The Alpha Female Wolf by Rick McIntyre & Jane Goodall

Author:Rick McIntyre & Jane Goodall
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Greystone Books
Published: 2022-06-15T00:00:00+00:00

There had been another den raid prior to the one the Mollie’s mounted on 06’s family. Back in 2006, it looked like four females in the eleven-member Slough Creek pack were pregnant and were going to have their pups at their traditional den site on a ridge west of Slough Creek. There were three big males in the family at the time.

A new pack came into the Slough territory from north of the park. Since we did not know them, we called the group the Unknown pack. There were twelve adults in the pack. The new group killed one of the big males in the Slough pack, then laid siege to their den. The two surviving Slough males, including alpha male 490, seemed to give up on defending their family. They left the den region and took up with a new female. Their abandonment of their females and pups astounded me, for I thought that all alpha male wolves would be willing to fight to the death to protect their families.

The Slough females had no choice but to stick together and protect the den and the pups inside from the rival wolves, who often were camped out just a few hundred feet from the den entrance. I would see individual Unknown wolves try to enter the den tunnel, then jump back, acting like a female inside had just bitten them. It looked like there was always a guard there, risking her life to block any intruders from getting the pups at the far end of the tunnel.

Day after day the siege went on. I felt like I was watching a medieval siege of a castle. At times one of the mother wolves would sneak out to get a drink of water or search for food. I saw two of them leave, then run back when the rival pack spotted them. They got into the tunnel a split second before the Unknown wolves reached the entrance.

Younger females in the pack also risked their lives to help the mothers and pups by going out for food and trying to bring it back to the den. The siege went on for thirteen days. None of the pups survived but all of the females did. The mother wolves just did not get enough food and water to keep the pups alive.

Witnessing that siege gave me great respect for female wolves and the tremendous courage and determination they have when it comes to protecting their pups. The males in the Slough pack were all older and bigger than 754 and 755. They abandoned their females and newborn pups to save themselves, while the two brothers stood their ground. That comparison gave me more reason to be impressed by 06’s selection of 754 and 755 to help her start a pack. She knew what she was doing.

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