Paws

Prologue

  In April of 1996, five wolves joined together creating the Druid Pack.  The members were #38 and #39, the alpha male and female, also joined by their female pups #40, #41 and #42.  They were just released from a wolf sanctuary as a part of the Wolf Restoration Project.  During their first year, a yearling male, #31, dispersed from the Chief Joseph Pack and joined the Druids.  Then the original alpha female left the pack and her daughter #40 took her mother's place as alpha female.
  In 1997, the alpha female's two sisters #41 and #42 each gave birth to 2 litters.  However, the alpha female, #40 did not.  The former Druid member, #39 reunited with the pack for a brief time.  In November of that same year, #39 left for good along with her daughter, #41, who was driven out by the alpha female #40.  Then in December, the pack's 2 males, #31 and #38,  were shot and killed.  Since there were no males left, a male, #21, joined the pack from the Rose Creek Pack and became the alpha male.  
  In 1998, #42 (nicknamed Cinderella) gave birth to a litter of pups.  But then alpha female #40 attacked Cinderella in her den.  None of her pups survived.
  In 2000, Cinderella attacked and killed the alpha female #40 and she became the alpha female.  After that the females started to have pups.  Three litters were born that year.  Out of those 3 litters, 21 pups were born and out of those, only 1 pup died.  By the end of the year, the Druids had 27 members.
  In 2001, 10 pups were born to the females, totaling the numbers up to 37 members.  They then became the largest wolf pack on record.
  In 2002, the Druids split up into smaller groups.  The three new packs were Agate Creek, Geode Creek, and Slough Creek Packs.  The groups were all led by a former female Druids member.  The Druids were left with 11 members by the end of 2002.  This included Cinderella and long time alpha male #21.
  In 2003, #302 joined the Druids from the Leopold Pack.  He fathered all pups except for Cinderella's.  The pack was up to 17 members.  #302 was nicknamed Casanova.
  In 2004, Cinderella died in a group encounter with a rival pack.  Then, her lover #21 was found dead in the summer.  Could it be he had a broken heart from the loss of his long time lover Cinderella earlier in the year.
  In 2005, the neighboring pack Slough Creek began to spend more time on some Druid territory.  These 2 packs had many encounters and 2 females died because of this.  The Druids eventually left Lamar Valley.  No pups survived this year.  The Druids were down to only 4 members by the end of the year.
  In 2006, #480 and Casanova became the alpha pair.    The 2 remaining females gave birth to 8 pups altogether.  The Druids reclaimed their former territory from the Slough Creek Pack.  They moved back into Sada Butte and Lamar Valley.  
  In 2007, 6 pups were born and the Druids tried very hard to re-acclimate and stabilize.  
  Unfortunately, in the years to come the Druids became very sick and malnourished.  They were rapidly declining.  They were also suffering from mange, a parasite that irritates the skin and most times leads to death.  
  By December of 2016 the last member of the Druid Pack was shot and killed legally by a hunter in Montana.  Even though the Druid Pack is no longer alive, their descendants are still alive, doing well with the other Yellowstone packs.