Review: Rise of Wolf 8

I first bought this book for my dad's birthday in 2019 after I'd heard this NPR interview with the author. In January of this year, I got the Kindle version for myself.

From the time Yellowstone National Park was established in 1872, wolves were seen as a nuisance -- pests that preyed on the rest of the ecosystem -- and park rangers who encountered them would shoot them. After a concerted effort, wolves finally exterminated in 1926.

In the ensuing decades, though, their absence had a number of unintended consequences. Without predators, the elk populatoin exploded. "The overpopulation led to extreme overbrowsing of aspen shoots, extensive damage to willows growing along creeks and rivers, and erosion along waterways due to loss of vegatation.

Thus, when wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone in 1995, the ecosystem began to recover. “Willows began to flourish along Crystal Creek, and beaver, which need aspen trees for food and building materials, moved in and colonized the area.”

The rest of the book is a bit like a high school drama series, with rival packs competing for territory, females competing for dominance, and males breaking off from their birth families to find mates.

The best part of the book, though is the relationship between the eponymous Wolf #8 and his adoptive son, Wolf #21. While 21 was still a juvenile, “the two males seemed to have an understanding that they needed to cooperate to get things done for the pack.”

The books ends on a poignant note. “21 inherited his size and strength from his sire but was raised, trained, and mentored by his adoptive father. 8 showed his adopted son how an alpha male and father would should behave. Experts say dog learn best by watching and imitating other dogs. That is what 21 did: he watched and imitated 8 the only father figure he ever had.”

Thinking back to 2019, I doubt I could have picked a better present.