Thinking Like a Wolf: Lessons From the Yellowstone Packs

by Rick McIntyre

Following eight major wolf personalities, Thinking Like a Wolf draws on decades of field notes to uncover the challenges and triumphs of Yellowstone's wolf packs, from the "chief historian of the most famous wolf population in the world" ( Washington Post ).

In his latest book, award-winning author and renowned wolf researcher Rick McIntyre explores the intricate world of wolf behavior in Yellowstone National Park and highlights the individual character traits that allow wolf packs to thrive.

Unveiling power struggles, pack politics, the roles of family protection, inter-pack conflicts, and more, Rick skillfully follows the intricacy of packs and the unique attributes each wolf has. In these true stories, he celebrates the many lessons we can learn from wolf packs and the dynamic personalities that enable them to expand across new territories amidst adversity.

Weaving an impressive web of politics and power, family cooperation and commitment, rivalry and resilience, Thinking Like a Wolf provides listeners with a unique window into the fascinating inner workings of wolf packs.

Genres: Nonfiction, Nature, Wolves, Animals

272 pages, Hardcover

Published October 29, 2024

About the author

Rick McIntyre is the acclaimed author of the Alpha Wolves of Yellowstone Book Series, which includes The Rise of Wolf 8: Witnessing the Triumph of Yellowstone's Underdog and The Reign of Wolf 21: The Saga of Yellowstone's Legendary Druid Pack (coming October 2020). McIntyre is currently at work on the third book in the series, about Wolf 302. McIntyre has recorded over 100,000 sightings of wild wolves--which is more sightings than any other person in history--and has written more than 7 million words of wolf observations, making him one of the world's foremost experts on wild wolf behavior. He has been featured on NPR, 60 Minutes, the Washington Post, the podcast This is Love and his book, The Rise of Wolf 8, was an Amazon Best Science Book of the Year and selected as a Notable Book by the prestigious Sigurd F. Olson Nature Writing Awards.

McIntyre worked as a ranger naturalist and wolf researcher for the National Park Service for four decades including many years in Alaska's Denali National Park, where he first began to study wolves. In 1994 he became Yellowstone National Park's first Wolf Interpreter, educating thousands of park visitors each year on Yellowstone's now-famous Wolf Reintroduction Project, which sought to reintroduce wolves to the park after the last wolves were shot and killed by park rangers 60 years earlier, in the 1920s. One day, McIntyre observed one of the first reintroduced wolves--a small, unassuming pup, the runt of his litter--stand up to a grizzly bear to protect his brothers. Over the next few years, McIntyre watched the small pup grow into a powerful alpha male, whose acts of bravery, loyalty, and kindness impressed McIntyre so much that he made him the subject of his first book, The Rise of Wolf 8. McIntyre profiles Wolf 8's equally remarkable adopted son in The Reign of Wolf 21.

In 1998, McIntyre transferred to the Wolf Reintroduction Project full-time and helped with research on the park's wolf population. He continued to work with the public by presenting talks along the roadside and showing visitors the wolves through his telescope. McIntyre retired from the National Park Service in 2018 to focus on his books, however, he continues to observe the Yellowstone wolves on an almost-daily basis, rain or shine. He lives in Silver Gate, Montana.

Reviews

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I hope Rick McIntyre writes wolf books forever. Though I didn't get quite as lost in this one as I have in previous stories of his, he still does such an exceptional job of humanizing the wolves, and his books dispel misconceptions and change people's minds.

[Tina Loves To Read · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a Non Fiction book about Wolves. I read this book by listening to the audiobook, and I really enjoyed listening to the audiobook. I really loved reading this book, and I felt I learned so much about wolves. I loved learning about the different packs and wolves. Great read. I received an ARC of this book. This review is my own honest opinion about the book like all my reviews are.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once again Rick has done an outstanding job at bringing adoration to this much maligned species. The stories of wolf 911 and 926 were my favorite but they were all fantastic. Thank you Rick for all you have done!

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another masterpiece! Long live the Wolves of Yellowstone 🤍

[Adam · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an okay read, but I didn’t enjoy it as much as McIntyre’s other books. This really read more like a collection of anecdotes, or maybe just a transcription of fieldnotes and observations, about breeding pairs & adult/pup interaction peppered with the author’s own, often anthropomorphizing, musings about what he’s observed and what different behaviors might mean. Sometimes interesting, sometimes a little harebrained, often scattered the narrative was regularly broken up by non sequitur paragraphs tossed in to plug his other books. I’ve read 4 other books from McIntyre over the last couple years and this is the one I’ve enjoyed the least. Worth reading if you like his other stuff, but to me at least, it falls a bit short.

[Tara Lay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rick is one of the best writers. He brings such emotion and life to a different world, a world of wolves that people need to understand. He makes you feel, understand and fall in love all while educating you. I highly recommend any of his work. You won’t regret it.

[Meagan & Marilyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

yAy 😀 💤

[Dayton Martindale · Rating 4 out of 5]

I do wish he gave the wolves names, it was sometimes hard to keep track of who was 907 and 955 and 1248 etc. The writing surprised me with its simplicity and straightforwardness—this is not fluttery nature writing (which I often enjoy!) but focuses on the day to day of the wolves themselves. And those wolves do have fascinating lives, full of shifting relationships and political intrigue. What’s most noteworthy, to me, is that this man who has spent almost every day watching wolves for decades is so comfortable attributing to them supposedly human traits: resilience, strategy, personality, compassion, even democracy. Like many who observe wild animals, he has been convinced their cognitive and emotional capacities are far greater than we typically give them credit for.

[Vee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the fifth book in Rick McIntyre's wolf series and all that I can say after reading all 5 of this series is I hope Rick writes another one. Although this could be read as a standalone, I strongly recommend reading the previous books as it will be much more rewarding and deeper meaning.

These books stay with you forever and Rick's writing is informative, educational and powerful.

I didn't think I'd cry at the end of this one, but Rick always gets me. His life devotion to these wolves is astounding and when you read these books, I challenge you to not feel emotionally connected to the each wolf's individual personalities and amazing stories. Rick's tireless dedication to his observations brings the stories of the wolves' fierceness, triumphs and dedication to their pack to light and most importantly their ever going resiliency in the face of tragedies and loss.

Rick's writing is clear and he takes you into the pack as if you were there with them. He is also super dedicated to spreading awareness of the misinformation about wolves in effort to help save them which is mainly why he writes these books, to change minds. I'm already at wolf lover and supporter of conservation efforts, but I have gotten so much deep reward and knowledge from these books. They will stay in my heart forever.


Read these books!

[Savannah Elise · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thinking Like a Wolf by Rick McIntyre has some interesting facts and stories about wolves, but a lot of it reads like field notes turned into paragraphs (wolves mating, hunting, raising pups, rinse and repeat). Some parts were engaging, but the writing felt a bit dry, and the author’s personal stories didn’t always add much and were at times randomly interjected into the story without rhyme or reason. There were also some awkward transitions, like a paragraph about wolf pups suddenly jumping to the author discussing his book release, only to switch right back to the pups in the next paragraph. Worth a read for wolf enthusiasts, but not as immersive or narrative-driven as I had hoped.

[Steve Voiles · Rating 5 out of 5]

McIntyre's 5th book in the Yellowstone series does not disappoint. His decades long observations of wolves could not have taken place anywhere else in the world. It is because of the vast open spaces of Yellowstone and the intrusion of nature-honoring humans that these observations could be made. Still without his persistence and the meticulous notes he has made over the years the observations could never have been compiled and correlated into the kind of family histories that he has detailed. Thinking like a wolf continues this effort

If you do not yet know of this work, and if you have a burning interest in what humans can learn from nature, then you may want to get started in reading what McIntyre has created and contributed to our understanding of the complexity of wild lives in the northern forests. There is no place on Earth like Yellowstone National Park, and no nature writer quite like McIntyre.

It is somewhat difficult to keep track of the cast of wolf characters because they are named mostly by their study numbers, but persist in reading the numbers inwardly and the numbers will become the characters they represent and you will be rewarded by glimpsing the personalities and the family histories of generations of wolves. I would suggest starting from the earliest book and reading them sequencialy, since the generational stories build upon one another and you begin to understand the traits that are reliably "wolf" and the traits that define individuals of personality and intelligence that remind us to the complexities of human personalities, the other social animal that persists in the world we inhabit.

[Amy Proctor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thinking Like a Wolf: Lessons From the Yellowstone Packs by Rick McIntyre and narrated by Jonathan Todd Ross is full of wonderful stories of the wolves of Yellowstone as well as crucial information about this oft misunderstood animal and its role in maintaining an important balance in the food chain.

McIntyre first describes wolves based on their behaviors as dispensers, biders, rebels, or mavericks - and he explains the social dynamics of the different packs which leads to the formation, disintegration, and reformation within. He describes both violent and peaceful transfers of power within a pack.

McIntyre offers unique tidbits such as black wolves being more resistant to distemper than gray wolves - as well as the prospect that older females whose pups survive may have distemper exposure that creates antibodies unlike younger mothers. Fun stories like that of Friend Bear are included.

McIntyre illustrates that through the “resilience and cooperative social structure” have wolves been able to survive and thrive as a species.

Thank you to Tantor Media and NetGalley for an audio version of this title for an honest review.

[Nina Phillips · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a free copy of this audiobook via NetGalley and Tantor Media and I am voluntarily leaving a review.

I went to college for Conservation Biology in Colorado during the period wolf reintroductions were a very hot topic. Several of my teachers actually traveled around the US and to DC to talk about the process. So I already knew quite a bit about the whole situation. But getting to listen to a personal account decades in the making of a man who had seen generations of these wolves first hand was something else. I learned quite a bit about the packs and wolves in general that I hadn't known, and it's a great overview of the importance of wolves, the misunderstandings people have about these animals, and their lives in general.

I did find it a pretty general overview, covering so many animals in such a short time, so if you don't know much about the packs, it may be worth checking out some of his other stories that focus on just a couple of the wolves first. (I am definitely going to check those out too).

The narrator was great too, staying educational, but not monotone.

[Helen · Rating 5 out of 5]

another hit out of the park !

Rick McIntyre has a way with words and wolves. I have enjoyed every book and look forward to the next. He has a long career and this book covers snippets of a lot of it. It was often confusing with the numbered wolves among so many wolf families, but the overarching story is so heartwarming. He is someone who lived his life fully and gave more than he took - and is still giving through these words. Deep thanks for all his observations, all his preservation, all his kindness and all of his thoughts and drafts which lead to science and literature.

[Victoria Hosman · Rating 3 out of 5]

March 2025 Review:
At the time of my first reading, I'm giving this book a three star rating. Despite that middle of the road rating, I can still see myself reading this book again in the future. And I'm glad I have this book since I've read and reread the other books in the series. And I like the thought that McIntyre closes on - the quote from Scott Frazier-

"It is good to be part of putting something back, rather than taking something away."

And I think that's a good way of summarizing this whole series - putting the wolves back to where they once belonged - and still do belong.

[Critter · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an audio ARC.

I wanted to like this one more than I did. My biggest issue is everything felt disjointed and disconnected. It feels like field notes dressed up. Some readers will certainly enjoy this style, but it just didn't work for me. I also thought there was a lot of anthropomorphizing of the wolves. I think there is a lot of good information in this book, I just struggled with the writing style. I did like the narrator's performance for this one.

[TL Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed learning about the wolves, but it was a tough read. It's mostly field notes, long lists of numbers and descriptions and locations that are meaningless unless you already know who is who (or why it would matter). The facts about wolves and when you get into a longer section talking about a specific wolf are good, but the style just isn't easy or engaging.

[Kade · Rating 1 out of 5]

I hate to give this a one-star review. I think I would enjoy talking to the author about the Yellowstone wolves, but the writing was just not strong here. I had to DNF at 70% in. It was all over the place. It needs to be worked into an actual narrative or something with a takeaway theme. Right now, it feels like field notes marketed as a book. I might try reading some of his earlier works.

[Jeannie]

Pretty fascinating stories! I learned a lot- and was enthusiastically sharing wolf facts with my fam as I read. The wolf numbers for their names got a little confusing, but if you just keep reading- w/o trying to keep everyone straight 100% of the time- it’s worth it.

[Sherry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love reading stories about the fabulous Yellowstone wolves and getting to revisit some of my favs. Always a great read.

[Pauline Kusiak · Rating 3 out of 5]

Way too dry for such a flashy title. Read like basic field notes. Not what I was hoping for.

[Tommy Jacobs · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good, solid read. Part field notes and part storytelling with wolves as protagonists.

Not quite as good as Rick McIntyre's other wolf books- those are 5 star!!

[Pamela Okano · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another entertaining and informative book about the Yellowstone wolves by Rick McIntyre. If you're interested in wolves, his books are a must!

[andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just never tire of reading about Rick's adventures with the Yellowstone wolves and life in general .

[Dana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating and beautiful story telling. If you’ve ever visited Yellowstone or ever dreamt of visiting, this book is for you!

[Thomas Row · Rating 5 out of 5]

An detailed account of wolf movements across Yellowstone National Park. A great read to understand the lives and amazing resilience they possess.

[Ashley M · Rating 4 out of 5]

“It is good to be part of putting something back, rather than taking something away.”

[Mark Binsted · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another amazing book by the godfather of all things wolf. This is a must read for anyone who likes or dislikes wolves. Mcintyre even addresses false rhetoric about wolves such as surplus killing.

[Abbey · Rating 5 out of 5]

For anyone who loves wolves, hates wolves, knows everything about wolves, knows nothing about wolves. This entire series is a fantastic, well put-together collection of cleaned-up field notes documenting thousands of days' observations of generations of wolves in Yellowstone interacting with each other and their environment.

[J]

It was nice profile of different wolves within recent years. My favorite part was when a grizzly bear integrated itself into the Junction Butte pack and became part of the wolf pack.