Wolves at Our Door (1997) Movie Script
1
They are shadow creatures whose world lies
beyond the edges of our own.
Elusive, constantly wary, they loom as
symbols of secrecy and menace.
Their very name, wolves, can evoke a sense
of dread.
In their songs we hear the untamed call of
the wild.
Since our earliest contacts, their true
nature has seemed veiled in mystery.
The natives who shared with them the woods
and plains of early North America
respected wolves as fellow
hunters, whose success,
like that of their own tribes,
depended on teamwork.
But to other societies, wolves were an
evil lurking in the night.
The bloodthirsty beasts We are back in the
depths of our dreams and nightmares.
Suggesting predators not merely strong,
but savage.
The question still puzzles us.
Is the wolf a proud animal to be revered?
Or a devil in the dark?
Today, one wolf pack has
accepted a human presence and
begun to reveal the secrets
of their long, hidden lives.
In contrast to the
sinister wolf of fairy tales,
recent studies reveal an
animal of great complexity.
Affectionate, playful, and
devoted to its companions,
it is the only large
predator in North America
The wolf pack, it turns out,
is not a random collection
of hunters, but an
extended, closely knit family.
Mother and father, brothers
and sisters, aunts and uncles,
all bound in a life of mutual
concern and common purpose.
In a remote area of Idaho's Sawtooth
Mountains, One of these studies has
focused for six years on
the behavior of a unique
family of wolves known
as the sawtooth pack.
To observe animals unapproachable in the
wild, the world's largest wolf enclosure
was constructed on the edge of wilderness,
providing sufficient freedom for wolves,
and a tented camp for
a crew of naturalists and
filmmakers who lived and
worked with wolves at their door.
The project grew from filmmaker Jim
Dutcher's desire to capture images of life
in a wolf pack, a nearly impossible
challenge in the wild.
Wolves are so wary of humans that they're
almost never seen in the wild,
let alone photographed.
I realized the only way to film such shy
animals was to form a captive pack of
wolves, familiar with
people, but left alone to
follow their own natural
behavior, their own rules.
It was vital to gain the pack's trust so I
could observe and film them in a relaxed,
untroubled state, very
different from the behavior of
wolves always on guard around
the scent and sight of humans.
While her husband filmed, Jamie Dutcher
recorded the intricate language of wolves.
We were extremely touched by the social
structure of a wolf family.
When the pack leader howls, it's often a
signal for the others to gather around him.
They would pay tribute and respect by
whining and licking his face.
With their heads and tails held
lower than his, you could see
the strict hierarchy that
maintains order within the pack.
Through displays of dominance
and submission, wolves
establish a social
ranking from top to bottom.
The rules can be tough,
but they're a relatively
bloodless way to determine
a proper place for each wolf.
It's not all competition, though.
The Dutchers often observe gestures of
kindness.
People often misread dominant wolf behavior
as fierceness, submission as weakness.
But in fact, such actions secure peace,
strengthen bonds, and above all reassure
each wolf that it belongs to this family,
This pack.
Such close cooperation can mean the
difference between life and death for
animals evolved to survive by hunting as a
team.
Whether the prey is a bull elk or only a
snowshoe hare, wolves know each other's
skills and pursue with a coordinated
strategy.
In the excitement of the hunt,
confusion could mean a missed opportunity.
Such cooperation defines a wolf family.
It has been observed that
wolves injured in a hunt
are often fed and cared
for by the rest of the pack.
The job of maintaining pack order falls
largely to the alpha, or leader.
In the sawtooth pack, the alpha is a male
called Kamots.
His story began as one of several puppies
raised initially in a pen at the camp.
We knew that adult wolves
might never trust us, so we
began by bottle feeding
pups at the age of two weeks.
By establishing a bond, we
hoped that they would accept us
without fear, but we made no
attempt to turn them into pets.
From the beginning, little Kamats was the
most spirited.
In the first howl, he seemed to us a born
alpha.
As the seasons pass, the qualities of
leadership emerge more clearly in Kamats.
He moves with a confidence characteristic
of alpha wolves.
Tail held high, ears forward, eyes alert.
He is large, approaching
130 pounds, and often
patrols on his own to
protect the pack's territory.
The largest undertaking of its kind,
situated on forest service land through a
special permit, the project affords the
sawtooth pack a kind of paradise existence.
The wolves live in a setting undisturbed
by civilization.
But unlike their endangered counterparts
in the wild, they roam free of threats
from wolf hunters and
trappers, with abundant space to
indulge in the natural
inclination of wolves to play.
Encouraged by the
well-being of the maturing
wolves, the Dutchess
decide three years into
He's going to make all the decisions.
Yeah?
Though the puppies will be kept separate
initially to grow accustomed to humans,
Jim introduces them to Kamats and the
others.
The pack eagerly inspects two
grey pups, a male and a female,
And a more reserved black female,
the duchess named Chamook.
Though commonly grey, nearly a third of
all wolves are black.
Relentlessly curious, the pups soon
overrun the crew's living quarters.
Despite a resemblance to domestic dog
puppies, wolf pups display greater
aggression, Revealing the innate wildness
that makes wolves inappropriate as pets.
The crew notices that the black pup,
Shamuk, explores mostly on her own.
As mischievous as her brother and sister,
but more solitary in nature.
Okay you guys, maybe this will keep you
out of trouble.
Come on.
As if foreshadowing the more severe
competition to come, the puppies clash
over a food bowl as if it were a fresh
kill.
Before joining the adult
pack, the puppies are
moved into a fenced
area surrounding the tents.
They begin to establish their own
hierarchy.
