Galena Pack Story Continued...

ABOUT THE WHITEHAWK PACK AND B47

He became the mate of a nearly pure white wolf called Alabaster, named for a White Cloud peak. In April in 2001, she had nine pups in the foothills near Champion Creek. There were four adults in the Whitehawk Pack. In early June, when the pups were still small, a sheep band was moved to 4th of July Creek, within a mile of the pack's rendezvous site. The wolves killed several sheep. The sheep stayed in the area and more problems occurred, despite efforts by wolf supporters, who urged that the sheep move to the Sawtooth Valley's south end, 20 miles away. On June 30, 2001, two of the four adult wolves were killed near Horton Peak, shot from the air by Wildlife Services. BWCC held a tribute on July 15 to the Whitehawk wolves.

READ "Horton Peak Tribute to Wolves."

For the remainder of the summer and fall grazing season, a group of volunteers dubbed the "Wolf Guardians", worked to keep the Whitehawk Pack away from sheep. The wolves survived, only to make the big mistake of going to the East Fork of the Salmon River during the winter. The Whitehawk's alpha male, B47, had probably been to the East Fork before, where there is elk and deer winter range. But, there are also thousands of cattle calving out on private land and the pack got into trouble, killing some of the calves. The Whitehawk Pack had run out of luck and met a tragic end. Alabaster, her mate, B47, and eight of their pups were shot from a helicopter on April 6, 2002. The East Fork Salmon River is a death zone for predators and this is unlikely to change, until cattle and ranchers no longer are the dominating force.
 

Galena Story & Photos Continue...
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