The Reign of Wolf 21: The Saga of Yellowstone's Legendary Druid Pack by Rick McIntyre
"The wolf takes care of the pack, and the pack takes care of the wolf."
Me reading a non-fiction book—especially one that's not a memoir/autobiography by an actor/musician whom I love—is an extremely rare occurrence. However, when my parents returned from a trip to Yellowstone and gifted me this book, I had to dive in immediately because A, I love wolves, and B, I really didn't want it to get lost in the disaster zone that is my TBR.
Rick McIntyre's The Reign of Wolf 21: The Saga of Yellowstone’s Legendary Druid Pack is the second book in his Alpha Wolves of Yellowstone Series, and covers Wolf 21's time as Alpha of Yellowstone's Druid Pack, which spanned from 2000-2004. McIntyre's prose can be a bit dry at times, often reading like compiled trail notes more than anything else. But his dedication, insight and heartfelt care for these animals shines through enough throughout the book that it's never too sterile a read.
Rick McIntyre's love for these animals is contagious, and the way he writes about the main wolves in this three-and-a-half year story brings them to life in a way that makes it impossible for you not to fall for them yourself. I'm not going to lie, he had me crying over wolves who've been dead for ~20 years. The Druid Alphas, 21 & 42 (as well as the astonishing 253), were truly amazing animals; animals that so purely exhibited the strength and ideals of what wolves as a species represent.
I figured that every time I helped someone see wolves, it would be one more person on the side of wolves.
Overall, The Reign of Wolf 21 can often be repetitive, as it focuses heavily on this pack's hunting, mating and pup rearing habits, but it's never boring. The repetitive nature throughout only ever lends more detailed insight into the behavioral patterns of not only these individual wolves, but of wolf packs in general, giving us an enlightening (if biased) look at these animals and their role within the Yellowstone ecosystem. And it succeeds not only as an informative science book about the importance of wolves in Yellowstone, but also as an exciting adventure story about leadership and love, dedication and bravery, and the resounding effect of our actions on the world around us.
It was a time of legends, a time when giants strode the land. It was the time of 21 and 42.
7.5/10
-Timothy Patrick Boyer.
