You’re crushing it Boco!
2 of my wolves were tainted. One I put in the bag but the other was terrible when I flipped it fur out. Huge patch pulled out on the side up to the spine. I could've probably saved from the shoulders up to the head though but didn’t. Just kept the paws & tail, I’ll do something with them. Skull I’ll clean up too. Now I know the smell when they’re no good….like bad rot. Poor warm weather and dead in the snare too long I guess.
The one I dropped off at JPs must be OK cuz he just sent me a pic of the damaged nose, ripped from the snare I guess.

I wasn't implying that you got any wastage, you've mentioned quite a few times about checking your traps/snares every two days or closing them during warm spells. There are a lot of guys that specifically use lethal sets in these places that have variable check laws so they can check once a week. Usually on the weekend because they are working all week. I've seen marten, coyote, bobcat and other critters in these guys sets for several days while hunting the area, when the weather is too warm. I know a lot of those animals were a total loss due to spoilage.

Most packs are 5 -7.They rarely get bigger than that here.
Some years they get 8-12 not often though.In those years you see large packs all over where you would see normal smaller packs.This is one of those years here.
I have not noticed the actual number of packs go up just the numbers in each pack.
Pack boundaries are pretty well defined when the packs are mature and healthy.You dont have to kill all the wolves in a pack to wipe it out.Once you decimate the pack especially if you get the two Adults along with one or two two year olds or a pup or two that pack is done.If an adult is left it may strike out on its own into poor country where it has less of a chance to cross another pack where it would be killed.Any young wolves left will be killed by an adjacent pack that will move into the weakened packs territory.Packs are always testing each other at the marking spots that are maintained in certain spots.These spots are easy to see in the fall and winter with the large amount of sign left there on a regular basis.It is similar to a beaver territorial castor mound where one colony will cover up the other colonys scent then add their own.Why these mounds get so big.Once you wipe out one colony of beaver the other beaver will know that they can expand their boundary from the lack of activity at the territorial castor mound.Wolves mark their territory in a very similar way-Its how they communicate.As soon as wolves detect a weakness they move in.
Loner wolves are easy to catch in winter if you come across one,as they take big risk to get food,since they are almost always starving and in rough shape.Sometimes an old wolf will be on its own for no reason other than leaving the pack or being displaced.