Yellowstone Wolves Celebrate 20 Years of Howling

Twenty years after their ancestors were released here in one of the most controversial wildlife projects of the century, wolf howls punctuated the cold winter air on Monday to the delight of dozens of wolf watchers.

“This is a great day,” said Char Thompson of Eugene, Ore., as she manned her spotting scope on a snowy hill near Junction Butte to watch the nearby wolves. “To have interaction and so close … ”

Members of the Junction Butte pack seemed to be fleeing from the Prospect Peak wolves gathering on the opposite side of the Lamar River. As a black and gray wolf loped south through chest-deep snow, two others sat atop the butte’s ridge as if they had been posted as lookouts to ensure the Prospect Peak wolves weren’t in pursuit.

“Lots of people thought the wolves wouldn’t be very visible when they were reintroduced,” said Rick McIntyre, a veteran with the Yellowstone Wolf Project. “My first day back in the park, I saw the entire Crystal Creek pack, so it’s a big circle of life.”

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