But the adult wolves ensure
that the skirmishes remain
harmless and a warning
arises if things escalate.
Pups now almost seven weeks old begin to
learn from their own kind.
The individual personalities now emerging
will soon determine their roles in the
One role in the pack is not sought,
but endured.
The pack Omega, lowest in rank,
must constantly yield to the others,
who often treat it as a scapegoat.
In the sawtooth pack, the Omega has long
been Lakota, the brother of Kamats,
the leader.
Omegas serve a useful function,
often being the leader of the pack.
Jim and his mother are trying to calm down
and defusing tension by initiating play.
But theirs is a difficult existence at the
fringes of pack society.
After weeks had passed, Jim decides the
time has come to release the pups,
now three months old, into the pack.
Pups and adults alike seem to sense It
seems that something is different this day.
Befitting his authority, Kamats is the
first to inspect his new charges.
Instincts govern.
The pups yield
immediately, presenting their
vulnerable undersides as a
sign of complete submission.
Any concern over acceptance of the pups
quickly vanishes.
The entire pack seems exhilarated by their
arrival.
Adult wolves love young puppies and devote
themselves to protecting, teaching and
nurturing them in the first months of
life.
But as they mature,
the pups will have to
establish their own position
in the pack hierarchy.
For the newcomers, social ranking may
already be underway.
While the gray pups integrate well with
the pack, the black pup, Chamook,
plays by herself.
Within a month, a harsh aspect of pack
life is revealed during feeding.
Though the pack can
hunt small game, the
Dutchers supplement
these meals with roadkill.
Deer, elk, and antelope.
Now three and a half months
and 40 pounds, the gray
pups meet no resistance
as they join the feast.
But the black pup, Chamook, stops short,
seeming to sense that she's unwelcome.
Tension prevails around a kill.
Tails tucked in apprehension, even the
gray pups keep a wary eye
And all keep an eye on Kamats,
the alpha, who wields absolute authority,
dictating who will eat and when.
Such dominance by a strong leader
establishes order in the pack,
and submission, in turn,
ensures harmony and stability,
enabling the group to
survive as a well-knit unit.
Hoping to eat, Chamook approaches.
An alpha seems to have favorites in the
pack.
No one knows why.
And the favorites can change.
But for now, Chamook is not among them.
In contrast, one adult devotes himself to
looking after the pups.
Matsi, second in
command as the beta wolf,
serves as the pack's puppy
sitter and peacemaker.
Perhaps accumulating allies for a future
role as alpha, but also benevolent in
nature, Matsi seems genuinely concerned
for each youngster.
Eventually, Chumuk will be allowed to eat,
but her rejection bodes well for another.
Years back in submission,
Lakota the Omega seeks
acceptance from Kamats as
if lobbying for a new position.
If the black pup Chamook
should become an Omega, the
hostility directed at Lakota
could diminish somewhat.
As the months pass, the growing pups seem
completely integrated into pack life.
The vitality of the pack pleases Jim
Dutcher, but he faces another concern.
Though a foundation he
created ensures the pack's
future care, the permit for
this land will soon expire.
He must find the pack a new home.
Questions over the future of the Sawtooth
Pack draw a visitor from across the state.
To the northwest of the project lie the
traditional homelands of the Nez Perce
tribe, A once powerful Indian nation that
long ago befriended Lewis and Clark.
Today a member of
the tribe pays a visit to
animals held in great
esteem by the Nez Perce.
Tribal council member
Carla High Eagle tells Jim that
her ancestors considered
wolves to be animal brothers.
The present leaders of the Nez Perce want
to learn more about the sawtooth pack.
Dutcher hopes the tribe might offer the
wolves a permanent home similar to this
one, on their reservation in northern
Idaho.
None of them will come to us if we ask
them to.
Everything is on their terms.
And this is the Omega?
Yeah, and he's at the bottom of the pack,
where Kamat is the leader.
Even though we have names for these
wolves, they don't respond to their names.
I don't think they even know their names.
Intent on finding the pack a lasting home,
Dutcher is encouraged.
The deliberations will take
time, but the Nez Perce will
consider leasing land as a
permanent home for the pack.
The snows of one winter seem quickly
followed by the snows of the next.
As nearly two years
pass, the pups turn to
full-sized pack members,
still habitually playful.
Chamook, alone as a pup, is now
increasingly eager to join in the play.
Chumuk's changing role seems due to
encouragement by the caretaker,
Matsi, both supervisor and participant in
the games.
While Lakota, the Omega, remains cautious
and apart.
Chumuk may We yet avoid the lonely role of
an Omega.
For wolves, as for humans, childhoods are
long.
In the constant exchanges of play,
lifelong bonds are formed between
individuals, and the entire family is
strengthened.
For the Dutchers, life with a wolf pack
imposes continual challenges.
Winters in the Sawtooth Mountains can
amass 200 inches of snow or more.
They pass months bundled in layers of
clothing, engaged in endless chores,
clearing snow so the roof won't collapse,
packing in supplies, repairing frozen
equipment, and keeping the path to the Yet
the hardships of winter have little effect
on the wolves, fashioned by evolution to
cope easily with cold and snow.
Narrow chests act like boat keels to plow
through deep drifts.
But competition, especially on kills,
is unrelenting.
Kamats, the alpha, announces
through body language and
sounds of dominance
that the kill is his to divide.
Every vocalization, from
growls to whines, has
meaning in the elaborate
language of the pack.
Now there's a change.
Chamook, driven away and made to wait as a
pup, is now allowed to eat.
But Lakota must wait.
His attempts to escape the Omega rule have
failed.
