The Science Life Animals

How Yellowstone wolves got their own Ancestry.com page

Since reintroduction, 25 years of passionate watching has chronicled life, death and puppies

Wolf in Yellowstone National Park

One of the wolves popular among visitors to Yellowstone National Park is the alpha female of the Wapiti Lake pack (photographed in June 2020). A small irritation in one eye may come from a scratch from this year’s puppies.

Julie Argyle/Wild Love Images

By Susan Milius

- More than 2 years ago

Wildlife ecologist Jim Halfpenny was standing by the stone arch at the north entrance to Yellowstone National Park on January 12, 1995, when horse trailers eased through carrying the first wild gray wolves to enter the park in about 60 years.