In his third wilderness adventure, eleven-year-old Buck Bray, along with the rest of The Wild World of Buck Bray TV crew, including the cameraman's daughter, Toni Shoop, heads to Yellowstone National Park to film an episode about its famous geysers and hot springs. They are also there to learn more about the park's gray wolf restoration program. But soon after arriving, Buck narrowly escapes injury when a herd of bison stampedes. Buck is almost certain the animals were agitated by a drone. Flying drones in a national park is illegal. Who is behind it? What are they trying to do? And drones aren't the only problem. Someone is threatening the wildlife. Once Buck and Toni start to investigate, they find out that gray wolves are not the only top predator in Yellowstone.

“A redemption story, an adventure story, and perhaps above all, a love story.”—Nate Blakeslee, New York Times-bestselling author of American Wolf The Druid Peak Pack was the most famous wolf pack in Yellowstone National Park, and maybe even in the world. This is the dramatic true story of its remarkable leader, Wolf 21—whose compassion and loyalty challenges commonly held beliefs about alpha males. In this compelling follow-up to the national bestseller The Rise of Wolf 8, Rick McIntyre profiles one of Yellowstone’s most revered alpha males, Wolf 21. Leader of the Druid Peak Pack, Wolf 21 was known for his unwavering bravery, his unusual benevolence (unlike other alphas, he never killed defeated rival males), and his fierce commitment to his mate, the formidable Wolf 42. Wolf 21 and Wolf 42 were attracted to each other the moment they met—but Wolf 42’s jealous sister interfered viciously in their relationship. After an explosive insurrection within the pack, the two wolves came together at last as leaders of the Druid Peak Pack, which dominated the park for more than 10 years. McIntyre recounts the pack’s fascinating saga with compassion and a keen eye for detail, drawing on his many years of experience observing Yellowstone wolves in the wild. His outstanding work of science writing offers unparalleled insight into wolf behavior and Yellowstone’s famed wolf reintroduction project. It also offers a love story for the ages. “Like Thomas McNamee, David Mech, Barry Lopez, and other literary naturalists with an interest in wolf behavior, McIntyre writes with both elegance and flair, making complex biology and ethology a pleasure to read. Fans of wild wolves will eat this one up.”—Kirkus starred review

“The powerful origin story of one of Yellowstone’s greatest and most famous wolves.” —Washington Post “[The Rise of Wolf 8] is a goldmine for information on all aspects of wolf behavior and clearly shows they are clever, smart, and emotional beings.” —Marc Bekoff, Psychology Today Yellowstone National Park was once home to an abundance of wild wolves—but park rangers killed the last of their kind in the 1920s. Decades later, the rangers brought them back, with the first wolves arriving from Canada in 1995. This is the incredible true story of one of those wolves. Wolf 8 struggles at first—he is smaller than the other pups, and often bullied—but soon he bonds with an alpha female whose mate was shot. An unusually young alpha male, barely a teenager in human years, Wolf 8 rises to the occasion, hunting skillfully, and even defending his family from the wolf who killed his father. But soon he faces a new opponent: his adopted son, who mates with a violent alpha female. Can Wolf 8 protect his valley without harming his protégé? Authored by a renowned wolf researcher and gifted storyteller, The Rise of Wolf 8 marks the beginning of The Alpha Wolves of Yellowstone series, which will transform our view of wolves forever.

As the star of a new kid-oriented wilderness show, eleven-year-old Buck Bray travels to Denali National Park to shoot the first episode. It promises to be an exciting gig and he's happy to get to spend some time with his director father. Buck's annoyed when the cameraman's daughter, Toni, unexpectedly shows up. But the kids work together when they realize two grizzly bear cubs are missing and they set out to solve the mystery, which includes breaking up a criminal ring.

From the renowned wolf researcher and author of The Rise of Wolf 8 and The Reign of Wolf 21 comes a stunning account of an unconventional alpha male. A lover, not a fighter. That was wolf 302. A renegade with an eye for the ladies, 302 was anything but Yellowstone’s perfect alpha male. For starters, he fled from danger. He begged for food from other wolves, ditched females he’d gotten pregnant, and even napped during a heated battle with a rival pack! But this is not the story of 302’s failures. This is the story of his dramatic transformation. And legendary wolf writer Rick McIntyre witnessed it all from the sidelines. As McIntyre closely observed with his spotting scope, wolf 302 began to mature, and, much to McIntyre’s surprise, became the leader of a new pack in his old age. But in a year when game was scarce, could the aging wolf provide for his family? Had he changed enough to live up to the legacies of the great alpha males before him? Recounted in McIntyre’s captivating storytelling voice and peppered with fascinating insights into wolf behavior, The Redemption of Wolf 302 is a powerful coming-of-age tale that will strike a chord with anyone who has struggled to make a change, big or small. “With this third installment of Rick McIntyre’s magnum opus, the scope and ambition of the project becomes clear: nothing less than a grand serialization of the first twenty years of wolves in Yellowstone, a kind of lupine Great Expectations.”—Nate Blakeslee, New York Times-bestselling author of American Wolf

Historical records and intensive field surveys 1975-77 provided information on the population history, ecology, and current status of wolves (Canis lupus) in Yellowstone National Park and vicinity. Wolves occurred in unknown but seemingly low densities during the latter 1800s in several areas of Yellowstone where they were controlled periodically until 1926. Populations apparently began increasing about 1912, primarily in the northeast, and may have reached nonequilibrium levels of 30-40 animals (postwhelping). Intensive control 1914-26 removed at least 136 wolves, including about 80 pups. During this period Yellowstone wolves characteristically lived in packs of 3-16 members, some of which followed the ungulates in their seasonal migrations. Litters averaging 7.8 were born in late March and April, primarily in the north central sector of the park. Limited evidence suggests that elk (Cervus elaphus) were important food for wolves during all seasons. Wolves either survived the control era or moved in shortly thereafter for singles, pairs, and a pack of four were reported the following decade. Resident wolf packs, however, were eliminated from Yellowstone National Park by the l940s. Large canids have been sighted intermittently to the present, but their identity has not been established. Singles and pairs comprised 89% of 116 "probable" reports over the past 50 years. Speculation about factors limiting the Yellowstone wolf population considers its relative geographic isolation from viable wolf populations and possible genetic problems (including wolf-coyote hybridization) associated with prolonged minimal population status. A transplant of wolves from British Columbia or Alberta, or perhaps Minnesota, is recommended to restore a viable population of this native predator to Yellowstone National Park.

This beautifully illustrated volume on the Yellowstone Wolf Project includes an introduction by Jane Goodall and an exclusive online documentary. The reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone National Park was one of the greatest wildlife conservation achievements of the twentieth century. Eradicated after the park was first established, these iconic carnivores returned in 1995 when the US government reversed its century-old policy of extermination. In the intervening decades, scientists have built a one-of-a-kind field study of these wolves, their behaviors, and their influence on the entire ecosystem. Yellowstone Wolves tells the incredible story of the Yellowstone Wolf Project, as told by the people behind it. This wide-ranging volume highlights what has been learned in the decades since reintroduction, as well as the unique blend of research techniques used to gain this knowledge. We learn about individual wolves, population dynamics, wolf-prey relationships, genetics, disease, management and policy, and the rippling ecosystem effects wolves have had on Yellowstone’s wild and rare landscape. Featuring a foreword by Jane Goodall, beautiful images, a companion online documentary by celebrated filmmaker Bob Landis, and contributions from more than seventy wolf and wildlife conservation luminaries from Yellowstone and around the world, Yellowstone Wolves is an informative and beautifully realized celebration of the extraordinary Yellowstone Wolf Project.