In a society where status is fluid,
however, Shamuk must remain cautious,
eyes trained warily on Kamats.
Aware of the risk, a hopeful Lakota
approaches.
Kamats notices.
Pack rules must be obeyed.
The Omega must wait.
While Kamats allows, the others gorge.
Because feeding can be infrequent in the
wild, wolves have developed the capacity
to consume up to 30 pounds in a single
meal.
Even ravens manage to feed before the
Omega.
Lakota turns to his only option.
He begs his brother for permission to
feed.
Kamat seems to relent.
But when Lakota tries to sneak some
scraps, the others turn on him.
Pack life is a marathon
of rejection for an omega,
but it offers more security
than a solitary existence.
So an animal like Lakota accepts his
treatment.
Though their jaws are strong
enough to crush the bones
of a moose, wolves rarely
injure an omega seriously.
He He is both an object of contempt and
care.
Eventually Lakota will be permitted to
eat.
But for now, he must wait.
Howling first as an
experiment, Jim found to
his surprise that the
pack often responded.
Bonds he established when they were
puppies
I would sit among the pack
in a submissive posture,
letting them know
that I wasn't any threat.
Wolves instinctively fear people,
but they're also friendly and curious
towards We're remarkably
alike in ways, devoted to our
families, concerned with
status, living as societies.
I believe in some way they regarded me as
a member of their pack.
Kamats would sometimes plop down next to
me and mimic whatever I did, even
extending a paw as if declaring me his
friend.
I can't think of a greater honor.
With the need to find a new home for the
pack still weighing on his mind,
Dutcher accompanies Carla High Eagle on a
winter visit to the pack.
She brings good news.
The Nez Perce will allow the foundation
Jim created to establish on tribal lands,
both research and education facilities, and
an equally large territory for the pack.
Jim must now devise a
way to move the wolves
and gauge the best
time for their relocation.
The Dutchers have now passed many years in
the remote, tented camp they call home.
Though the temperature on a night like
this will drop to minus 40, they try to
maintain some of the comforts of ordinary
life.
But the mood this evening is subdued.
The approaching relocation of the pack is
cause for relief, but it also means the
end of the project and of their
relationship with the wolves.
For many people, a night surrounded by
wolves would seem eerie.
But over the years, we've
grown so close to the
pack that their presence
nearby seemed comforting.
We would often lie awake
listening to them move about in
the dark and howl into the
absolute silence of the night.
As she has on so many other nights,
Jamie records the language of wolves.
Just as they have distinctive personalities,
wolves each have a unique howl.
Surprisingly, though he is
the lowest in rank, Lakota
the Omega has the loveliest
and most expressive voice.
Wolves howl for more reasons than we will
ever know.
To communicate with neighboring packs.
To express joy or sorrow.
To rally in solidarity.
There are few more complex or beautiful
voices in all of nature.
Hearing their conversations
made it feel as if
they were companions
sharing the night with us.
I can't imagine never hearing them again.
The pack awakens beneath an overnight
snowfall.
So little heat escapes their bodies that
snow does not melt on their fur.
A double coat of outer guard hairs and
under fur as dense as wool.
The three youngest wolves have now reached
maturity.
Two are females.
Chumuk, calm and watchful, and her sister,
called Waiakan, are the duchess.
Now almost 80 pounds, she towers over
Jamie.
And though Snowfall does not much alder
behavior, there is a new mood in the pack.
The breeding season has begun.
Jamie realizes that both Chumuk and her
sister Waiakan are in heat.
It has not gone unnoticed by the males in
the pack.
The alpha is usually the only male to
mate.
We expected him to choose one of the two
sisters, but which?
Why, Aiken seemed to us the likely
candidate.
But Kamats fastened his attention on
Chamook.
To our surprise, and perhaps to hers as
well.
She had risen a long way.
Once nearly an omega, she would now become
the maid of the leader.
Wolves normally pair off for life,
and now Shamuk would not only be the
mother in the family,
but the alpha female,
the dominant member
of the female hierarchy.
I remembered her as the little puppy who
played by herself.
We thought she might become an omega, but
now she was a chosen leader of the pack.
While her sister could only look on.
Attention turns to affection.
Usually, only the alpha pair mate.
The future size and
fate of the entire pack will
depend on the ritual of
breeding they now begin.
Gradually, the winds and warmth of
approaching spring
As the days lengthen in the Sawtooth
Mountains, the milder temperatures are
mirrored in the relaxed, sunny mood of the
pack.
Chamook, however, has seemed increasingly
withdrawn.
While the rest of the
family plays, it is noticed
that Chamook often
disappears for long periods.
Now, on a late April day, she slips away
on a solitary mission.
Curious, her sister Waiakan follows at a
distance.
In the past few weeks, she has burrowed
out a den.
This day, the time at hand, she seeks its
privacy.
For a few moments, the life of the pack
seems to stop in anticipation.
Few events so excite wolves
as the arrival of new puppies,
leading the entire pack to
gather with an air of celebration.
At two weeks, they emerge, eyes just
beginning to open.
Denied the role of mother, Wayakan seems
curious about the pups.
A new aunt, she
settles in to serve as a
babysitter, while Shamuk
takes a rest yards away.
All wolves adore puppies.
From the beginning,
they are cared for tenderly
by the entire pack
and bathed in affection.
The pack's excitement over new pups seems
to inspire a mood of contentment.
Now 11 in all, they sleep unaware that
their future holds momentous change.
As summer approaches,
daily life in the sawtooth
pack is still dominated by
the presence of puppies.
Long the pack puppy
sitter, the beta wolf Matsi
has again elected to
look after the young.
