The Reign of Wolf 21 by Rick McIntyre

Author:Rick McIntyre
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Greystone Books
Published: 2019-11-15T00:00:00+00:00

13

Invasion and a Separate Peace

IN LATE NOVEMBER of 2002, the Mollie’s wolves came up to Lamar Valley from their territory to the south. Their ancestors, the Crystal Creek pack, had been driven out of Lamar by the Druid wolves in the spring of 1996 prior to 21 joining the pack.

That morning the valley was fogged in. We heard howling from what seemed to be three separate groups of wolves. Two of them were south of the road, and the third was north of the road. We could see the group north of the road: two of the three surviving Druid pups with a black adult.

It began to clear to the south and we spotted twelve Mollie’s wolves: ten adults and two pups. I then saw the second Druid group with seven wolves, including the alphas and the pack’s third surviving pup. Despite the presence of rival wolves in their territory, the pack didn’t seem concerned. 21’s group howled and the Mollie’s howled back. The Mollie’s wolves alternated between looking at the main group of seven Druids when they howled and the other three Druids to the north when they howled back. The larger Druid group turned toward the Mollie’s when they were howling. I had not seen the Mollie’s wolves for years and did not know the pack members. A big gray wolf with a raised tail seemed to be the alpha male. They trotted off and I lost them as they traveled west. I swung my scope to check on the main Druid group and saw that the wolves were sleeping.

Two hours after the Mollie’s left, the Druids got up, found the scent trail of the Mollie’s, and excitedly sniffed around. I could hear the Mollie’s howling in the distance. The Druids headed toward the sound and howled back. I soon spotted the twelve Mollie’s running toward the seven Druids. 42 had turned around and was now leading her family north at a run, away from the Mollie’s. 21 was right behind her, in a position to protect 42 if the Mollie’s caught up with them. 42 was likely planning to join the adult and two pups on the other side of the road. If the Druids reunited, they would add up to ten, about the same number as the other pack.

At that point, 21 stopped, looked back, and howled. 42 followed his example. The Mollie’s briefly ran toward the Druids, then veered away from them. 21 stood in plain sight staring at the other wolves. He was standing directly between the twelve Mollie’s and 42. They would have to go through him to get to her. That made me think of the battle the Druids had with the Nez Perce wolves when 42 had been separated from 21 and she got injured. I think 21 had learned from that and was now staying right with 42, ready to protect her.

The twelve Mollie’s wolves were now running south, away from 21. I looked back at him. He was standing all alone, calmly watching the other wolves retreating.

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