Denali wolf numbers down this spring, survey says

Grey wolves. (Flickr creative commons image by Caninest)

Denali National Park biologists on Thursday released numbers from this year’s spring season wolf survey.

Scientists observed 49 wolves in and around Denali National Park and Preserve in March. That’s down slightly from last fall, when 57 wolves were counted in the region. It’s also the lowest count since the park started monitoring wolves in 1986.

The National Park Service observed nine wolf packs in the area last fall. That increased to eleven this spring. It’s unknown if the two packs are new, or if they split off from existing wolf packs. Scientists were able to collar a wolf from one of those two packs.

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