"McIntyre continues his Alpha Wolves of Yellowstone series with this vivid look at the life of the national park’s 06 female. McIntyre has a knack for creative comparisons—when 06 kills a grizzly cub to feed her pups, he writes that if she 'were a character in Game of Thrones, she would be known as Grizzly Slayer,'... Fans of the series will relish this dramatic installment."
—Publisher's Weekly
"No one has ever had the insight and intuitive understanding of wolves that Rick McIntyre brings to the page, because no one has ever had enough experience with the lifetimes of wild wolves to write their individual biographies. McIntyre is a phenomenon. His series of wolf books is unprecedented in writing about the natural world. And this book’s main focus, the career of the wolf called “06,” is astonishing by any measure."
—Carl Safina, author of Beyond Words and Becoming Wild
“McIntyre’s meticulous observations have gifted legions of observers, and now readers, with new insights into the dynamic lives of Yellowstone wolf packs and with a new empathy for a species that challenges our own worldview, just by being wolves.”
—Rolf Peterson, author of The Wolves of Isle Royale: A Broken Balance
"The fire and spirit of Yellowstone's matriarch wolves comes alive through Rick's compelling storytelling. The dramatic lives of 06, 42, 926 and other influential females, their loves, losses, hunting prowess, and tender moments of motherhood unfold in their tenacious fight to survive. These key females leave a legacy that ensures the success of Yellowstone's wolves. Read it!"
—Dr. Diane Boyd, wolf biologist
"This tragic story of one of Yellowstone’s most beloved wolves is one I know well, thanks to the time I spent in the park with Rick McIntyre and his fellow wolf aficionados. And yet what a pleasure it was to relive all of the joy and excitement she brought wolf watchers during her short time in the spotlight. This book, which places 06 squarely in a lineage of formidable females, will be a treasure for those whose paths crossed with 06’s over the years, and a revelation for those coming to her story for the first time. Highly recommended!"
—Nate Blakeslee, author of the New York Times bestseller American Wolf
“McIntyre’s stories let us understand why every hunter/gatherer society in the world admired wolves as “brothers and sisters in the hunt”—to be understood, respected, and on our most hopeful days, emulated.”
—Ed Bangs, former U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service wolf recovery coordinator for the Northern Rockies
"Rick McIntyre shares gripping and poignant stories about wolves that illustrate their lives in intimate detail. There has never been an adventure story starring wolves comparable to this one."
—Norman Bishop, Yellowstone Wolf Interpreter and Advisor to the Rocky Mountain Wolf Project and Living With Wolves
"Rick McIntyre's fourth book in a most remarkable series of books about 'all things wolves' is a gem, as were his first three outstanding books detailing the fascinating and surprising lives of the wolves of Yellowstone."
—Marc Bekoff, University of Colorado, co-author of A Dog's World: Imagining the Lives of Dogs in a World Without Humans
"There is simply NOTHING that Rick McIntyre has not experienced with wolves. What an accomplishment. He has made many insightful contributions about the nature of a very complex and fascinating carnivore."
—Lu Carbyn, author of The Buffalo Wolf
"Rick McIntyre has done it again. He is a seemingly endless source of stories about Yellowstone wolves. There is no drop-off in his fourth book in the Alpha Wolves of Yellowstone series. This one, about key alpha females, gives us even more insights into the world of wolves and their society. No one has put in the hours watching wolves that McIntyre has. No one has his in-depth knowledge of individuals, the landscape, neighboring packs, and other wildlife. Using all this knowledge, he puts together stories of lead wolves in a way that has never been done before."
—Douglas W. Smith, senior wildlife biologist and project leader for the Yellowstone Gray Wolf Restoration Project
“In The Alpha Female Wolf, Rick McIntyre tells the captivating story of legendary wolf 06 whose leadership, teamwork, and wisdom enabled her family to thrive through many challenges. McIntyre's riveting observations put the reader right there with generations of wolves as they play, eat, mate, and fight. Dazzling, heartbreaking, and hopeful.”
—Zazie Todd, author of Wag: The Science of Making Your Dog Happy
"Rick McIntyre writes about wolves with the reverence they are owed. His detailed descriptions of the interwoven lives, deaths, deadly feuds, and romantic liaisons of Yellowstone’s wolves are Homeric in nature. And his intimate portrayals of individual wolves’ personalities and the sometimes humorous, sometimes tragic circumstances of their lives reveal them as kin to us, each of their days subject to fortune or fate as are our own."
—Amaroq Weiss, Senior Wolf Advocate with the Center for Biological Diversity
07/25/2022
McIntyre (The Redemption of Wolf 302), a former National Park ranger, continues his Alpha Wolves of Yellowstone series with this vivid look at the life of the national park’s 06 female. Born in 2006, 06 “grew up to be a beautiful, free-spirited, independent wolf” who “demonstrates the critical leadership roles females play in wolf society and their undaunted courage.” McIntyre colorfully recounts 06’s many shows of assertiveness, as when she chased off a grizzly bear, or when she outsmarted two young males and carried away an elk leg they had hidden. McIntyre also describes 06’s offspring, including female 926, who took over leadership of the pack after her mother’s death in 2012 at the hands of hunters, which is recounted in a devastating scene. McIntyre has a knack for creative comparisons—when 06 kills a grizzly cub to feed her pups, he writes that if she “were a character in Game of Thrones, she would be known as Grizzly Slayer,” and when a pack kills two former members, McIntyre likens it to “a Mafia family killing... their sons who had become members of a rival gang.” Fans of the series will relish this dramatic installment. (Oct.)
