72 pages • 2 hours read
Rosanne Parry, Illustr. Mónica ArmiñoA Wolf Called Wander
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2019A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Background
Historical Context: OR-7 (“Journey”)
A Wolf Called Wander is based upon the documented travels of a real wolf bearing the GPS tag identifier OR-7, also known as Journey. In 2011, this young male wolf left his birth pack and traversed an exceptional distance of 1,000 miles at a rate of approximately 15 miles per day. Beginning in northwestern Oregon near the Idaho border, OR-7 traveled southwest across the state of Oregon and into California before returning to and settling in western Oregon. It is not known why OR-7 left his birth pack and traveled such a significant distance, but young male wolves will often strike out on their own in search of a mate or more abundant hunting grounds should the circumstances in their own pack become unsuitable.
OR-7 was the first wolf to make his presence known in California since 1924, and the first wolf to do the same in western Oregon since 1947. Prior to his appearance, wolves had been systematically eliminated across the United States as a result of streamlined, calculated hunting practices meant to eradicate the species. As of the early 2020s, wild packs of wolves have only been reintroduced to certain regions of the country, a process that began with the restoration of wolves to Yellowstone National Park in 1995.
By 2014, it was discovered that OR-7 had found a mate and that she was closely related to members of a wolf pack from the eastern portion of Oregon. In 2015, the group was named the Rogue Pack when they settled in an area around Medford, Oregon. Members of their litters have gone on to produce at least two independent packs in northern California. The batteries in OR-7’s collar expired in 2015, and no efforts were made to resume tracking him, but OR-7 was continually spotted via trail cameras and other research devices placed in the field to monitor wolf populations. In April 2020, it was presumed that OR-7 had passed away, for if he survived that long, it would have placed his age at approximately 10 years, a remarkable feat of longevity for a wild American gray wolf.
Scientific Context: North American Wolf Pack Dynamics
Wolf pups are born in litters of two to ten pups, with four to seven representing the highest range of incidence. Most packs either have one breeding pair, or in larger packs, multiple breeding females or multiple breeding males, but not both. Wolf pups are deaf and blind at birth and gain two to three pounds a week by suckling from their mother to grow and thrive. By the time they are approximately two years old, young wolves are ready to begin breeding young of their own. Young wolves are watched by designated pack members who closely monitor them as they begin to venture outside the pack’s den. They are given strict boundaries for their close range and are heavily guarded against predators like bears and other wolves. Wolf pups learn by exploring their environment and observing their leaders and elders, mirroring the behaviors that they see in their pack mates. Older siblings help with the rearing and feeding of younger pups, who progress from drinking their mother’s milk to eating scraps of elk (and musk ox, in certain climates). The meat is hunted and masticated for them and placed directly into their mouths by their elders. Wolf puppies are very affectionate with their family members and enjoy being near the older wolves. Some elders are patient while others are rough and aggressive, a dynamic that serves to teach the youngsters different abilities such as developing their motor skills and practicing hunting techniques. Pack members sleep up to three hours per day when they are not actively hunting.
It is said that “wolves feed themselves with their feet,” as each pack has a range of between 50 and 1,000 square miles that they claim for their own use and defend with great ferocity. Elder wolves in leadership positions regularly follow a circuit for territory marking, making certain that their scent remains fresh and pungent so as to be perceptible to other animals. Adult wolves will mark physical boundary perimeters as well as specific preferred places and objects like animal carcasses. In addition to their urine marking, scent glands between the wolves’ toes leave another kind of scent mark, which is passively left behind by the normal tread style and amplified if they choose to drag and dig their feet into the ground to more explicitly communicate with fellow wolves and other animals. Adult wolves have no natural predators, but researchers have determined that, as happened to Wander’s family, one of the greatest threats to wolf mortality is other wolves, particularly in instances when packs war over territory.
