Yellowstone Devil Dog (Full Documentary)

you and so the early colonists in North America viewed wolves to know spawn of Satan and with those kind of attitudes it was no surprise that we purposely exterminated wolves from most of their range in North America wolves were once common from what is now Mexico City to the Arctic Ocean we eliminated them deliberately and for other social values [Music] some have called them devil dogs others have labeled them a success story but for centuries there's been a war on wolves in America ignited by those who make their livelihood in the West at its epicenter Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming America's oldest national park and the ecological capital of the continent [Music] many native residents to the state's surrounding Yellowstone claim that wolves are a threat to their lifestyle while wolf advocates say that they are needed in the ecosystem in the year 2012 during an annual Wyoming wolf Olympics is the most famous wolf in the world the alpha female of the Yellowstone habit was killed leaving her Parkman as a lone wolf battling for survival in the midst of his kind bleakest hour this one lone wolves story it could be the beacon of hope that will forever change America's perception of the wolf [Music] [Music] [Music] it is one of the last days of winter in the Rocky Mountains of Wyoming and in the early hours across the smoky hills a lone wolf solemnly makes his way back into the heart of Yellowstone he is a familiar face to this land he used to be his but his life has changed forever only three months ago his name is a number number 755 indicating that he is the 750 fifth wolf to be radio collared by wolf researchers for almost three years he was the alpha male of one of the parks most prosperous packs the Lamar canyons [Music] the Lamont Canyon pack was led by 7:55 and his dynamic partner who was nicknamed the o6 female and who many cited as the most famous wolf in the world together they led a pack of more than 10 wolves [Music] but in the last months of 2012 the middle of the wolf hunting season for the states of Montana Idaho and Wyoming the Lamar Canyon pack migrated out of the park boundaries and into the state of Wyoming and in that time both eo6 female and another member of the pack 7:55 brother were killed legally by a hunters bullet [Music] news of their deaths was published worldwide and conservationists roared an outcry against current wolf hunting policies [Music] the Lamar Canyon pack fell into disarray [Music] with all remaining females in the pack being related to him 7:55 was forced to break from his family he was soon replaced by other males [Music] for the aging 7:55 the life he once knew the back he once led and the stable future he once had in front of him were no longer a reality it has been several months since these events transpired in 755 - life and he now roams the slopes of Yellowstone seeking what food and company he can his coat which was once black is now turning gray due to his age he travels miles each day but he walks on dangerous ground he's currently wedged between the territories of at least two different wolf packs each of which would not hesitate to kill an intruder but as risky as this predicament is for him 7:55 has no other choice he must find a mate to have any chance at forming a new pack and the only way he can accomplish this is to coax a female from one of the rival backs so he'll stick around even if it means risking life and limb in the process hunting presents an altogether different challenge for lone wolves like 755 it is elk that are traditionally the favourite prey of wolves comprising 90% of their winter diet they were once a frequent meal for 7:55 when he was with this pack but as a loner bringing down an elk is difficult though not entirely impossible he soon has competition though for even these limited resources grizzly bears are just awakening from hibernation and haven't eaten anything for five months weighing up to 700 pounds they are icons of lost strength [Music] the reawakening of the bears is the first sign of the changing seasons with spring now very near on the horizon for all of Yellowstone more and more opportunities for food begin to present themselves as thick sheets of ice layering Yellowstone's ground begin to melt they exposed the remains of those animals that were unable to survive the winter nothing is more Impreza [Music] [Music] the smell of food hasn't escaped the careful nose of 755 either when large meals are few and far between the hungry take notice of anything even though a meal like this is a feast for a lone wolf 7:55 still approaches with caution a carcass can be a brutal playground for Yellowstone's scavengers and heavyweights [Music] this is the best meal he's had in the last week and in one day's time he makes the most of it a wolf can consume 20 pounds of food in one city if coyotes remain 7:55 only rivals at the carcass he just may have found himself a good meal to sustain him through the coming days but this is unlikely as Yellowstone's larger predators don't usually pass up a chance for a free meal the trouble is brewing on a different front for all wolves and their human advocates the annual period for harvesting wolves has come to an end for the year and the grim numbers have finally been tallied [Music] seven out of Yellowstone's 10 wolf packs had at least