July 5, 2024
We had a cloudless sky, which meant early sunshine on the den area but chilly temperatures for the first hour. Once the sun graced us, first me, then John, we warmed up considerably. John dropped me at Dave's Hill and drove down to the lower lot.
The puppies' big adventure started right away! At 6:00am, 907F took the pups, along with 1478F, a little to the left of then den, but then into and above the diagonal forest to the right. They went up quite high above the den area to the ridge above. The adults watched as the pups ventured down the steep drainage on their own. They eventually joined the pups and led them back to the den. The exercise ended almost two hours later at 7:45. At that point, 907F bedded on Flower Hill. The pups followed 1478F toward the rocks. They disappeared in the sage and 1478F laid next to Crescent Rock out of sight. 907F is preparing the pups for the journey to the Rendezvous, in which they will have to cross Slough Creek, the dirt road, the Yellowstone River, and the main road.
At that point, I packed up my equipment and walked down to John.
At 12:15, a black collared wolf that we believe to be 1479F due to her smaller size walked up from the marsh area. We figured we missed her arrival from the secret passage. She disappeared behind Flower Hill.
At 1:40, the black pup had his own trip to the marsh for a drink! It was the first time we have seen him go all the way to the marsh.
At 12:29, 1479F headed for a 10-minute drink and cool-off laying in the water at the marsh with the black pup following part of the way but disappearing. 1479F got up from the stream, shook off, and headed back up to the trees.
Once again, we shared our scopes with Jason and many first-time wolf viewers. People were so polite and grateful for our "kindness" and "friendliness." We were told that the sightings were "the highlight of the trip" and that we "made lifetime memories." We expressed the same, as it has been wonderful to share the wolves with others.
At 2:30, we decided to head back to Gardiner. We had a bison jam near Slough Creek, and then a moose jam at Floating Island Lake. We saw a cow and a calf, first of the trip. We also saw another black bear.
Nine hours of scoping makes for a long day! We are relaxing at our cabin now.
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