Yellowstone’s Legendary ‘Queen of the Wolves’ Killed by Rival Pack

One of Yellowstone Natural Park’s astir celebrated denizens has tragically passed. Wildlife researchers person confirmed that the long-lived wolf 907F—also known arsenic “Queen of the Wolves“—died this Christmas.

Wolf 907F’s decease was archetypal reported by section media outlet CowboyStateDaily precocious past month. According to researchers with the Yellowstone Wolf, Cougar and Elk Project, 907F succumbed to injuries sustained during a territorial combat with a rival wolf battalion a fewer days earlier her death. The exceptionally hardy and battle-scarred canine was 11.8-years-old, having lived 3 times longer than the mean chaotic wolf.

907F was well-known for her tenacity. Born successful 2013, she overcame a terrible lawsuit of mange aboriginal successful beingness and yet roseate to go the alpha pistillate of the Junction Butte wolf battalion successful 2017, according to project researchers. She did yet suffer her position, but remained an important subordinate of the pack.

At astir the property of four, 907F mislaid her near eye, apt owed to a fight. And successful her aboriginal years, she was often seen limping. But she continued to thrive agelong into her life. She had respective litters of pups, with the latest arriving successful May 2024 astatine the property of 11—an astonishing feat. Though the nonstop fig of offspring she had remains unknown, task researcher Taylor Rabe told CowboyStateDaily that 907F was “the astir reproductively palmy wolf successful Yellowstone history.”

Most chaotic wolves typically unrecorded astir 3 to 4 years. And lone six wolves surviving successful Yellowstone person been recorded surviving to 11 since their reintroduction to the country 30 years ago, according to Smithsonian Magazine (somewhere betwixt 83 and 123 wolves currently live successful Yellowstone). But adjacent legends yet die.

According to the task researchers, 907F and her battalion got into a combat with a rival battalion that had encroached onto their territory connected December 22. Though 907F did past the archetypal battle, her injuries proved excessively sedate to overcome. By Thursday morning, her sustained deficiency of motion—as recorded done a vigor collar—made it wide that she had died sometime during Christmas a time earlier.

Though 907F’s decease is tragic, particularly to the galore researchers and wolf enthusiasts who followed her implicit the years, it does travel with a benignant of metallic lining. Many wolves and different chaotic animals often dice arsenic a effect of quality activity, specified arsenic centrifugal conveyance collisions. So arsenic convulsive arsenic 907F’s extremity was, it was astatine slightest connected her ain wolf terms, the researchers say.

“It’s sad. But specifically for each of america connected the project, we ever similar to spot a wolf dice naturally, alternatively than astatine the hands of a human,” Rabe told CowboyStateDaily. “It gives america bid to cognize that she went successful a earthy manner.”