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

by Nate Blakeslee

O-Six typically took the lead, flushing herds out of the trees and running them back and forth across the hillsides, testing each elk to find the slowest animal. The two males should have been welcome additions to any hunting party; in a typical pack, large males like 754 provided the muscle for the final takedown, grabbing the elk by the throat and crushing the windpipe after the lighter, more fleet-footed females had run their prey to exhaustion. But 754 and 755 seemed unable or unwilling to follow O-Six’s cues, running in circles or chasing the wrong animal on too many occasions. They were less partners than trainees. A few of the wolf-watchers had begun calling them “dumb and dumber,” a moniker that Rick found offensive. Still, even he had to concede that O-Six’s decision to join forces with these two was puzzling. The simple truth was that they were unlikely candidates to be anybody’s saviors.