56 | New Scientist | 7 December 2019
The back pages Q&A
Rick McIntyre worked in Yellowstone
National Park from 1994 to 2018 as a
naturalist and wolf researcher.
His insights show that humans and
wolves can behave in remarkably
similar waysAs a child, what did you want to
be when you grew up?
I loved everything about dinosaurs, so I wanted to be
a vertebrate palaeontologist.Were you good at science at school?
I did well enough. Reading Walden; or, A Life in the
Woods by Henry David Thoreau inspired me to work
in a nature-related career.What is it about wolves that
you find so interesting?
I worked at Denali National Park in Alaska for
15 summers after college and originally was most
interested in grizzly bears. I saw them nearly every
day. But I found that wolves had much more
interesting behaviour, such as how they live in
extended family groups and work together
to hunt, raise their pups and defend their
territory from rival packs.What is the most exciting thing
you’ve worked on in your career?
Wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone in 1995.
I would set up a spotting scope, find the local pack
and invite visitors to have a look. It was a very
emotional experience to watch a wolf pack
travelling, hunting and playing in Yellowstone after
being absent for 69 years. People would cry and hug
me in thanks for showing them.What achievement are you most proud of?
I have helped many thousands of people have the
experience of seeing wild wolves for the first time.Do you have to overcome any particular
challenges in your work?
I still go out every day well before dawn to observe
the wolves in Yellowstone, regardless of snowfall or
subzero temperatures. It gets harder and harder to
deal with cold weather.Has your field of study changed in the time
you have been working in it?
In past decades, most studies on wolf behaviour
were done with captive packs due to the challenges
of observing free-roaming wolves. Restoring wolves
to Yellowstone enabled me and others to see many
generations of wolves live out their lives in the wild.If you could have a conversation with any
scientist, living or dead, who would it be?
Charles Darwin. In his 1871 book The Descent of Man,
he wrote: “Happiness is never better exhibited than by
young animals, such as puppies... when playing together,
like our own children.” I would like to discuss what I have
learned about similarities in social behaviour in wolves
and humans and get his insight.What is the best thing you have read or seen
in the past 12 months?
I have been reading books by primatologist Frans de
Waal and found his writing about the social behaviour
and intellectual abilities of primates relevant to wolves.
For example, I would say that wolves have a theory of
mind, as do primates.Can you tell us about Wolf 8, the subject
of your new book?
Wolf 8 was one of the smallest wolves introduced to
Yellowstone and didn’t seem to have much potential.
But after an alpha male was killed on the day his mate
gave birth, 8 befriended the pups. The mother wolf
wanted help, so she let 8 into her pack, despite his
inexperience. He became a great alpha male and raised
the pups as his own. He also defeated another alpha
male despite his larger size and unexpectedly let the
wolf go rather than kill him.
One of the pups 8 raised was wolf 21. He was
invincible in battle but, as he had seen 8 do, he always
let the other wolf go. 21 was attentive to his pups and
spent a lot of time playing with them. He even appeared
to have a sense of humour and would do things like fall
over for no reason, like a comedian doing a pratfall.How useful will your skills be after
the apocalypse?
If people have to go back to living in small groups and
cooperating to survive, I think I could apply a lot of what
I learned from wolves to that situation.Rick McIntyre’s book The Rise of Wolf 8: Witnessing the triumph
of Yellowstone’s underdog is out now (Greystone Books)“ Wolf 21 was
invincible in
battle, but
always let his
rival go, just as
the wolf that
raised him
used to do”
NATIONAL PARKS SERVICE/NEAL HERBERT; ETIENNE BRUNELLE/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO