Thinking Like a Wolf: Lessons From the Yellowstone Packs

by Rick McIntyre, Jonathan Todd Ross (Reader), Frans de Waal (Foreword)

Genres: Wolves

1 pages, Audio CD

Published November 4, 2025

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

[Mike S. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and Tantor Audio for providing an ARC of the audiobook of "Thinking Like A Wolf" in exchange for my honest feedback and review.

Rick McIntyre has a pretty outsized reputation when it comes to writing non-fiction about the wolves he's spent decades observing, creating fans of the species, and even changing hearts and minds of hunters and ranchers. In sticking to what I thought would be interesting animal psychology-related audiobooks, I requested this one and made time for it a little later than I'd planned, early in December (it was released a month ago).

For as sterling as his reputation as a writer is, I don't think this is probably McIntyre's best work. He's written previous books about wolves that have been well-received, but I felt like so much of this was a recitation and distillation of field notes. Also, given the subject wolves are typically given numbers (or nicknames), it can be a little difficult to follow the narrative arc, though Rick really focuses on a few individuals throughout this book to illustrate the commonalities of wolves and humans, their personality types and how they cooperate and interact.

The book does capture the passion McIntyre has for the subject along with the exhaustive observations and studies he's done dating back decades. But I think I wanted a clearer list of the lessons he's taken instead of getting bogged down in daily notes about several packs of wolves.

In the same way "this meeting could have been an email," this book could have been a long form magazine article.

[Félszipókás_Ősmoly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Despite being typically portrayed as evil characters in folk tales, they are actually a vital factor in nature. The wolves of Yellowstone National Park were extinct in the 1920s, resulting in an unmanageable ecological situation: overpopulated herbivores, extensive tree growth, erosion and a decline in biological diversity. They began to reintroduce them in several waves starting in 1995. There were many articles about how this had changed people's misconceptions about predators. By the end of 2023, there were 124 wolves living in the park, grouped into 11 packs, with several dynasties succeeding one another. Documentaries and books were made about them, including the most famous series by Rick McIntyre.

In this book he looks back a little, but it's more about the new individuals who became protagonists between 2012 and 2023, following the earlier alphas. It is more about the animals' habits and behavior. The entire series is a long family story. Colored photographs also show the wolves in action. Since 1998, the author has devoted almost all of his time to observe the wolves of Yellowstone (and the animals that interact with them) and draw important lessons for education, rise awareness to change people's attitudes. In addition to present the details with meticulous accuracy, he tells the stories of stray wolves, survival strategies, alpha changes, hunting, mating, death, births, and playful cubs in a wonderfully readable style. Humans can learn from wolves: how to lead relying on empathy and trust, and cooperation that transcends individual interests, which is the key to survival. To avoid emotional attachment, wolves are identified by numbers (although there are exceptions). Although it made it difficult for me to keep track of the relationships between the characters, their lives were so interesting that it didn't matter.

The voice of the narrator was clear and easy to understand. I enjoyed it like a nature documentary movie.

Thanks to the author and Netgalley, I read an advanced reading copy of the audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

[Dan Holland · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Thinking Like a Wolf: Lessons From the Yellowstone Packs" from Rick McIntyre follows 8 specific wolves using different methods to navigate their world. McIntyre has spent decades observing wolves and has kept detailed field notes which have contributed to the study of wildlife behavior. I might have read several of his books in college.
I've worked closely (sometimes too close) with wolves. Could go into detail why I think we are ethically and morally required to make sure they thrive. Available 4 November from Tantor Audio

We are given the summary of several individual and pack actions over the years. You will find out the life of the Yellowstone wolves have more social dynamics than you would expect. Honestly got kind of Song of Fire and Ice with the moves and grudges some had. He also details some lessons we might learn from them. If you have been curious about them, as a fan or someone who does not care for them, you will gain something from this book.

Narrated by Jason Todd Ross, excellent work conveying these anecdotes about often misunderstood animals.

Reasons to read:
-Rick McIntyre knows wolves, especially the Yellowstone packs
-Does not sugarcoat the brutality of nature and presents the facts as they happened
-You will get caught up in the stories
-While not the focus, does point out at the value they provide to the local community and how they are misrepresented by those who just want to shoot them

Cons:
-I just got an easy job don't make me want to go back to hunting for low paying, physically, and mentally destructive animal jobs

[Caitlin · Rating 2 out of 5]

*Audio ARC review. Thank you NetGalley and Tantor Audio for the opportunity to listen to this book.*

I was very excited about this book and to hear stories from a scientist that lived my dream in Yellowstone studying the wolf packs. There are a few major flaws with this book that simply makes it inaccessible to the average reader. This book is marketed as more of a pop science read however it is far from that. You would need to have a base understanding of wolves, their pack relationships, and some scientific terminology to really glean much from this book. I have those in my tool kit thankfully because I was studying to be a wildlife biologist for a while.
A big concern that I had that would have really improved the quality of this book would be to simply name the wolves. Part of the time the writer would refer to the wolves by name and then others he would refer to by their tag numbers. And because they are sequentially tagged, this got to be very confusing. If he had given them just simple names this would have improved the quality of the read exponentially.
I was also very much not happy that when a wolf was poached in the first chapter that the author refused to say that the wolf had been poached. Yes, hunting was legal, but this was not a legal kill. The way it is described was a clear example of poaching and could have been used to have a larger conversation about the practice and how it hurts not just wolf populations, but the ecosystem as a whole. But it was like he was scared to say that.

[Elysha Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

This audiobook follows the lives of several Yellowstone Park wolves and packs over the years. Rick McIntyre is an expert on the Yellowstone Wolves, having researched and observed them since 1998 as part of the Wolf Project.

This was great book that makes you invested and care for these amazing wild creatures. Rick does a great job at showing how amazing the wolves are, showcasing their intelligence and how much they care for each other.

I enjoyed the following various individuals and packs throughout their lives as you could follow multiple generations of these packs. The detailed observations and comments on wolf behaviour were amazing as well.

Rick does not shy away from the realities and brutality of nature either, showing the highs and the lows of their lives. There is a large underlying theme of resiliency of the wolves and what we as people can learn from them.

There was also parts on conservation and the importance of wolves to the local ecology and community there. It reinforced why the wolves needed to be reintroduced and protected.

Thank you for NetGalley and Tantor Media for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Niyyah Ruscher-Haqq · Rating 4 out of 5]

The vibe this book gives is you're on a cross country flight next to a wolf expert and he's telling you all the cool things he has seen. The tone and care demonstrates an appreciation for majestic wolves with skills he has honed as a researcher, advocate, and teacher. He makes it easy to understand how we humans are socially so related in behaviors to wolves.

The book does not feel so heavy in science that anyone would feel lost - in fact I would have loved to hear more about these, but I have a feeling he may have addressed these in his first book, which I'll have to check out.

Be prepared to have your heart broken over and over because he'll make you fall in love with the wolves and then... people. And elks.

Narrator of the audiobook was clear and easy to follow.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an audio eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

[Maggie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wolves are such misunderstood animals. I’m hopeful that books like this one can help make people understand how important they are to our ecosystems, and how we need to prioritize their safety and access to land. I really appreciate how the author went into so much detail about the Yellowstone wolves, you can sense his passion for conservation of wolves through this book. I highly recommend this for anyone who cares about our public lands and natural spaces!