When you hear about a story with family drama, death, romance, and heroic feats, you might be picturing a new action movie or bestselling fantasy book. However, what if I told you that this story is real, and that the heroic protagonist is not a human?

Rick McIntyre, a retired National Park ranger, has spent his life studying wild wolves. He is widely recognized as one of the top experts on wolf behavior, and has written numerous books detailing the lives of wolves in Yellowstone National Park, one of which being The Reign of Wolf 21.

Background

The history of wolves in Yellowstone is a turbulent one. The area, spanning across parts of Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho, was established as a National Park back in 1872, and at the time the native grey wolf population was already in decline. The US government established predator control programs throughout the early 1900s in order to limit the already small wolf population, and in 1926 the last wolves in the area were killed.

However, the lack of wolves started a chain reaction in the park’s ecosystem: since there were no large predators to keep them in check, the elk population exploded and started to cause extreme damage to the plants and landscape with their overgrazing. The National Park service began a program to trap and relocate the elk, and when they failed, started directly culling elk, but it still wasn’t enough to solve the overpopulation issues. For over 30 years, the park continued these inefficient methods of removing elk, with little long term success. But in the 1970s, another idea was proposed: what if we brought back the wolves? 

The idea had a lot of backlash initially. Farmers feared that wolves would attack their livestock, hunters didn’t want to have to compete with wolves for elk, and general public distrust of the predators led to a large aversion to the proposed reintroduction, but as time passed and the issues with the elk continued, the plan to bring the wolves in was set into motion. In 1995, 14 wolves were set loose in Yellowstone, and in 1996, 17 additional wolves were brought to the park, and with that their reintroduction was established. Throughout the years, the park continued to manage the wolves, tracking individuals and monitoring population swings with surveillance from research planes, and darting wolves to put radio collars on them. Rick McIntyre was one of these dedicated researchers, and his book is a recounting of some of the stories that happened in the park.

The Actual Book

The Reign of Wolf 21 is not a history of what the reintroduction of the wolves looked like, but rather follows the life of an individual who was one of the first wolves born in the park. That wolf, as the title suggests, is Wolf 21. The number in his name comes from the tracking designation, as wolves are almost always numbered, or sometimes referred to by a distinctive physical appearance, and Wolf 21’s radio collar allowed for detailed following of his life and journey across Yellowstone.

I previously mentioned that this book was a tale of heroics, romance, and family drama, and that is completely true. The events recounted truly took place and were recorded by wolf watchers and researchers like the author Rick McIntyre; however, the story is told in a slightly dramatized way, but not in a way that alters the reality of the events. 

If a Cinderella story to find true love doesn’t speak to you, the harrowing battles may, or the overcoming of disability. Maybe Wolf 21’s journey to fatherhood, or Rick McIntyre’s commitment to documenting the tale is what calls to you. In any case that this review at all inspires you to go and read the book for yourself, I wholeheartedly recommend it.