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

by Nate Blakeslee

For wolf advocates, the timing could not have been worse. Earthjustice was forced by law to give the government sixty days’ notice before filing suit, which meant the hunting season would be well under way before any judge reviewed the legality of the delisting rule.

“For wolf advocates, the timing could not have been worse. Earthjustice was forced by law to give the government sixty days’ notice before filing suit, which meant the hunting season would be well under way before any judge reviewed the legality of the delisting rule.”

“What I have to tell you is the worst possible thing I could tell you,” she said. “Your favorite wolf was shot.” 754 was dead.

On November 15, after nine days in Crandall, the Lamars returned to the valley. Rick spotted them on the west side of Druid Peak, counting anxiously until he found the twelve who remained: O-Six and 755, the eldest daughters 776 and Middle Gray, 820 and her three yearling sisters, and the four pups. He got on the radio and spread the word: the Lamars were back, and they were safe.

“On November 15, after nine days in Crandall, the Lamars returned to the valley. Rick spotted them on the west side of Druid Peak, counting anxiously until he found the twelve who remained: O-Six and 755, the eldest daughters 776 and Middle Gray, 820 and her three yearling sisters, and the four pups. He got on the radio and spread the word: the Lamars were back, and they were safe.”

O-Six howled long and low, unaccompanied by the pack. She might have been letting the Junction Butte wolves know that the valley was still hers, despite the Lamars’ long absence. Or, Rick thought, she might have been trying to bring 754 home, summoning him with her call as she had in Little America three years before, when he and his brother were just yearlings, and everything laid out below her still belonged to the Druids.

“O-Six howled long and low, unaccompanied by the pack. She might have been letting the Junction Butte wolves know that the valley was still hers, despite the Lamars’ long absence. Or, Rick thought, she might have been trying to bring 754 home, summoning him with her call as she had in Little America three years before, when he and his brother were just yearlings, and everything laid out below her still belonged to the Druids.”

what about the money lost when hunters killed wolves like 754? Guides had been bringing paying clients to see the Lamar wolves for years. As many as half a million people might have seen 754 in his lifetime, Varley told Schweber. Who was going to compensate guides like him for the loss, as he put it, of “a million dollar wolf”?

“what about the money lost when hunters killed wolves like 754? Guides had been bringing paying clients to see the Lamar wolves for years. As many as half a million people might have seen 754 in his lifetime, Varley told Schweber. Who was going to compensate guides like him for the loss, as he put it, of “a million dollar wolf”?”

A few watchers, including McLaughlin, began to suspect that the preponderance of collared wolves among those taken in the hunt thus far was more than just a coincidence.

The collars identified wolves roaming outside the park as Yellowstone wolves, which, at least in theory, allowed hunters who were angry about reintroduction to single them out. Killing a collared wolf, the watchers speculated, was a way of sending a political message to the federal government; it was a kind of terrorism.

“The collars identified wolves roaming outside the park as Yellowstone wolves, which, at least in theory, allowed hunters who were angry about reintroduction to single them out. Killing a collared wolf, the watchers speculated, was a way of sending a political message to the federal government; it was a kind of terrorism.”

Doug even suspected that hunters were illegally using radio receivers to locate and track collared wolves, as the park’s biologists did.

The next day O-Six’s collar confirmed Rick’s worst fear. The pack was back in Crandall.

From the willows behind the black, more wolves began to emerge.

The black howled a third time, and suddenly they all joined in. Turnbull lowered the rifle and slowly rose to his feet. He stood there, agape, disarmed by the otherworldly sound, by the sheer overwhelming sadness of the cry. She was their leader, he thought. She wasn’t just the black’s mate; she was the one they couldn’t do without, and that’s why they wouldn’t leave.

“The black howled a third time, and suddenly they all joined in. Turnbull lowered the rifle and slowly rose to his feet. He stood there, agape, disarmed by the otherworldly sound, by the sheer overwhelming sadness of the cry. She was their leader, he thought. She wasn’t just the black’s mate; she was the one they couldn’t do without, and that’s why they wouldn’t leave.”

He wasn’t happy to see the collar on the animal in the bed of the pickup. For the second time that month, he’d be calling the wolf office in Yellowstone to tell Doug Smith that another one of his wolves had been shot in Crandall. Bruscino pulled the collar off the gray and took a look at the serial number printed on the inside surface. It meant nothing to him, but Smith would know which pack she came from. He called and left a message on his voicemail, reading off the serial number so that Smith would have it when he returned to the office.

