American Wolf: A True Story of Survival and Obsession in the West

Back in the park, one of the scattered Druid females comes too close to O-Six’s den for comfort. O-Six confronts her, but as Rick and his colleagues watch through their scopes, O-Six eschews a fight, sniffs the female, and lets her move on. It’s an encounter Rick characteries as “wise” and compassionate.

Rick knows scientists frown on this kind of anthropomorphizing, but the storyteller in him finds it hard to resist. Rick’s view is that wolves’ behavior is so close to humans’ that his language is apt: wolves are social, territorial, and mate for life. Male wolves help care for offspring—something very unusual in the animal world. In history at least, many thinkers considered wolves and humans extremely similar, even if scientists discuss them with detached language today.

Not long after the stray Druid’s visit, the pups are old enough to leave the bowl and explore the mountainside. The adults keep them under close watch. At three months old and about 30 pounds each, they are still no match for passing bears or rival wolves. But they are beginning to develop personalities: observers have taken to calling the males Dark Gray Male, already adventurous, and Shy Male. The two females are, for now, too similar to differentiate. However, all are beginning to learn from their mother, the formidable hunter.

One day, playing in the creek, O-Six spots a lone bull elk grazing in the meadow above them. She stalks him with her pack in tow. The elk notices them and trots into the trees. O-Six, 754, and three pups give chase, whilst 755 watches over Shy Male. The bull is no slouch, and O-Six peels away before any attempt at a kill. It is a practice run, the pups’ first taste of the hunt. Their excitement augurs well for the winter.

Rick gleefully watches the scene and continues his fastidious note-taking. His relationship to the wolves borders on obsession and dwarves his other relationships. Attempts at romance have been fleeting, with little room for dating. Rick’s daily need to spot a wolf dominates his life. He is famous for it, of course, and leading scope manufacturer Swarovski even sent him one of their flagship models to use. But Rick’s obsession takes a toll on those around him. Sometimes, he can be short with park-goers, and he relies on Laurie to help him navigate these situations. Doug McLaughlin, too, keeps Rick on an even keel. Once, he even drove out in a blizzard with Rick to make sure he got his daily wolf fix.

Rick’s love of the wolves has led to him taking so many notes that he doesn’t know how to start writing his book. He fears, if he sits down to write it, or if he has to leave the park to promote it, he will be torn away from what he actually loves—the wolves. It was a fate that befell Jane Goodall when she tore herself away from her beloved chimps to advocate for them. So Rick keeps observing and taking his notes. Since coming to Yellowstone, he has now transcribed around 5 million words worth of observations.

On August 5, 2010, Judge Molloy rules that federal authorities must return wolves in the Northern Rockies to the endangered species list. Molloy agrees with lawyer Doug Hannold that the current situation is inconsistent but refuses to rule on the initial reintroduction plan’s shortcomings. Still, it’s a reprieve that nixes the fall wolf-hunting seasons.

There is much bigger political scrap going on, though. Aghast at President Obama’s economic bailout following the 2008 financial crisis and his Affordable Care Act, so-called Tea Party Republicans are in the ascendency. They are set to pose a huge problem to Democrats at the midterm elections and beyond—including to someone like Montana’s Democratic Senator John Tester, who is up for reelection in 2012.

Tester won his senate race by less than 1%. Now, there are signs wealthy rancher and real estate honcho Denny Rehberg will run against him. Rehberg opposes both Obama’s bailout and his health care plan, but he also comes out strongly against wolves. In an op-ed for a Bozeman newspaper, Rehberg likened the situation to a horror plot, casting the wolves as indefatigable monsters. The lurid sentiment has resonated with local voters. Tester decides he must try to strike down Judge Molloy’s ruling if he can find a way. The Democrats’ Senate majority is so fragile, they will sacrifice Yellowstone’s wolves to shore it up.