Black wolves the result of interbreeding with dogs

This is really cool: "The black fur of some North American wolves is the result of long-ago dalliances with domestic dogs, probably the companions of the earliest Native Americans."

These "dalliances" apparently occurred 10,000 - 15,000 years ago when people (and their dogs) first crossed the Bering Land Bridge from Asia.

What is particularly interesting is how the melanism gene has persisted only in the forest-dwellers and not in the tundra wolves, perhaps because the darker color has provided additional camouflage in the shady forest environs. Others suggest that that the trait is associated with better immune systems (strangely, at least one of the allele sets involved in melanism belongs to a family of genes that is involved in fighting off infections; see comments for more discussion). Of course, both camouflage and immune factors could be involved.

Click the post title above for a nice summary from Wired.com.

These findings were originally published in the 5 February 2009 is issue of the journal Science. Here's the abstract.

A couple of routes from north SD County to Colter Bay, Grand Teton N.P.

Route #1 (leaves I-15 at Brigham City, Utah, more camping opportunities compared to the other route; 1,026 mi – 16 hours 2 mins)

Route #2 (leaves I-15 at Idaho Falls, 158 more freeway miles; 1,059 mi – 16 hours 3 mins)

When viewing the maps you can put the cursor on the route line and drag it to a new route to look at alternatives. Also, click on the camera icons on the left hand side of the screen to see a road-level view of the exits and turns.

Recommended read

A Naturalist's Guide to Grand Teton and Yellowstone

What I particularly like about this book is the organization of the chapters around specific times of the year (a major caveat being that variations in seasonal weather, among other things, will effect the year-to-year timing of wildflower blooms, bird migrations, etc.) Still, the book is filled with animals and plants to be on the lookout for. Check out the chapters for mid to late June for example...

Note: this is essentially the newest edition of For Everything There Is a Season: The Sequence of Natural Events in the Grand Teton-Yellowstone Area that was mentioned in a earlier post.

Geology group treated to rare pool explosion

"Yellowstone National Park geologist Hank Heasler was lecturing a group of colleagues in Biscuit Basin on the rarity of hydrothermal explosions last week when – Boom!

"A hot pool behind him exploded, spewing mud, rocks and hot water 50 feet in the air. Geologists know of only a handful of such unpredictable explosions in Yellowstone’s recorded history."

The natural history of hydrothermal explosions in Yellowstone.

Expert: Help relist grizzlies

From the Jackson Hole News & Guide:

"A grizzly bear expert and author urged Jackson Hole residents this week to petition the government to add the animals back onto the endangered species list.

"Public response is key to relisting grizzlies, Doug Peacock said during a presentation Tuesday night in Jackson.

"He said people signing petitions and writing letters to public officials is the best hope for action because the government agencies protecting the grizzly are incapable of doing so.

"Peacock said a staggering number of Yellowstone grizzlies died last year, at least 54 that are known. Hunters and others shot 37 of those, he said.

"He attributed the increase in deaths to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service taking the grizzly off the endangered list two years ago, plus the loss of whitebark pine, which has seeds that provide an important food source for the bears.

“ 'This is a double whammy,' he said. 'Whitebark pine [seeds] and grizzly mortality are directly related.' "

More here

Global Warming Hurting Trees & Grizzly Bears in Yellowstone

"Whitebark pine is a rugged, tough, resilient, beautiful tree that inhabits the high country of the Northern Rockies. Whitebark pine is typically the last tree one sees before going above timberline. Whitebark pine seeds - or pine nuts - feed Clark's nutcrackers, red squirrels, and grizzly bears.

"In the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE), whitebark pine seeds are the primary food source for grizzly bears during late summer and fall when the bears are trying to fatten up for their winter hibernation. Bears in Alaska have salmon, bears in Glacier National Park have berries, and bears in the GYE have whitebark pine seeds.

"But the whitebark pine population is being rapidly decimated by global warming.

"The main killer is the mountain pine beetles mountain pine beetle, which bores through the tree's bark, cuts off its supply of water and nutrients, and starves it to death. A second killer is blister rust, a fungus accidentally introduced from Europe in the late 1800s.

"While mountain pine beetle are native to the West, the high-altitude environment that whitebark pine trees inhabit has typically been too cold and harsh for the beetles to do any damage. Prolonged cold snaps (i.e., 40 below zero for several days) in whitebark country previously prevented major beetle infestations.

