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

by Nate Blakeslee

By the time he completed his circuit, he had made an inventory of all the creatures that had come and gone in his absence. To him, it was as if the animals, or at least their ghosts, were still present, so visceral was their scent.

It was healthier in ways that even some of the wolf’s most ardent advocates hadn’t anticipated. Biologists called this type of chain reaction a trophic cascade, and by the spring of 2011—ironically, just as the political situation was turning sour for wolves—it was the hottest research subject in the park, not only for Smith’s own colleagues at the Wolf Project but also for visiting biologists from around the country. At

Trophic Cascade It was healthier in ways that even some of the wolf’s most ardent advocates hadn’t anticipated. Biologists called this type of chain reaction a trophic cascade, and by the spring of 2011—ironically, just as the political situation was turning sour for wolves—it was the hottest research subject in the park, not only for Smith’s own colleagues at the Wolf Project but also for visiting biologists from around the country. At

Now, however, the longtime Mollie alpha female 486 would have to find a new mate, most likely from outside the pack, since most of the subordinate males were related to her.

How do they tell relationships? Now, however, the longtime Mollie alpha female 486 would have to find a new mate, most likely from outside the pack, since most of the subordinate males were related to her.

that Rick realized just how far her story had traveled, how powerful the simple act of storytelling could be. Maybe it didn’t matter if he never wrote his book about O-Six; maybe, in a way, he already had.

For an engaging account of Ernest Thompson Seton’s story “Lobo, the King of Currumpaw” and its impact on how wolves were perceived by Americans, see the documentary “The Wolf That Changed America,” featured on the PBS show Nature, November 22, 2008.