One of the yearlings noticed the fresh dirt below the tunnel and began nosing its way up the slope. Attracted by the den’s earthy smell—fresh scat, mixed with the lingering scent of O-Six’s latest meal—it poked its nose inside. O-Six launched herself from the depths of the tunnel and hit the cub straight on, sending it tumbling down the hillside and into the sage below. A smaller cub she might have killed outright, but this was a yearling, roughly her own size. Even so, the stunned cub was in full retreat, with one hundred pounds of angry snapping wolf pursuing it. The sow was on them in
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“One of the yearlings noticed the fresh dirt below the tunnel and began nosing its way up the slope. Attracted by the den’s earthy smell—fresh scat, mixed with the lingering scent of O-Six’s latest meal—it poked its nose inside. O-Six launched herself from the depths of the tunnel and hit the cub straight on, sending it tumbling down the hillside and into the sage below. A smaller cub she might have killed outright, but this was a yearling, roughly her own size. Even so, the stunned cub was in full retreat, with one hundred pounds of angry snapping wolf pursuing it. The sow was on them in seconds, lunging and slashing at O-Six with her three-inch claws, as the cub scrambled to safety. O-Six retreated toward the den, her lips pulled back to show her teeth, while the grizzly licked her startled cub and the second yearling hovered nearby.”
