Largest wolf pack in over a decade in the Greater Voyageurs Ecosystem
The Peatlands Pack was the largest pack in the Greater Voyageurs Ecosystem (GVE) this winter and the largest pack documented during the last 13 years in the GVE (2011-2024). The pack was 10 wolves.
The next largest pack we’ve documented was 9 wolves and we have only documented that once (the Bug Creek Pack in Winter 2022-2023). We have documented 8 packs of 8 wolves during this period.
For perspective, the number of wolves in 132 packs have been counted during this 13 year period…meaning that 0.75% of packs ever reach 10 members in our area (i.e., it’s exceedingly rare). Average pack size over the past decade has hovered around 4.5 wolves.
Now, packs are often larger in the fall when pups start traveling around with the adults. You can see several videos we have posted of packs with 10 or 11 wolves in fall. However, by winter these packs are almost always considerably smaller because wolves, especially pups, die during fall and subordinate wolves disperse during this period.
The Thuja Pack from this past year is a great example. In Fall 2023, the pack was 11 wolves but the size quickly dwindled and by mid-Winter the pack was down to 5 individuals.
Anyway, the Peatlands Pack consisted of a breeding pair, three subordinate adults, and 5 pups. The pack was likely so large because they successfully reared a lot of pups and several subordinate wolves stayed with the pack instead of dispersing.
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