Watching Yellowstone's Wolves

Rick McIntyre, a Yellowstone employee, seated, tells visitors from the Netherlands about the park's wolves. McIntyre watches the animals daily. (By Brett French -- Billings Gazette Via AP)

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The first glimpse of a wolf in the wild has driven some visitors to tears, McIntyre says.

Justin Hill, from Rapid City, S.D., drove nine hours to get here: "They're mysterious. You really can't go anywhere else in the U.S. to see them."

"We need something to control the elk and buffalo," says Don O'Neil, of Butte, Mont., as he peers through his viewing scope.

Why does he love the wolves so much?

"The sheer wildness of it. This is something we haven't had for a while. Wolves are wild."

But maybe not quite wild enough: There are fears that some of the wolves are becoming tolerant of the presence of human beings. Park rangers last year decided that one had lost its fear altogether when it repeatedly came near people.

At one point the wolf walked right behind a woman as she was bending over tying her shoe. Park officials intended to kill that wolf, but it vanished. No one is sure what happened to it.

Meanwhile there is another wolf that scientists are monitoring, a male from Idaho. The conservationists, biologists, government officials and lawyers for the various litigating organizations are all waiting to see if the Idaho wolves can make a genetic connection with the Yellowstone wolves. But so far, the Idaho male hasn't bred or formed a pack.

He's just roaming -- a lone wolf.

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