Spring melted into summer with no other deaths or unexpected surprises, except for the visibility factor. Wolves were visible from the road up until the first of July, which went against all predictions. In the wild, wolves are rarely seen. Dr. David Mech visited Yellowstone the spring of 1999 and reported he observed more wolves during his 7 day stay than during his entire 35 years of research and study of wolves. This continues today.
Many visitors jump from their cars and chase after coyotes thinking they are photographing wolves.
No. 9 and her 8 pups, the Rose Creek pack, were re-released in October. One of the pups then gets killed by a UPS truck in the park. 8M learns how to be an alpha male. During the winter of 1996-97 the Yellowstone reintroduction program ended, after releasing 17 more wolves out of 4 separate acclimation pens. The idea of reintroducing wolves back into Yellowstone started many years ago.