A lone wolf howl was heard in Jackson Hole, Wyo., for
the first time in over 50 years this November. Since then, 11
wolves have been sighted in the area, some of them only five miles
from the town of Jackson. Migrating south from Yellowstone, the
animals make up three groups that seem to be settling in Grand
Teton National Park and on the National Elk
Refuge.
Reactions to their arrival range from
ecstasy to grim resignation.
Terry Foster,
manager of visitor and volunteer services at the National Museum of
Wildlife Art, saw wolves in mid-January after searching fruitlessly
for a week. “I was waiting and waiting and didn’t see one at
first,” she said. “Then I suddenly saw one and I was jazzed. I was
basically on a wolf high all day.”
That high is
proving to be an addiction as residents and visitors flock to the
refuge. Parked in highway pullouts, searching from the museum’s
lobby, scanning from horse-drawn sleighs, viewers have watched
wolves chasing elk and the elk turning to chase wolves
back.
Not all Jackson residents welcome their new
neighbors. Outfitter Paul Gilroy fears wolves will wipe out the elk
herd. “Our forefathers got the federal government to help them
eradicate the wolves from the entire Lower 48 not just because (the
wolf) preyed on livestock and wildlife, but because he was a threat
to the human species.”
Biologists say it is too
early to predict what effect wolves will have on the elk herd.
Refuge biologist Bruce Smith said the wolves are still searching
out territories. “These animals are totally in the exploratory
phase,” Smith said.
* Rachel
Odell
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Wolves colonize Jackson Hole.
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