one member killed in the hunt 12 Park wolves totally lost their lives the park wolves however represent only a small fraction of the number of wolves killed in the state of Montana alone the catch was 233 and the most devastating blow could be still to come a proposition is made by the US Fish and Wildlife Service to remove protection for gray wolves in all of the continental United States wolves across the lower 48 could now face the same type of management as the wolves in Wyoming Montana and Idaho [Music] for a wolf that has experienced the hunting firsthand 7:55 knows its devastating effects his search for a new partner has now dragged on for months with nothing to show for his efforts but today before even the break of dawn he's been noticed it's a wolf that 7:55 is unfamiliar with a member of a rival pack but a 7:55 draws closer to the mystery he realizes that it's a female this could be his chance as long as the rest of her pack isn't close by it's dark but 7:55 must do what he can to impress her [Music] [Music] it quickly becomes clear though that she is not interested she won't risk abandoning the security of her pack to join company with a loner [Music] in only a few days time she returns to her back and 755 returns to being alone [Music] but 755 s troubles are only just beginning he needs to eat to stay strong but bears now dominate the Yellowstone landscape although 755 s thin frame is a fraction of a bear's body mass hunger now drives him to a carcass in an area frequented by Grizzlies his sense of smell soon alerts it [Music] [Music] but this isn't over yet 7:55 has escaped with his life in an encounter which could have claimed [Music] [Music] [Music] 7:55 must go back to the work of survival but luck may finally be on his side [Music] he spends the next several months paired with a new female she's only half his age but she does carry a limp that has the potential to hinder the couple's movements that is a risk 7:55 is willing to take through the fall and the winter the bear survives at last a full year after the death of 755 s famous mate he will have another chance to breed and potentially become the founder of a second pack the stakes have never been higher with the Denning season only a month away the task at 7:55 his partner now face is one that wolves in Yellowstone have completed for a thousand generations wild and untamed wolves ruled the wilderness of the Rocky Mountains up until the 19th century but in the late 1800s pressure began to build to eradicate wolves from Yellowstone cited as a threat to livestock and large game animals by Park administration wolves were trapped shot and poisoned for decades until the last Yellowstone wolves were killed in 1926 [Music] wolves remained absent from the park for almost seventy years until wildlife officials boldly reintroduced them in 1995 the backlash from residents proved to be immense as the population of wolves grew so did the controversy the annual hunting that the wolves endure today is a direct result of this worry and uproar that struck the hearts and minds of the public it proves to be a difficult time in the parks history for a wolf like 755 to try to start a family [Music] and finally the critical point has been reached regarding 755 s entire future it is time for his female partner to den and have their pups the time is right the conditions are right and the opportunity is there for the taking but 755 s partner doesn't den she has no pups not long after she parts ways with 7:55 once again he is without a family [Music] the wind of fate has carried the lone wolf to this very point in his life there is no hiding the fact that in his quest to return to glory he has failed to this point but while his goal lies unaccomplished success can be found in what his life has symbolized his story in many ways mirrors the long history of wolves in Yellowstone [Music] just as wolves once reigned as undisputed kings of the landscape so too did 755 reign as a true king among wolves the alpha male of a successful pack but like his ancestors at the turn of the century 7:55 was brought to a point of total devastation by the work of a bullet the journey to redemption for both the individual and the species has been long and arduous and is still incomplete [Music] until their role in the ecosystem is fully realized by the public wolves will remain fugitives in their own land and until 755 can become an alpha once again he will remain an icon for his persecuted species a tried and true Yellowstone devil dog [Music] [Music] you [Music] you [Music] you and I [Music] day [Music] but everything they say the shoulder all the blame when never once in pain [Music] you

Channel: Justin Myhre Productions

Views: 1,104,413

Rating: 4.517447 out of 5

Keywords: Yellowstone National Park (Protected Site), Gray Wolf (Animal), wolf, wolves, 755M, Yellowstone Devil Dog, animals, Wildlife (Film Subject), Wildlife Management (Field Of Study), Justin Myhre, Grizzly Bear (Animal), nature, ecosystem, hunting, trapping, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Rocky Mountains (Mountain Range), Documentary (TV Genre), Film Festival (Film Screening Venue), truewildlife, jmpwildlife, Justin Myhre Productions, Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (Mountain Range), livestock, 755

Id: Rb2nJJgaXnA

Length: 31min 28sec (1888 seconds)

Published: Sat Sep 06 2014