The Rise of Wolf 8 by Rick McIntyre

Author:Rick McIntyre
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Greystone Books
Published: 2019-03-17T16:00:00+00:00

17

The Character of a Wolf

ONE DAY THAT June, I did an afternoon and evening den-monitoring shift on Dead Puppy Hill with Linda’s thesis supervisor, Jane Packard. As we watched the Druid den forest, Jane told me stories about monitoring the Rose Creek dens in 1996 and 1997 when 21 was still with his natal pack. She noticed that if 21 was not around when 8 wanted to go out on a hunt, he would howl and wait. When 21 showed up, the pair would take off to seek out elk. 21 usually reached the targeted animal first and got a holding bite on it. 8 would catch up and help 21 pull it down and finish it off. Her stories showed that 8 clearly depended on his adopted son’s size, strength, speed, and hunting skill to help him feed the pack. He relied on the big male the way the captain on a high school football team relies on his best player to catch a pass, run past the defensive players, and score a touchdown. In ranching terms, 21 was 8’s top hand.

Because they spent a lot of time watching the Rose Creek dens in 1996 and 1997, I also talked with Wolf Project volunteers Debbie Lineweaver and Jason Wilson about their impressions of the relationship between 8 and 21. Debbie told me the two males seemed to have an understanding that they needed to cooperate to get things done for the pack, especially hunting and bringing food back to the den. She said they divided up the responsibilities of feeding and protecting the family and used the term “co-leadership.” Jason told me he never saw the older wolf dominate 21 or witnessed the younger wolf challenge the wolf who had adopted him in any way. “They had an easy relationship,” he told me, “with no dominance or class distinction.” He added that it “was a partnership of equals.”

I never saw 8 exert his dominance over 21, either. 8 had what I would call an even-tempered, confident personality. In the spring of 1997, when 21 was two years old, about twenty-two in human years, and surpassing 8 in size and strength, they functioned perfectly together. It was clear to me that 21 respected 8 as the pack’s alpha male and as the wolf that had raised him, and 8 valued what 21 did for the family. Debbie called them co-leaders, and Jason said it was a partnership. I would add to their comments the idea of friendship. To me, the Rose Creek adult males were like two dogs who liked being together. Alpha male 8’s easy confidence was in sharp contrast to the aggression shown by the Druid alpha female 40, who seemed insecure in her position and needlessly and repeatedly dominated her sister and the three younger females. As I watched her bully and beat them up, I wondered whether she was worried they might one day turn on her.

Despite 21’s new responsibilities as the Druids’ alpha male, including the need to get ever-increasing amounts of food to the growing pups, he took time out to play.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.