Scoping Wolves with the Wolfman of Yellowstone

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Bison in northwest Yellowstone.

Sometimes stories write themselves, while you’re traveling. It’s just so obvious what to write, that you do it, and soon enough the entire arduous task is over. Writing isn’t hard. It’s just frustrating and torturous and some times takes way, way longer than you think it will.   Below is a snip of my new article about wolves in Yellowstone.

Of all the animals you can find in Yellowstone National Park, none generate the controversy nor the tourism revenue of the gray wolf. The predator was introduced back into the park fifteen years ago, after the original population was killed off by park rangers in the years up to 1926.

McIntyre talked about the wolves as if they were humans, yet it all made sense. His tireless daily pursuit has resulted in nearly 8000 pages of field notes, culling all of his own wolf observations along with records of hundreds of volunteers’ sitings, creating a valuable record of what they eat, how they live and how they die.

“When was the last time you took a vacation?” we asked him. He said he hasn’t missed a single day of wolf observing in ten years. “What else would I do?” he said with a smile.