Though the entire pack helps to raise and
instruct the puppies, now nine weeks old,
Matsi seems uniquely devoted.
There are three, all born with boundless
energy and the urge to compete.
The Dutchers hope to reveal in their work
this hidden gentle side of wolves.
Believing them vicious,
we Westerners have killed
about two million wolves
since moving to North America.
Although records show wild wolves have
killed none of us.
But none of us have
previously had Shamook will
enjoy the benefit of
seeing their family life.
Kamats will discipline gently and teach.
Shamook will remain a vigilant mother.
But all of the adults will share in the
task of watching over the puppies.
Sometimes, it's all they can handle.
As I watched the pack interact with Jamie,
I realized the time had come to move them.
They were calm and happy, and the puppies
would be a distraction as the wolves
confronted We had a new and unfamiliar
setting.
We decided it was time to make preparations
to move the pack and say goodbye.
For two weeks, the pack follows
its normal routines, unaware a
plan is being devised that
will dramatically alter their lives.
To minimize stress, the Dutchers and their
crew set transport crates The pups are in
the pack's territory in advance,
giving them time to inspect and grow
familiar with objects they've never before
encountered.
The crew hopes to anticipate and prevent
any development that could frighten the
wolves, potentially breaking bonds
carefully nurtured.
The adults are leery at first,
but the pups seem merely inquisitive,
Unlikely to be bothered by the move at
all.
The day of the move is one of tension and
deep concern.
Like a worried father, Jim carefully
supervises every step.
The crew injects a sedative to ease the
transfer into crates, taking every
precaution to avoid causing trauma and
making the wolves fearful.
The puppies need no sedative and seem to
take it all in stride.
They depart late in the afternoon,
judging that travel in the cool of the
night will be least stressful for the
wolves.
Behind the pack
leaves the familiar sights
and smells of a home
they'll never see again.
Ahead, a 10-hour drive northward through
the night to Winchester, Idaho.
Amnesperse tribal land early the next
morning.
The Dutchers and
their crew will learn if
the move has dramatically
affected the pack.
Carla High Eagle waits to welcome the
wolves on her tribe's behalf.
At first glance, the wolves seem anxious,
but unharmed.
Jim decides to release the puppies first.
They seem a little bewildered,
but undisturbed.
Kamats is next.
The alpha is cautious, but does not appear
upset.
Matsi, the caretaker, also in good shape.
The pack has come through the experience
without distress.
In the last crate, more nervous than the
others, Lakota, the omega, holds back.
Both leader and brother, Kamats encourages
him.
Lakota emerges, careful not to wander far
from his brother's side.
The adjustment to new surroundings is
swift.
Romping excitedly, they set out to
explore, using scent as much as sight.
Where humans would
smell only forest, the pack
smells the forest's
thousands of separate aromas.
Discovering the kind
of rocky vantage point
wolves love, Kamots
rallies the pack around him.
For the Dutchers, the pack's happiness
This is a tremendous relief.
For the Nez Perce, it's an opportunity to
rekindle a close association from the past.
Through Carla and the Nez
Perce, we've come to understand
that the tribe and the wolf
share a common heritage.
Both nearly annihilated, both have managed
to survive.
By providing land so my crew and the
Foundation can continue to care for and
study the wolves, the Nez Perce now offer
the sawtooth pack a chance to live on,
and to reveal to humanity the gentle side
of animals so long misunderstood.
Before the Duchess say their final
farewells to the pack, the tribe greets
the wolves with a time-honored ceremony of
welcome.
The ancient tradition
invoked in song was one
of deep respect for
the spirit of the wolf.
Most Native Americans regarded wolves not
as enemies, but teachers.
They sought to emulate the cohesiveness
and self-sacrifice of wolf families.
To imitate the alertness of the wolf as
they hunted.
Its courage as they rode to battle.
Many revered the wolf as an embodiment of
their own cherished ideal.
Both a strong and proud individual and a
fiercely loyal member of the tribe.
For Jim Dutcher, the
time has come to relinquish
custody of wolves
he knows as friends.
...that will last a lifetime.
And so, for me, it's farewell to the
Sawtooth Pack and goodbye to Natomo and
Amani, Lakota, Shamook, Waiakan,
and Wahats.
And I always have two special ones.
Matsi, sweet and brave.
And Kamats, the leader of the pack,
the alpha leader.
Thank you.
Amid the echoes of drums
and history, in a setting
reminiscent of an earlier time,
the years of companionship end
The myth of wolves as vicious beasts seems
far removed this day, replaced by an image
of curious and intelligent
animals bonded to their
families and gentle
towards humans they trust.
Now, a bittersweet moment.
It is time for the duchess to say goodbye.
One friend at a time.
Lakota is first.
I'm going to miss you guys.
Now Kamots, the leader, approaches.
As so often before, with paw extended in
friendship.
Finally, Matsi.
Sweet, brave, protector and peacemaker.
Perhaps the hardest for Jim to lead.
You're always going to be on my mind.
You'll always be in my heart.
I think
I'm going to miss you.
Affectionate, but still wild, they turn
back toward their new destiny.
Here they will remain unique
ambassadors for their kind,
displaying the true nature
Dutcher has come to know.
Caring animals, devoted above all else to
their family.
During all my film projects, I've
developed close connections with the
animals, but none so strong as with these
wolves.
I will never forget my time with them.
After all, I was there bottle-feeding them
when they first opened their eyes.
What wonderful, rich memories I have of
the joy they seemed to express when we
returned to camp, or the sad howls when we
departed.
I actually believe they will miss us as
much as we will From the stem.
