Yellowstone National Park confirmed Wednesday that two wolf pups found dead on a park road last month perished as a result of a vehicle strike.
The black male and female pups, which belonged to the Junction Butte Pack, were struck at sunset on the road between Tower Junction and the Northeast Entrance.
The park waited until a necropsy was complete before making the announcement. Yellowstone law enforcement officials continue to investigate the incident.
The Junction Butte Pack, whose territory spans from Tower Junction toward Lamar Valley, is frequently observed by tourists and its close proximity to people and roads makes the younger animals vulnerable.
[protected-iframe id=”b8b074587c50f9884bd78e819012a15c-58289342-114731612″ info=”https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FYellowstoneNPS%2Fposts%2F3177592182256114&width=500″ width=”500″ height=”503″ frameborder=”0″ style=”border: none; overflow: hidden;” scrolling=”no”]
The park explained in a news release that, during the summer, the pack and its pups inhabited a den near a popular hiking trail. A large area surrounding the den was made off-limits, but occasional encounters with pups occurred on the trail.
Park guidelines state that tourists must remain at least 100 yards from all wolves, but some tourists ignored the rule to get closeup photos of the pups. Others illegally entered the closed area in an attempt to view the pack, according to the park.
Some of the pups apparently became accustomed to people and began to approach them on the road.
Wildlife experts hazed the pups repeatedly over the next several months in an attempt to make them afraid of people and paved roads, but such attempts are not always successful after wild animals become habituated to humans.
“Having studied these pups since birth, I believe their exposure to, and fearlessness of people and roads could have been a factor in their death,” said Doug Smith, Yellowstone’s senior wolf biologist. “Visitors must protect wolves from becoming habituated to people and roads.
“Stay at least 100 yards from wolves, never enter a closed area, and notify a park ranger of others who are in violation of these rules.”
A park spokeswoman told For The Win Outdoors on Wednesday that the Junction Butte pack currently has 18 members: 10 adults and eight pups.
The number was 21 in early summer, but a yearling male disappeared right around the time the two pups were struck and killed.