The cover of the book “The Alpha Female Wolf: The Fierce Legacy of Yellowstone’s 06,” by Rick McIntyre.
Rick McIntyre’s “The Alpha Female Wolf” is not only a vibrant look into the lives of wolves, particularly 06 the “protagonist” of the book, it is also a collage of Yellowstone National Park.
What begins as overwhelming quickly evolves into a complex web of relationships, grudges and family trees that morph and evolve. The inner workings of wolves are unraveled before your eyes as they become more than animals. They become mothers, brothers, teachers and providers. With stunning construction, Rick transforms his notes from years of fieldwork into a narrative fit for the stage. We follow the Wolf 06 and her journey to continuing the legacy that her ancestors left her — from Lone Wolf to matriarch of one the most important wolf packs of Yellowstone.
McIntyre’s writing is best described as precise. Told from his own point of view, it switches between his encounters with the wolves and watching their lives, to describing his own job and life. The genuine love and care he holds for the animals shine like the sun. I truly believed that I was a child again, going on a park tour listening to a ranger teach a young class visiting for a day about animals.
He also adds a humbleness to his expertise. It shines in his appreciation for everything he speaks about, from bears breaking into cars because they smell potato chips, to his joy at a child’s face looking to their parents when they are learning. The way that he conveys what he knows is not a lecture, it is a journey. He makes an observation and questions it. He brings you along with his thoughts to his conclusion. It is a journey of discovery that he takes you with on. My favorite example of this is how he will explore migration patterns in elk, link it to the protein found in grass and other grazing plants, and extrapolates a correlation.
But the main focus is, of course, Wolf 06, her life, and her legacy. Each wolf in the pack is shown to have their own distinct personality. With 06 being the dedicated mother of three litters, 755 being a stoic and faithful father, and 754 the fun uncle who stays at the back of the pack to make sure no one is left behind, and is most commonly engaging in play with the pups. From sliding down snow, playing tug of war, or on one occasion, stealing a traffic cone, it can be difficult to not want to go out and try to play fetch with these wild predators. But life is not all play; it quickly becomes apparent how dedicated 06 is to the survival of her pups when she spends hours luring a bear away from her den. How she, and the two other adults, will travel miles hauling food back to the pups.
This is a story about a wolf who, through cunning and guile, was able to raise a family, told from the perspective of the man who was there to watch her parents and document them. Generational tales are spun and laid out before us in Rick’s writing, and it is a work of love and dedication.
If you hold in your heart any care for wolves, national parks, or even animals in general, I wholly believe that this book will captivate you.