Our bond is that strong.
They are shadow creatures whose world lies
beyond the edges of our own.
Elusive, constantly wary, they loom as
symbols of secrecy and menace.
Their very name, wolves, can evoke a sense
of dread.
In their songs we hear the untamed call of
the wild.
Since our earliest contacts, their true
nature has seemed veiled in mystery.
The natives who shared with them the woods
and plains of early North America
respected wolves as fellow
hunters, whose success,
like that of their own tribes,
depended on teamwork.
But to other societies, wolves were an
evil lurking in the night.
The bloodthirsty beasts We are back in the
depths of our dreams and nightmares.
Suggesting predators not merely strong,
but savage.
The question still puzzles us.
Is the wolf a proud animal to be revered?
Or a devil in the dark?
Today, one wolf pack has
accepted a human presence and
begun to reveal the secrets
of their long, hidden lives.
In contrast to the
sinister wolf of fairy tales,
recent studies reveal an
animal of great complexity.
Affectionate, playful, and
devoted to its companions,
it is the only large
predator in North America
The wolf pack, it turns out,
is not a random collection
of hunters, but an
extended, closely knit family.
Mother and father, brothers
and sisters, aunts and uncles,
all bound in a life of mutual
concern and common purpose.
In a remote area of Idaho's Sawtooth
Mountains, One of these studies has
focused for six years on
the behavior of a unique
family of wolves known
as the sawtooth pack.
To observe animals unapproachable in the
wild, the world's largest wolf enclosure
was constructed on the edge of wilderness,
providing sufficient freedom for wolves,
and a tented camp for
a crew of naturalists and
filmmakers who lived and
worked with wolves at their door.
The project grew from filmmaker Jim
Dutcher's desire to capture images of life
in a wolf pack, a nearly impossible
challenge in the wild.
Wolves are so wary of humans that they're
almost never seen in the wild,
let alone photographed.
I realized the only way to film such shy
animals was to form a captive pack of
wolves, familiar with
people, but left alone to
follow their own natural
behavior, their own rules.
It was vital to gain the pack's trust so I
could observe and film them in a relaxed,
untroubled state, very
different from the behavior of
wolves always on guard around
the scent and sight of humans.
While her husband filmed, Jamie Dutcher
recorded the intricate language of wolves.
We were extremely touched by the social
structure of a wolf family.
When the pack leader howls, it's often a
signal for the others to gather around him.
They would pay tribute and respect by
whining and licking his face.
With their heads and tails held
lower than his, you could see
the strict hierarchy that
maintains order within the pack.
Through displays of dominance
and submission, wolves
establish a social
ranking from top to bottom.
The rules can be tough,
but they're a relatively
bloodless way to determine
a proper place for each wolf.
It's not all competition, though.
The Dutchers often observe gestures of
kindness.
People often misread dominant wolf behavior
as fierceness, submission as weakness.
But in fact, such actions secure peace,
strengthen bonds, and above all reassure
each wolf that it belongs to this family,
This pack.
Such close cooperation can mean the
difference between life and death for
animals evolved to survive by hunting as a
team.
Whether the prey is a bull elk or only a
snowshoe hare, wolves know each other's
skills and pursue with a coordinated
strategy.
In the excitement of the hunt,
confusion could mean a missed opportunity.
Such cooperation defines a wolf family.
It has been observed that
wolves injured in a hunt
are often fed and cared
for by the rest of the pack.
The job of maintaining pack order falls
largely to the alpha, or leader.
In the sawtooth pack, the alpha is a male
called Kamots.
His story began as one of several puppies
raised initially in a pen at the camp.
We knew that adult wolves
might never trust us, so we
began by bottle feeding
pups at the age of two weeks.
By establishing a bond, we
hoped that they would accept us
without fear, but we made no
attempt to turn them into pets.
From the beginning, little Kamats was the
most spirited.
In the first howl, he seemed to us a born
alpha.
As the seasons pass, the qualities of
leadership emerge more clearly in Kamats.
He moves with a confidence characteristic
of alpha wolves.
Tail held high, ears forward, eyes alert.
He is large, approaching
130 pounds, and often
patrols on his own to
protect the pack's territory.
The largest undertaking of its kind,
situated on forest service land through a
special permit, the project affords the
sawtooth pack a kind of paradise existence.
The wolves live in a setting undisturbed
by civilization.
But unlike their endangered counterparts
in the wild, they roam free of threats
from wolf hunters and
trappers, with abundant space to
indulge in the natural
inclination of wolves to play.
Encouraged by the
well-being of the maturing
wolves, the Dutchess
decide three years into
He's going to make all the decisions.
Yeah?
Though the puppies will be kept separate
initially to grow accustomed to humans,
Jim introduces them to Kamats and the
others.
The pack eagerly inspects two
grey pups, a male and a female,
And a more reserved black female,
the duchess named Chamook.
Though commonly grey, nearly a third of
all wolves are black.
Relentlessly curious, the pups soon
overrun the crew's living quarters.
Despite a resemblance to domestic dog
puppies, wolf pups display greater
aggression, Revealing the innate wildness
that makes wolves inappropriate as pets.
The crew notices that the black pup,
Shamuk, explores mostly on her own.
As mischievous as her brother and sister,
but more solitary in nature.
Okay you guys, maybe this will keep you
out of trouble.
Come on.
As if foreshadowing the more severe
competition to come, the puppies clash
over a food bowl as if it were a fresh
kill.
Before joining the adult
pack, the puppies are
moved into a fenced
area surrounding the tents.
They begin to establish their own
hierarchy.
