They really got to missing each other and decided to reconcile their differences, so they got back together,'' he said. B15 has been staying on Lolo Pass near Missoula, Mont., where sightings of a naturalized wolf have occurred for years. B4 remains east of Missoula. And B3 hasn't been seen since a March 8 flight. Koch said he believes B3 went so far north that it's out of the recovery area.
Many hunters believe that the wolves are a threat to elk and deer populations.
Fish and Game estimates that poachers kill a minimum of 10 percent of legally killed animals. According to Koch's statistics, that would mean this year the 10 wolves would eat about 160 of the ungulates, many of them old and weak or wounded during hunting season. Next winter, Fish and Wildlife will release another 15 wolves into the Frank Church. Koch said he expects some of the wolves to move to other parts of the state, possibly next winter during breeding season.