Rick McIntyre - The Reign of Wolf 21: The Saga of Yellowstones Legendary Druid Pack

Books in the Alpha Wolves of Yellowstone Series

by Rick McIntyre

The Rise of Wolf 8: Witnessing the Triumph of Yellowstones Underdog

The Reign of Wolf 21: The Saga of Yellowstones Legendary Druid Pack

Copyright 2020 by Rick McIntyre

Foreword copyright 2020 by Marc Bekoff

20 21 22 23 24 5 4 3 2 1

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior written consent of the publisher or a license from The Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency (Access Copyright). For a copyright license, visit www.accesscopyright.ca or call toll free to 1-800-893-5777.

Greystone Books Ltd.

greystonebooks.com

Cataloguing data available from Library and Archives Canada

ISBN 978-1-77164-524-9 (cloth)

ISBN 978-1-77164-525-6 (epub)

Editing by Jane Billinghurst

Copyediting by Rowena Rae

Proofreading by Meg Yamamoto

Maps by Kira Cassidy

Jacket and text design by Fiona Siu

Jacket photograph of a black wolf by Michelle Lalancette

Greystone Books gratefully acknowledges the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh peoples on whose land our office is located.

This book was written after the author finished working for the National Park Service. Nothing in the writing is intended or should be interpreted as expressing or representing the official policy or positions of the US government or any government departments or agencies.

Greystone Books thanks the Canada Council for the Arts, the British Columbia Arts Council, the Province of British Columbia through the Book Publishing Tax Credit, and the Government of Canada for supporting our publishing activities.

CONTENTS

I was thinking about my June and how we share everything. When one of us is cut, we both bleed. When one of us is sick, we both hurt. When you are married you are one. You are bonded to someone that you love and pull together as one.

JOHNY CASH SPEAKING ABOUT HIS WIFE IN THE DOCUMENTARY JOHNNY CASH AT FOLSOM PRISON (2008)

FOREWORD

A S I LEARNED when I read the first book in this series, The Rise of Wolf 8, Rick McIntyre writes incredibly detailed accounts of wolf behavior and the social dynamics within and between Yellowstone wolf packs. I particularly like how Rick weaves in personal stories about wolves and blends these with solid science. Ricks goal is to explain the lives of Yellowstones wolves to regular people, but the depth and breadth of his observations will also be valuable to researchers and students of animal behavior. There is simply no one who has watched wolves as intensively as Rick has.

Ricks meticulous long-term observations and stories of identified individuals he knew well and followed for many years are unprecedented. For many years, Ive thought of Rick as the go-to guy for all things wolf, and the first two books in his Yellowstone series amply confirm my belief. They are must-reads, to which Ill return many times, and I encourage anyone interested in wolves to do the same.

The Reign of Wolf 21 continues where The Rise of Wolf 8 left off and documents the rise of the largest wolf pack ever known. At its height, the Druid Peak pack, led by wolf 21, comprised thirty-eight wolves and held sway over an enormous territory in Lamar Valley. The intrepid alpha male achieved all this by being fearless in battle, never backing down, never killing a rival wolf, and, even more importantly, having an equally loyal, fearless, and wise companion by his side, wolf 42. The story of their devotion to each other is at the heart of this book.

Wolf 21 was raised by his adoptive father, wolf 8, the subject of the first book in the series. The two had an especially close relationship, and later in his life, 21 exhibited many of the leadership skills passed down to him by his mentor. From watching 8 and then his adopted son, 21, Rick learned how multiple adult wolves in a family cooperate to raise and feed their young and protect them from threats such as grizzlies and rival wolf packs.

A particular interest of mine in both wild and domesticated canids (that is to say, members of the dog family) is their capacity for play. Rick makes it clear in this book that 21 was one of the most playful wolves he has ever had the privilege to watch. The big alpha male (21 had inherited his size from his biological father, wolf 10, who was an impressively large and strong wolf) loved to engage in games with his pups and would let little pups beat him in wrestling matches. Rick got the sense that 21 liked to pretend he was a low-ranking wolf when he was with younger pack members, a type of role reversal. 21s concept of being an alpha male was the exact opposite of what we think of in humans as an aggressive, dominating alpha male personality.

Rick also studied the many types of games pups played among themselves and saw how those games, such as chasing and wrestling, prepared them for their adult responsibilities of hunting and protecting their families from other wolves. All of Ricks observations sound just like what dogs do when theyre allowed to run freely and play with one another or alone. Years ago my students and I observed similarities between the play of wild coyotes and that of domestic dogs. Ricks reports extend these similarities to wolves, as well.

Ricks descriptions of the wolves of Yellowstone remind me of Dr. Jane Goodalls early groundbreaking research on wild chimpanzees in which she named each individual and wrote about their unique personalities, a practice for which she was initially criticized by her professors, many of whom had never seen a wild animal of any type. Of course, her critics were totally incorrect as has been shown by subsequent research on chimpanzees and a wide variety of other animals.

As Rick once heard someone say, It is hard to hate someone if you know their story. I think that after you have read the tales of drama, courage, and devotion in this book, you will agree.

MARC BEKOFF

Boulder, Colorado

PROLOGUE

WAS MISING. HE normally was with his family every day, so his disappearance was troubling. 21 was an old wolf. He had lived nine years, about twice as long as an average wolf in Yellowstone. A month went by without any sightings of him.