Written by Kristen Inbody
Tribune Staff Writer
When a trio of wolf pups opened their eyes in a den beneath the peaks of Idaho’s Sawtooth Mountains, “it was nothing short of miraculous.”
“No wolf had been born in this region in more than 50 years,” wrote wolf experts Jim and Jamie Dutcher in their new National Geographic book “The Hidden Life of Wolves.”
Once the pups had opened their eyes, the Dutchers began bottle-feeding them to establish a bond. They established themselves as “social partners” with a tent camp in the wolves’ territory for “unequaled access” to their lives.
The two-year project that began in 1991 stretched to six years and saw the arrival of four litters.
The wolves captivated the Dutchers, who made making documentary films into their life’s work.
“The wolves that were the subjects of our films became our trusted friends, and we became spokespeople for their wild cousins,” they wrote.
The Dutchers founded the nonprofit wolf education organization Living with Wolves, which will profit from the book.
One day as the couple watched, Kamots and Matsi, alpha wolves of the Sawtooth Pack, fed on a small deer and mid-level wolves, Motomo and Amani, whined from the sidelines.
Then the pair seemed to launch a brilliant plan to capture a share, with Motomo running at the carcass and carrying off a chunk. As Kamots chased after him, Amani raced in and grabbed a hind leg. Kamots chased after him and therefore gave Motomo a shot at the hind leg, drawing Kamots’ attention again.
“A bewildered Kamots decided it was best just to stay put over what was left of the meal,” the Dutchers wrote. “Of course we can never be sure, but it appeared that Motomo and Amani had hatched a plan for mutual benefit,” they wrote. “Amani and Motomo also showed us that mid-ranking wolves cooperate as well as compete.”
They watched the pack interact with itself and with the wild world. They pondered what about wolves provokes such extreme passion among people.
“Anyone who looks into the eyes of a wolf, whether as friend or as foe, is forever changed,” they wrote. “Perhaps it is their similarity to our trusted dog companions that colors our impressions both for and against wolves.
“Some people sense the dog’s intelligence and empathy and feel an instant kinship,” they added. “Others see an independent and unruly canine that won’t ‘kennel up’ and do what we want it to.”
Or perhaps even more it’s the wolf’s similarity to ourselves — its devotion to family, its love of its young, its expressiveness — that moves us, they suggest.
Robert Redford wrote in his foreword that few examples of man “reshuffling the natural order to focus solely on human interests” — such as wolf extermination — changed the world for the better.
“The replacement of one top predator, the wolf, with another, the man with his rifle, had long-term effects,” he wrote. “These effects are all too obvious today as we wrestle to reconcile the needs of ranchers, wildlife enthusiasts, hunters and scientists with those of a vilified social animal: the wolf.”