“He wasn’t happy to see the collar on the animal in the bed of the pickup. For the second time that month, he’d be calling the wolf office in Yellowstone to tell Doug Smith that another one of his wolves had been shot in Crandall. Bruscino pulled the collar off the gray and took a look at the serial number printed on the inside surface. It meant nothing to him, but Smith would know which pack she came from. He called and left a message on his voicemail, reading off the serial number so that Smith would have it when he returned to the office.”

Back in his cabin a few hours later, Turnbull was surprised to get a call from Bruscino. He’d heard back from the wolf office in Yellowstone. “You just pissed off a whole bunch of people,” he said.

“O-Six is dead,” he said. The two friends sat together in the dark and cried.

Rick thought about the last time he had seen her, heading up over Norris. It had been snowing steadily and visibility wasn’t ideal, but he’d still been able to track the Lamars through the trees the entire way up the mountain. All twelve of them had been strung out in a line across the mountainside, moving back and forth across the slope as they ascended, like hikers on a switchback trail. Middle Gray had been in the lead, with O-Six content to follow in her wake, keeping everyone moving in the same direction, holding the family together as she always had. Laurie and Doug had been there, too, watching alongside him. Laurie would later remember how purposeful they seemed, like a troop of soldiers; there was no play, no straying to investigate strange scents, no pausing to rest. Just up, up, along the ridgelines that ran parallel to the floor of the valley, toward the skyline. Near the top they crossed paths with a nervous group of bighorns, which drew together at the sight of the pack and then bolted when the time seemed right. The wolves held their course. They stopped momentarily at the top, twelve figures beautifully silhouetted against the skyline. And then they were gone. Rick had lingered awhile behind his scope, hopeful that the pack might come back down, but O-Six didn’t return. And now she never would.

“Rick thought about the last time he had seen her, heading up over Norris. It had been snowing steadily and visibility wasn’t ideal, but he’d still been able to track the Lamars through the trees the entire way up the mountain. All twelve of them had been strung out in a line across the mountainside, moving back and forth across the slope as they ascended, like hikers on a switchback trail. Middle Gray had been in the lead, with O-Six content to follow in her wake, keeping everyone moving in the same direction, holding the family together as she always had. Laurie and Doug had been there, too, watching alongside him. Laurie would later remember how purposeful they seemed, like a troop of soldiers; there was no play, no straying to investigate strange scents, no pausing to rest. Just up, up, along the ridgelines that ran parallel to the floor of the valley, toward the skyline. Near the top they crossed paths with a nervous group of bighorns, which drew together at the sight of the pack and then bolted when the time seemed right. The wolves held their course. They stopped momentarily at the top, twelve figures beautifully silhouetted against the skyline. And then they were gone. Rick had lingered awhile behind his scope, hopeful that the pack might come back down, but O-Six didn’t return. And now she never would.”

“Is it O-Six?” she asked. He nodded. She crumpled where she stood, sagging until she was seated on the ice, and began bawling.

That evening Nate Schweber, the New York Times reporter who had written about the death of collared wolves back in November, filed another story. This one, which ran not on the website’s Green blog but in the much more widely read National section, was titled “ ‘Famous’ Wolf Is Killed Outside Yellowstone.”

“That evening Nate Schweber, the New York Times reporter who had written about the death of collared wolves back in November, filed another story. This one, which ran not on the website’s Green blog but in the much more widely read National section, was titled “ ‘Famous’ Wolf Is Killed Outside Yellowstone.””

The Associated Press picked up the story, and suddenly O-Six’s death was being discussed all over the country.

ABC News ran a segment on the death of “the most famous wolf in the world,” as did National Public Radio, bringing the story to millions of people who hadn’t even known there were wolves in the Rockies, much less that they were being hunted.

“ABC News ran a segment on the death of “the most famous wolf in the world,” as did National Public Radio, bringing the story to millions of people who hadn’t even known there were wolves in the Rockies, much less that they were being hunted.”

Smith hadn’t called the Times, and he hadn’t been the one who referred to O-Six as “the most famous wolf in the world,” the line from Schweber’s piece that would be repeated time and time again in follow-up coverage of O-Six’s death.

Calling her the world’s most famous wolf in the pages of one of the world’s most widely read newspapers had become a kind of self-fulfilling prophecy.

Who could have foreseen that one of the very first wolves killed in Wyoming’s first legal hunt would be Yellowstone’s best-known animal?

When an alpha died, especially a female, packs tended to splinter.

The best Smith could tell people was that with O-Six’s death, the quota had been filled in the Crandall area. As long as the pack didn’t drift too far east, they should be safe, at least for now.

The Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission met the Monday after O-Six was shot. The meeting had been scheduled for months, but her death dominated the agenda. Commissioners announced that they would entertain a proposal to close down several hunting zones north of the park, including the subunit near Jardine where three collared wolves had been taken already, in response to the high number of collared wolves killed in the hunt that fall. With the trapping season set to begin in just a few days, the prospect of the park losing several more wolves was a real one. Doug McLaughlin and several other watchers made the trip to Billings to attend the meeting and speak in favor of the closings. In the end, the commission voted 4–1 to close down the zones.

“The Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission met the Monday after O-Six was shot. The meeting had been scheduled for months, but her death dominated the agenda. Commissioners announced that they would entertain a proposal to close down several hunting zones north of the park, including the subunit near Jardine where three collared wolves had been taken already, in response to the high number of collared wolves killed in the hunt that fall. With the trapping season set to begin in just a few days, the prospect of the park losing several more wolves was a real one. Doug McLaughlin and several other watchers made the trip to Billings to attend the meeting and speak in favor of the closings. In the end, the commission voted 4–1 to close down the zones.”

On January 2, the Montana Outfitters and Guides Association, joined by a local Montana state representative and a trio of hunting groups, sued the game commission, arguing that the vote to close the wolf hunt near Jardine had been taken illegally, since it wasn’t posted on the original agenda and the public was not given the proper notice. A local judge granted a temporary injunction, and the areas were immediately reopened to hunters and trappers. The state legislature, meanwhile, began debating a bill that would prevent the commission from instituting any such midseason closures in the future or creating any kind of a buffer zone around Yellowstone where hunting wolves was prohibited. The message was clear: as far as the State of Montana was concerned, there was no such thing as a special wolf.

“On January 2, the Montana Outfitters and Guides Association, joined by a local Montana state representative and a trio of hunting groups, sued the game commission, arguing that the vote to close the wolf hunt near Jardine had been taken illegally, since it wasn’t posted on the original agenda and the public was not given the proper notice. A local judge granted a temporary injunction, and the areas were immediately reopened to hunters and trappers. The state legislature, meanwhile, began debating a bill that would prevent the commission from instituting any such midseason closures in the future or creating any kind of a buffer zone around Yellowstone where hunting wolves was prohibited. The message was clear: as far as the State of Montana was concerned, there was no such thing as a special wolf.”

Doug McLaughlin decided he’d had enough.

In Wisconsin and Minnesota, however, hunters and trappers had killed more than fifteen hundred wolves over the previous three years. That was too many, according to Howell, who chastised Fish and Wildlife in her decision. “The D.C. Circuit has noted that, at times, a court ‘must lean forward from the bench to let an agency know, in no uncertain terms, that enough is enough,’ ” the judge wrote. “This case is one of those times.”

“In Wisconsin and Minnesota, however, hunters and trappers had killed more than fifteen hundred wolves over the previous three years. That was too many, according to Howell, who chastised Fish and Wildlife in her decision. “The D.C. Circuit has noted that, at times, a court ‘must lean forward from the bench to let an agency know, in no uncertain terms, that enough is enough,’ ” the judge wrote. “This case is one of those times.””

In the fall, members of Congress tried once again to attach a wolf-related rider to a must-pass budget bill, as Senator Tester had done in 2011. This version would have reversed both Judge Jackson and Judge Howell’s rulings, legalizing wolf hunting in Wyoming, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Michigan. Like Tester’s rider, the language in the measure would have prevented a judge from reversing the move. But this time, things were different. Perhaps mindful of the overwhelmingly negative public response to Fish and Wildlife’s proposal to delist wolves nationwide, twenty-five senators, led by Barbara Boxer, the California Democrat, signed a letter to President Obama urging him to veto any budget bill that undermined protection for endangered species.

“In the fall, members of Congress tried once again to attach a wolf-related rider to a must-pass budget bill, as Senator Tester had done in 2011. This version would have reversed both Judge Jackson and Judge Howell’s rulings, legalizing wolf hunting in Wyoming, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Michigan. Like Tester’s rider, the language in the measure would have prevented a judge from reversing the move. But this time, things were different. Perhaps mindful of the overwhelmingly negative public response to Fish and Wildlife’s proposal to delist wolves nationwide, twenty-five senators, led by Barbara Boxer, the California Democrat, signed a letter to President Obama urging him to veto any budget bill that undermined protection for endangered species.”

Obama let it be known he wanted a clean budget bill with no mention of wolves or any other endangered species, and congressional leaders declined to adopt the rider. After years of defeats, wolves were finally winning again.

“Obama let it be known he wanted a clean budget bill with no mention of wolves or any other endangered species, and congressional leaders declined to adopt the rider. After years of defeats, wolves were finally winning again.”