But the adult wolves ensure
that the skirmishes remain
harmless and a warning
arises if things escalate.
Pups now almost seven weeks old begin to
learn from their own kind.
The individual personalities now emerging
will soon determine their roles in the
One role in the pack is not sought,
but endured.
The pack Omega, lowest in rank,
must constantly yield to the others,
who often treat it as a scapegoat.
In the sawtooth pack, the Omega has long
been Lakota, the brother of Kamats,
the leader.
Omegas serve a useful function,
often being the leader of the pack.
Jim and his mother are trying to calm down
and defusing tension by initiating play.
But theirs is a difficult existence at the
fringes of pack society.
After weeks had passed, Jim decides the
time has come to release the pups,
now three months old, into the pack.
Pups and adults alike seem to sense It
seems that something is different this day.
Befitting his authority, Kamats is the
first to inspect his new charges.
Instincts govern.
The pups yield
immediately, presenting their
vulnerable undersides as a
sign of complete submission.
Any concern over acceptance of the pups
quickly vanishes.
The entire pack seems exhilarated by their
arrival.
Adult wolves love young puppies and devote
themselves to protecting, teaching and
nurturing them in the first months of
life.
But as they mature,
the pups will have to
establish their own position
in the pack hierarchy.
For the newcomers, social ranking may
already be underway.
While the gray pups integrate well with
the pack, the black pup, Chamook,
plays by herself.
Within a month, a harsh aspect of pack
life is revealed during feeding.
Though the pack can
hunt small game, the
Dutchers supplement
these meals with roadkill.
Deer, elk, and antelope.
Now three and a half months
and 40 pounds, the gray
pups meet no resistance
as they join the feast.
But the black pup, Chamook, stops short,
seeming to sense that she's unwelcome.
Tension prevails around a kill.
Tails tucked in apprehension, even the
gray pups keep a wary eye
And all keep an eye on Kamats,
the alpha, who wields absolute authority,
dictating who will eat and when.
Such dominance by a strong leader
establishes order in the pack,
and submission, in turn,
ensures harmony and stability,
enabling the group to
survive as a well-knit unit.
Hoping to eat, Chamook approaches.
An alpha seems to have favorites in the
pack.
No one knows why.
And the favorites can change.
But for now, Chamook is not among them.
In contrast, one adult devotes himself to
looking after the pups.
Matsi, second in
command as the beta wolf,
serves as the pack's puppy
sitter and peacemaker.
Perhaps accumulating allies for a future
role as alpha, but also benevolent in
nature, Matsi seems genuinely concerned
for each youngster.
Eventually, Chumuk will be allowed to eat,
but her rejection bodes well for another.
Years back in submission,
Lakota the Omega seeks
acceptance from Kamats as
if lobbying for a new position.
If the black pup Chamook
should become an Omega, the
hostility directed at Lakota
could diminish somewhat.
As the months pass, the growing pups seem
completely integrated into pack life.
The vitality of the pack pleases Jim
Dutcher, but he faces another concern.
Though a foundation he
created ensures the pack's
future care, the permit for
this land will soon expire.
He must find the pack a new home.
Questions over the future of the Sawtooth
Pack draw a visitor from across the state.
To the northwest of the project lie the
traditional homelands of the Nez Perce
tribe, A once powerful Indian nation that
long ago befriended Lewis and Clark.
Today a member of
the tribe pays a visit to
animals held in great
esteem by the Nez Perce.
Tribal council member
Carla High Eagle tells Jim that
her ancestors considered
wolves to be animal brothers.
The present leaders of the Nez Perce want
to learn more about the sawtooth pack.
Dutcher hopes the tribe might offer the
wolves a permanent home similar to this
one, on their reservation in northern
Idaho.
None of them will come to us if we ask
them to.
Everything is on their terms.
And this is the Omega?
Yeah, and he's at the bottom of the pack,
where Kamat is the leader.
Even though we have names for these
wolves, they don't respond to their names.
I don't think they even know their names.
Intent on finding the pack a lasting home,
Dutcher is encouraged.
The deliberations will take
time, but the Nez Perce will
consider leasing land as a
permanent home for the pack.
The snows of one winter seem quickly
followed by the snows of the next.
As nearly two years
pass, the pups turn to
full-sized pack members,
still habitually playful.
Chamook, alone as a pup, is now
increasingly eager to join in the play.
Chumuk's changing role seems due to
encouragement by the caretaker,
Matsi, both supervisor and participant in
the games.
While Lakota, the Omega, remains cautious
and apart.
Chumuk may We yet avoid the lonely role of
an Omega.
For wolves, as for humans, childhoods are
long.
In the constant exchanges of play,
lifelong bonds are formed between
individuals, and the entire family is
strengthened.
For the Dutchers, life with a wolf pack
imposes continual challenges.
Winters in the Sawtooth Mountains can
amass 200 inches of snow or more.
They pass months bundled in layers of
clothing, engaged in endless chores,
clearing snow so the roof won't collapse,
packing in supplies, repairing frozen
equipment, and keeping the path to the Yet
the hardships of winter have little effect
on the wolves, fashioned by evolution to
cope easily with cold and snow.
Narrow chests act like boat keels to plow
through deep drifts.
But competition, especially on kills,
is unrelenting.
Kamats, the alpha, announces
through body language and
sounds of dominance
that the kill is his to divide.
Every vocalization, from
growls to whines, has
meaning in the elaborate
language of the pack.
Now there's a change.
Chamook, driven away and made to wait as a
pup, is now allowed to eat.
But Lakota must wait.
His attempts to escape the Omega rule have
failed.