"But global warming has changed that..."

More here

Yellowstone National Park - Travel Alert - Road Construction

Yellowstone National Park - Travel Alert - Road Construction Project (U.S. National Park Service): "Several road construction projects will take place this year that will affect travel within Yellowstone National Park.

The biggest project will be on a segment of the park’s Grand Loop Road between Madison and Norris through Gibbon Canyon."

Spring Grizzlies in Teton NP

From The Jackson Hole Blog. Check out the photos.

The best Yellowstone book deal out there

"Yellowstone Resources and Issues 2009, by the staff of Yellowstone National Park. Originally a training manual for seasonal National Park Service employees, this annually updated book has evolved into one of the most sought-after references on Yellowstone National Park. Do you want to know how the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone formed? Do you ever wonder how many pronghorn live in the park? What are thermophiles and why are they so important? You’ll find these answers and more in this easy-to-use compendium. 2009. Soft-cover. 8.5' x 11'.

PRICE: $14.95"

Exclusively from from the Yellowstone Association

Canyon Pack

From Yellowstone Insider: "The biggest hit of Yellowstone's summer season so far? The Canyon Pack

"It's not often a new pack pops up in Yellowstone National Park. Especially when it pops up right on the doorstep of the Park's headquarters.

"But that's exactly what happened this weekend when a remnant of the Hayden Pack decided to den right outside Mammoth Hot Springs. Now dubbed the Canyon Pack, the group of three males and one female rather blatantly decided to set up shop south and east of the busy area."

Yellowstone wolf news

A couple of interesting items from the Wyoming Wolf Program Weekly Report:

"Recently, two separate situations in YNP with habituated wolves have occurred. In the first situation, the Canyon pack denned within a half mile from the Mammoth/Park Headquarters area where there is also a residential area. The wolves have traveled through the residential area and killed elk there as well as close to the road near visitors. None of the wolves (4 of them, 3 males and 1 female) have been a human safety threat, regardless they have been hazed from the residential area (bean bags and cracker shells) and will be continually hazed each time they enter this area. Results from hazing have been effective and it has reduced the time they come in to the developed area. These practices are consistent with how grizzly bears are treated as a grizzly was hazed from the same area on May 14. If there is any evidence of a human safety threat then the offending animal will be removed. The den area is being protected through a closure and visitors are advised to not approach these wolves for photographs or any other reason as it negates the effectiveness of the hazing.

"In the second situation, a young wolf dispersing probably from the Gibbon Meadows pack chased people on bicycles and a motorcycle on several occasions. It is unclear how many times as it appears the wolf has been illegally fed and this and other incidences of habituation have gone unreported. This wolf is considered a human safety threat and active measures to remove it have been ongoing since May 7 without success. There is no plan at the moment to suspend activities to find and kill this animal because it is considered a threat to human safety. Again, visitors are advised to not approach wolves or any other wildlife in YNP as it is unsafe and leads to habituated wildlife which ultimately will have to be removed."

(Also, check out "Monitoring" and "Research" at the Wolf Report linked to above.)

Stuff not to forget

The following could come in very handy while on hikes, etc.

• Toenail clippers
• Small first-aid kit, including items for blister care
• Allergy meds
• Ziplocks/small trashbags
• Toilet paper
• Change of socks
• Baby-Wipes
• Pepper spray (for bears) such as Counter Assault or equivalent.
  

Yellowstone Park News

Yellowstone Park News is a excellent blog about Yellowstone and vicinity. Be sure to check out the links.

Excellent book about the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem

One of the best books about the natural history of the Yellowstone ecosystem is For Everything There Is a Season: The Sequence of Natural Events in the Grand Teton-Yellowstone Area by Frank C. Craighead Jr.

From a review at Amazon.com: "With an almost poetic passion (but minus sentimentality), Frank shares with us the intricate details of biotic life in the Grand Teton-Yellowstone ecosystems---what "events" occur coinstantaneously and may signal the occurence of what OTHER events, within each given season and "subseason". His knowledge of these interrelationships is transfixing to the amateur naturalist (like myself!), and inspiring. The flow of Life itself brims from this book. And while he could easily hoard such choice hints as where and when to find morel mushrooms or certain rare flowers, he doesn't: He is generous in trusting his readers to not harm the biota they discover via his book. A better homage and resource book for this region could not be found."