The Rise of Wolf 8. Rick McIntyre
Praise for The Rise of Wolf 8
“[McIntyre] spins the best stories about wolves that anyone will ever tell, ever.”
DOUGLAS W. SMITH, senior wildlife biologist and project leader for the Yellowstone Gray Wolf Restoration Project
“Rick McIntyre’s book, The Rise of Wolf 8, has no match in literature. He presents the personal lives of wild wolves in a riveting narrative without equal for its detail and insight. This work took decades of devotion and consumed most of his life. We are so fortunate that we can, through this book, share the ride.”
ROLF PETERSON, Michigan Technological University, author of The Wolves of Isle Royale: A Broken Balance
“Rick McIntyre knows more about Yellowstone’s wolves than anyone living or dead. This book is a must-read and a treasure for anyone who loves the places where wolves howl.”
THOMAS D. MANGELSEN, nature photographer and conservationist
“To follow the ever-changing destinies of the Yellowstone wolves is to witness a real-life drama, complete with acts of bravery, tragedy, sacrifice, and heroism.”
JIM AND JAMIE DUTCHER, founders of Living with Wolves
“The stories of the different pack members are reminiscent of Ernest Thompson Seton’s animal characters, but these wolves were and are from real life, and what they reveal will become a classic study in animal behavior.”
BERND HEINRICH, professor emeritus of biology at the University of Vermont and author of Mind of the Raven
“Rick McIntyre is a fabulous researcher. He dedicated his life to documenting the histories of generations of wolves in Yellowstone. I envy the hours he has spent in the field talking to people about wolves and tracking the wolves’ movements in the most beautiful country in the world.”
SCOTT FRAZIER, director of Project Indigenous, Crow/Santee
“Yellowstone’s resident wolf guru Rick McIntyre has been many things to many people: an expert tracker for the park’s biologists, an indefatigable roadside interpreter for visitors, and an invaluable consultant to countless chronicles of the park’s wolves—including my own. But he is first and foremost a storyteller whose encyclopedic knowledge of Yellowstone’s wolf reintroduction project—now in its 25th year—is unparalleled.”
NATE BLAKESLEE, author of American Wolf
“This book clearly demonstrates that these apex predators are an essential ingredient for maintaining the integrity of the diverse ecosystems in which they live. The Rise of Wolf 8 is a must-read—one to which I will return many times—for anyone interested in wolves and the natural world. Wolves (and humans) are lucky to have Rick McIntyre.”
MARC BEKOFF, PhD, University of Colorado (Boulder), author of Rewilding Our Hearts: Building Pathways of Compassion and Coexistence and Canine Confidential: Why Dogs Do What They Do.
“Rick McIntyre knows and understands the wolves in much the same way that a traditional Native would. He knows their birthdates and birthplaces, their family and their family history, their personalities, preferences, strengths and weaknesses, their character or lack thereof. In other words, he knows them as individuals—and not just as subjects for scientific study. He KNOWS them.”
JOHN POTTER, wildlife artist, Anishinabe
“This book’s contribution to wolf biology is immense, for scientists as well as for wolf lovers.”
LUIGI BOITANI, honorary professor, Department of Biology and Biotechnology, University of Rome
“No one I know of has watched wild wolves longer or more closely than Rick McIntyre.”
ED BANGS, former US Fish and Wildlife Service wolf recovery coordinator for the Northern Rockies
RICK MCINTYRE
Foreword by ROBERT REDFORD
“There is no fundamental difference between man and the higher mammals in their mental faculties. . . . Animals, like man, manifestly feel pleasure and pain, happiness and misery. Happiness is never better exhibited than by young animals, such as puppies . . . when playing together, like our own children.”
CHARLES DARWIN, THE DESCENT OF MAN (1871)
“[Your studies of] chimpanzees made us see them as individuals and have empathy for them.”
STEPHEN COLBERT TO JANE GOODALL (2014)
CONTENTS
Map of Northeast Yellowstone National Park
Foreword by Robert Redford
2.Wolves Arrive in Yellowstone
4.The Little Wolf and the Big Grizzly Bear
5.The Rose Creek and Crystal Creek Pens
6.The Rose Creek Wolves Get a New Alpha Male
12.Den Troubles for the Rose Creek Wolves
14.Romeo and Juliet in Yellowstone