In a society where status is fluid,
however, Shamuk must remain cautious,
eyes trained warily on Kamats.
Aware of the risk, a hopeful Lakota
approaches.
Kamats notices.
Pack rules must be obeyed.
The Omega must wait.
While Kamats allows, the others gorge.
Because feeding can be infrequent in the
wild, wolves have developed the capacity
to consume up to 30 pounds in a single
meal.
Even ravens manage to feed before the
Omega.
Lakota turns to his only option.
He begs his brother for permission to
feed.
Kamat seems to relent.
But when Lakota tries to sneak some
scraps, the others turn on him.
Pack life is a marathon
of rejection for an omega,
but it offers more security
than a solitary existence.
So an animal like Lakota accepts his
treatment.
Though their jaws are strong
enough to crush the bones
of a moose, wolves rarely
injure an omega seriously.
He He is both an object of contempt and
care.
Eventually Lakota will be permitted to
eat.
But for now, he must wait.
Howling first as an
experiment, Jim found to
his surprise that the
pack often responded.
Bonds he established when they were
puppies
I would sit among the pack
in a submissive posture,
letting them know
that I wasn't any threat.
Wolves instinctively fear people,
but they're also friendly and curious
towards We're remarkably
alike in ways, devoted to our
families, concerned with
status, living as societies.
I believe in some way they regarded me as
a member of their pack.
Kamats would sometimes plop down next to
me and mimic whatever I did, even
extending a paw as if declaring me his
friend.
I can't think of a greater honor.
With the need to find a new home for the
pack still weighing on his mind,
Dutcher accompanies Carla High Eagle on a
winter visit to the pack.
She brings good news.
The Nez Perce will allow the foundation
Jim created to establish on tribal lands,
both research and education facilities, and
an equally large territory for the pack.
Jim must now devise a
way to move the wolves
and gauge the best
time for their relocation.
The Dutchers have now passed many years in
the remote, tented camp they call home.
Though the temperature on a night like
this will drop to minus 40, they try to
maintain some of the comforts of ordinary
life.
But the mood this evening is subdued.
The approaching relocation of the pack is
cause for relief, but it also means the
end of the project and of their
relationship with the wolves.
For many people, a night surrounded by
wolves would seem eerie.
But over the years, we've
grown so close to the
pack that their presence
nearby seemed comforting.
We would often lie awake
listening to them move about in
the dark and howl into the
absolute silence of the night.
As she has on so many other nights,
Jamie records the language of wolves.
Just as they have distinctive personalities,
wolves each have a unique howl.
Surprisingly, though he is
the lowest in rank, Lakota
the Omega has the loveliest
and most expressive voice.
Wolves howl for more reasons than we will
ever know.
To communicate with neighboring packs.
To express joy or sorrow.
To rally in solidarity.
There are few more complex or beautiful
voices in all of nature.
Hearing their conversations
made it feel as if
they were companions
sharing the night with us.
I can't imagine never hearing them again.
The pack awakens beneath an overnight
snowfall.
So little heat escapes their bodies that
snow does not melt on their fur.
A double coat of outer guard hairs and
under fur as dense as wool.
The three youngest wolves have now reached
maturity.
Two are females.
Chumuk, calm and watchful, and her sister,
called Waiakan, are the duchess.
Now almost 80 pounds, she towers over
Jamie.
And though Snowfall does not much alder
behavior, there is a new mood in the pack.
The breeding season has begun.
Jamie realizes that both Chumuk and her
sister Waiakan are in heat.
It has not gone unnoticed by the males in
the pack.
The alpha is usually the only male to
mate.
We expected him to choose one of the two
sisters, but which?
Why, Aiken seemed to us the likely
candidate.
But Kamats fastened his attention on
Chamook.
To our surprise, and perhaps to hers as
well.
She had risen a long way.
Once nearly an omega, she would now become
the maid of the leader.
Wolves normally pair off for life,
and now Shamuk would not only be the
mother in the family,
but the alpha female,
the dominant member
of the female hierarchy.
I remembered her as the little puppy who
played by herself.
We thought she might become an omega, but
now she was a chosen leader of the pack.
While her sister could only look on.
Attention turns to affection.
Usually, only the alpha pair mate.
The future size and
fate of the entire pack will
depend on the ritual of
breeding they now begin.
Gradually, the winds and warmth of
approaching spring
As the days lengthen in the Sawtooth
Mountains, the milder temperatures are
mirrored in the relaxed, sunny mood of the
pack.
Chamook, however, has seemed increasingly
withdrawn.
While the rest of the
family plays, it is noticed
that Chamook often
disappears for long periods.
Now, on a late April day, she slips away
on a solitary mission.
Curious, her sister Waiakan follows at a
distance.
In the past few weeks, she has burrowed
out a den.
This day, the time at hand, she seeks its
privacy.
For a few moments, the life of the pack
seems to stop in anticipation.
Few events so excite wolves
as the arrival of new puppies,
leading the entire pack to
gather with an air of celebration.
At two weeks, they emerge, eyes just
beginning to open.
Denied the role of mother, Wayakan seems
curious about the pups.
A new aunt, she
settles in to serve as a
babysitter, while Shamuk
takes a rest yards away.
All wolves adore puppies.
From the beginning,
they are cared for tenderly
by the entire pack
and bathed in affection.
The pack's excitement over new pups seems
to inspire a mood of contentment.
Now 11 in all, they sleep unaware that
their future holds momentous change.
As summer approaches,
daily life in the sawtooth
pack is still dominated by
the presence of puppies.
Long the pack puppy
sitter, the beta wolf Matsi
has again elected to
look after the young.
