks to changing attitudes.
“The most important thing for wolves everywhere is human acceptance and tolerance,” said Smith. “Wolves do quite well in the west when people don’t kill them. So what they need is human tolerance.”
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