O-Six (2006–2012), also known as 832F or "The 06 Female", was a female gray wolf, whose death by hunting just outside the protected area of Yellowstone National Park stirred debate about the hunting and protection of wolves in Wyoming, Montana and Idaho. The bestselling book American Wolf focused on O-Six's life and on conservation policies in the Yellowstone region.
O-SixEdit
O-Six is an alpha female named after the year of her birth.[1]She has light gray fur and is recognized by the faint black ovals around her eyes. She is a kind and loving mother and she is a very intelligent fighter, admired by many wolf watchers, but as she raises her pups and defends her pack, she is in danger from hunters, cattle ranchers, and other wolves who are willing to fight for control of Lamar Valley.
LifeEdit
O-Six was for several years [2010 - 2012] the dominant breeding female of the Lamar Canyon pack in Yellowstone National Park. Born in 2006 in the Agate Creek pack to Agate Creek Wolves #113M (born a Chief Joseph Wolf in 1997) and Wolf #472F (born a Druid Peak wolf in 2000),[2][3][4] she was principally known by the year of her birth.[5] She was a member of the fourth generation of wolves born in Yellowstone after the 1995 reintroduction of wolves to the park.[6] Leaving her birth pack to claim new territory, she established the Lamar Canyon pack as a three-year-old in 2010. The pack's territory in the easily accessible Lamar River Valley (named after Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar (II)) allowed tourists and wolf researchers to observe and extensively document the activities and behaviours of the wolves. As the dominant breeding female ("alpha female"), O-Six was one of the most visible and photographed wolves in Yellowstone and was described as a "rock star."[7][8]
After several years, O-Six was captured, fitted with a radio-tracking collar and released, gaining the collar number 832F.[9] She produced three litters of pups with her mate, Wolf #755M, before the Lamar Canyon pack was displaced by another wolf pack. Wandering into new territory, the remaining pack members, including O-Six, left the park, where no hunting is allowed, and appeared on private land to the east, near Crandall, Wyoming, during Wyoming's 2012 wolf hunting season. The allowed take in that season was eight wolves. She was shot by a hunter on December 6, 2012, the eighth wolf to be legally killed in Wyoming in 2012.[10]
LegacyEdit
The death of O-Six was immediately reported in the New York Times, leading to extensive coverage of O-Six and wolf-hunting policies surrounding Yellowstone.[11][12][13][14] Following the publication of the bestselling book American Wolf by Nate Blakeslee in 2017, which focused on O-Six's life, O-Six received additional media coverage,[15] and was the subject of a National Geographic documentary.[16] More coverage followed the shooting of O-Six's daughter 926F in Montana in 2018.[17][18]
See alsoEdit
- 302M - Another Yellowstone Wolf.
- History of wolves in Yellowstone
- List of wolves
ReferencesEdit
- ^ McIntyre, Rick (2022). The alpha female wolf : the fierce legacy of Yellowstone's 06. Greystone Books. ISBN 9781771648592.
- ^ vonHoldt, Bridgett M.; DeCandia, Alexandra L.; Cassidy, Kira A.; Stahler, Erin E.; Sinsheimer, Janet S.; Smith, Douglas W.; Stahler, Daniel R. (20 February 2022). "High retention of genomic variation and fitness-related traits in the effective population of reintroduced wolves in Yellowstone National Park" (PDF). doi:10.1101/2022.02.18.481090. Retrieved 7 February 2023(Preprint)
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help)CS1 maint: postscript (link) - ^ Blakeslee, Nate (2017). American Wolf. Crown. p. 45. ISBN 978-1-101-90279-0.
- ^ Halfpenny, James; Leckie, Leo; Baron, Shauna (2020). Charting Yellowstone Wolves : 25th Anniversary. pp. 155, 191, 245. ISBN 979-8622004537.
- ^ Blakeslee, p. 65
- ^ Blakeslee, pp. 12, 14
- ^ Blakeslee, p. 238
- ^ Schweber, Nate (December 8, 2012). "'Famous' Wolf Is Killed Outside Yellowstone". New York Times.
- ^ Blakeslee, p. 139
- ^ Blakeslee, p. 7, pp. 229-233
- ^ Blakeslee, pp. 236-239
- ^ Ng, Christina (December 10, 2012). "Yellowstone's 'Famous' Alpha Wolf Shot and Killed". ABC News. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
- ^ Hull, Jeff (13 February 2013). "The Death of 832F, Yellowstone's Most Famous Wolf". Outside Online. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
- ^ Williams, Matt. "Yellowstone's popular alpha female wolf shot dead by hunters outside park". Retrieved 23 January 2020.
- ^ Worrall, Simon (November 11, 2017). "The 'Most Famous Wolf in the World' Lived Hard—and Died Tragically". National Geographic. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
- ^ Blakeslee, p.239
- ^ Robbins, Jim (November 30, 2018). "A Famous Alpha Wolf's Daughter, Spitfire, Is Killed by a Hunter". New York Times. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
- ^ Horton, Alex (December 2, 2018). "A hunter killed a legendary Yellowstone wolf. Years later, her cub died the same way". Washington Post. Retrieved 23 January 2020.