Though the entire pack helps to raise and
instruct the puppies, now nine weeks old,
Matsi seems uniquely devoted.
There are three, all born with boundless
energy and the urge to compete.
The Dutchers hope to reveal in their work
this hidden gentle side of wolves.
Believing them vicious,
we Westerners have killed
about two million wolves
since moving to North America.
Although records show wild wolves have
killed none of us.
But none of us have
previously had Shamook will
enjoy the benefit of
seeing their family life.
Kamats will discipline gently and teach.
Shamook will remain a vigilant mother.
But all of the adults will share in the
task of watching over the puppies.
Sometimes, it's all they can handle.
As I watched the pack interact with Jamie,
I realized the time had come to move them.
They were calm and happy, and the puppies
would be a distraction as the wolves
confronted We had a new and unfamiliar
setting.
We decided it was time to make preparations
to move the pack and say goodbye.
For two weeks, the pack follows
its normal routines, unaware a
plan is being devised that
will dramatically alter their lives.
To minimize stress, the Dutchers and their
crew set transport crates The pups are in
the pack's territory in advance,
giving them time to inspect and grow
familiar with objects they've never before
encountered.
The crew hopes to anticipate and prevent
any development that could frighten the
wolves, potentially breaking bonds
carefully nurtured.
The adults are leery at first,
but the pups seem merely inquisitive,
Unlikely to be bothered by the move at
all.
The day of the move is one of tension and
deep concern.
Like a worried father, Jim carefully
supervises every step.
The crew injects a sedative to ease the
transfer into crates, taking every
precaution to avoid causing trauma and
making the wolves fearful.
The puppies need no sedative and seem to
take it all in stride.
They depart late in the afternoon,
judging that travel in the cool of the
night will be least stressful for the
wolves.
Behind the pack
leaves the familiar sights
and smells of a home
they'll never see again.
Ahead, a 10-hour drive northward through
the night to Winchester, Idaho.
Amnesperse tribal land early the next
morning.
The Dutchers and
their crew will learn if
the move has dramatically
affected the pack.
Carla High Eagle waits to welcome the
wolves on her tribe's behalf.
At first glance, the wolves seem anxious,
but unharmed.
Jim decides to release the puppies first.
They seem a little bewildered,
but undisturbed.
Kamats is next.
The alpha is cautious, but does not appear
upset.
Matsi, the caretaker, also in good shape.
The pack has come through the experience
without distress.
In the last crate, more nervous than the
others, Lakota, the omega, holds back.
Both leader and brother, Kamats encourages
him.
Lakota emerges, careful not to wander far
from his brother's side.
The adjustment to new surroundings is
swift.
Romping excitedly, they set out to
explore, using scent as much as sight.
Where humans would
smell only forest, the pack
smells the forest's
thousands of separate aromas.
Discovering the kind
of rocky vantage point
wolves love, Kamots
rallies the pack around him.
For the Dutchers, the pack's happiness
This is a tremendous relief.
For the Nez Perce, it's an opportunity to
rekindle a close association from the past.
Through Carla and the Nez
Perce, we've come to understand
that the tribe and the wolf
share a common heritage.
Both nearly annihilated, both have managed
to survive.
By providing land so my crew and the
Foundation can continue to care for and
study the wolves, the Nez Perce now offer
the sawtooth pack a chance to live on,
and to reveal to humanity the gentle side
of animals so long misunderstood.
Before the Duchess say their final
farewells to the pack, the tribe greets
the wolves with a time-honored ceremony of
welcome.
The ancient tradition
invoked in song was one
of deep respect for
the spirit of the wolf.
Most Native Americans regarded wolves not
as enemies, but teachers.
They sought to emulate the cohesiveness
and self-sacrifice of wolf families.
To imitate the alertness of the wolf as
they hunted.
Its courage as they rode to battle.
Many revered the wolf as an embodiment of
their own cherished ideal.
Both a strong and proud individual and a
fiercely loyal member of the tribe.
For Jim Dutcher, the
time has come to relinquish
custody of wolves
he knows as friends.
...that will last a lifetime.
And so, for me, it's farewell to the
Sawtooth Pack and goodbye to Natomo and
Amani, Lakota, Shamook, Waiakan,
and Wahats.
And I always have two special ones.
Matsi, sweet and brave.
And Kamats, the leader of the pack,
the alpha leader.
Thank you.
Amid the echoes of drums
and history, in a setting
reminiscent of an earlier time,
the years of companionship end
The myth of wolves as vicious beasts seems
far removed this day, replaced by an image
of curious and intelligent
animals bonded to their
families and gentle
towards humans they trust.
Now, a bittersweet moment.
It is time for the duchess to say goodbye.
One friend at a time.
Lakota is first.
I'm going to miss you guys.
Now Kamots, the leader, approaches.
As so often before, with paw extended in
friendship.
Finally, Matsi.
Sweet, brave, protector and peacemaker.
Perhaps the hardest for Jim to lead.
You're always going to be on my mind.
You'll always be in my heart.
I think
I'm going to miss you.
Affectionate, but still wild, they turn
back toward their new destiny.
Here they will remain unique
ambassadors for their kind,
displaying the true nature
Dutcher has come to know.
Caring animals, devoted above all else to
their family.
During all my film projects, I've
developed close connections with the
animals, but none so strong as with these
wolves.
I will never forget my time with them.
After all, I was there bottle-feeding them
when they first opened their eyes.
What wonderful, rich memories I have of
the joy they seemed to express when we
returned to camp, or the sad howls when we
departed.
I actually believe they will miss us as
much as we will From the stem.
Our bond is that strong.