Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
There are more than 300 backcountry campsites throughout the park. Overnight
permits are required for all of the sites. The maximum stay ranges 1-3 nights. Permits
are available at all ranger stations and visitors centers, and they are only issued in
person up to 48 hours in advance. You may reserve backcountry campsites ahead
of time for $25. All requests to reserve sites must be made in person, mailed in, or
faxed. All the pertinent forms and information for backcountry camping in Yellow-
stone are available online in the NPS Backcountry Trip Planner ( www.nps.gov/yell/
planyourvisit ).
The bad news is that there are roughly 98 wolves in 10 packs, plus a few lone wolves,
roaming throughout Yellowstone, an area that is approximately the size of Connecticut. It's
always a good idea to bear those figures in mind when you have only a couple of hours and
a keen desire to spot one of these majestic canines.
CINDERELLA: THE REAL-LIFE FAIRY TALE OF WOLF 42
In 1926 the last known wolf in Yellowstone was killed, bringing to a conclusion a
decades-long campaign to rid the region of the animal that was widely considered
a worthless pest. The murderous eviction was a tragic end to a noble creature. It
took nearly 70 years for wolves to be seen not only for their intrinsic worth but
for their value in making the Yellowstone ecosystem whole again. This was their
home, after all, and they had been unnaturally removed. Thirty-one Canadian gray
wolves— Canis lupus —were reintroduced to the park in 1995-1996 with loud cheers
and simultaneous objections.
Among the wolves brought into the park from Canada was a female who would
come to be known as wolf number 42. Her sister, wolf 40, was the alpha female of
the Druid Peak pack and was known to rule the pack with an iron paw. She was
suspected of running off her mother, number 39, and her sister, number 41. Number
42, the pack's beta female, managed to stay in the pack, likely as a result of her un-
matched speed and excellent hunting ability, but she could not get into her sister's
good graces. The two fought constantly for four years, and despite the fact that both
sisters bred with wolf 21, the pack's alpha male, wolf 40 was reported to have killed
her sister's first litter of pups in 1999. Wolf watchers nicknamed 42 Cinderella and
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