One of the oldest wolves ever recorded in Yellowstone, Wolf 907F, died after a conflict with a rival pack
By KATELYN BURNS— science@theaggie.org
Wolf 907F, nicknamed the “Queen of Wolves,” died on Dec. 25, 2024 after fighting with a rival pack of wolves. Considered one of the oldest wolves ever recorded in Yellowstone National Park at over 11 years old, 907F was one of the oldest wolves to ever give birth, with her 10th litter being born in 2024.
Throughout her life, 907F regularly appeared in the Yellowstone Wolf Project Reports. First noted in the 2013 report as one of many wolves captured and handled, 907F was a pup from the Junction Butte pack.
Her first litter of pups, which she raised alongside her sister and fellow Junction Butte wolf, 969F, was documented in the 2016 report.
From May 2016 to May 2017, 907F was the alpha of the Junction Butte pack. That role switched to her sister 969F in 2017 and switched back to 907F in 2018, according to the 2017 report and 2018 report.
This was not the only occasion of 907F losing and regaining pack leadership. Due to the breeding nature of wolves, many will disperse and attempt to form their own packs, especially after a pack gets too large.
“Basically, each wolf wants to leave and start a pack of their own,” the 2020 report reads. “Some may find a dominant position in the pack they were born in (907F is a good example). While we anticipated the large Junction Butte pack might split during 2020, they mostly remained together and by the end of the year the pack was the third largest ever recorded in North America.”
That year, Junction Butte consisted of 35 wolves: 17 adults and 18 pups. While a split was anticipated, the larger pack size allowed Junction Butte to overpower other packs and hunt more bison, as opposed to elk.
However, this changed in February 2021 when a group of males split off to form the Rescue Creek pack, as noted in the 2021 report. Rescue Creek stabilized with 13 wolves — all adults. However, their territory overlapped with some of the largest packs in Yellowstone: Junction Butte, Wapiti Lake and 8 Mile. The Wapiti Lake and 8 Mile packs had 21 wolves each that year.
The Junction Butte pack was now significantly smaller, with 17 wolves — 11 adults and six pups. It was unique in its number of elders, 907F being the eldest in the pack at over eight years old.
“The pack [had] four wolves over the age of five,” the 2021 report reads. “An extremely rare situation, as only about one in every five wolves lives to reach five years old.”
The next year, Junction Butte had recovered from the split and grown to 25 wolves, 10 adults and 15 pups, once again surpassing the size of any of the other Yellowstone packs, according to the 2022 report.
However, in this past year’s 2023 report, Rescue Creek was heavily featured and the focus of bioacoustics data collection — it had grown to 15 wolves: eight adults and seven pups. Rescue Creek also surpassed Junction Butte, which had shrunk to 11 wolves: 10 adults and one pup.
On Dec. 22, 2024, Rescue Creek entered Junction Butte territory and attacked. While defending her pack, 907F sustained injuries. Three days later on Dec. 25, 2024, 907F succumbed to her injuries. 907F’s collar signaled her death after 12 hours of laying motionless.
Written by: Katelyn Burns— science@theaggie.org
