George Bumann “Border Patrol” – Yellowstone’s Wolf 21, bronze sculpture, 69″ x 41″ x 46″ (life-size, Ed. #7/7)

WOLF 21’s STORY: “Born in the first litter of wolves in the Yellowstone area in almost 70 years, Wolf 21M was among the eight pups rescued from Red Lodge, Montana after the poaching of their father, Wolf 10, and was visited at the Rose Creek wolf pen in Lamar Valley in 1995 by then president, Bill Clinton. Having left the ‘fold’ of his natal pack – the Rose Creek pack, he quickly became one of the most recognized wolves in Yellowstone as the alpha male of the Druid Peak Pack and was featured on National Geographic’s Wolves—A Legend Returns to Yellowstone. In this film, Bob Landis filmed his acceptance into the pack as the new alpha male— a first in cinematic history. As alpha male of the Druid Peak Pack, he helped establish what was to become one of the largest packs ever recorded—an unprecedented 37 wolves. A strong leader and gentle father, he was even seen on occasion to allow his young pups to knock him down and pin him… a behavior rarely allowed by alpha wolves. Wolf 21 died at the Druid Pack’s summer rendezvous site in June of 2004 of unknown natural causes; he was 9 years old. Wolf 21 and his mate 42 presided over the Druid pack until they both reached the age of 9 years (the average age at death for wild wolves in Yellowstone at that time was 3.5 years – less than 3% of wolves in a population managed to achieve this longevity). The pair were inseparable and were known to “parallel walk,” a sign of pair bonding where the two wolves walk along with their sides pressed together, a wolf ‘hug’ of sorts, more than any other pair of wolves we had watched.”

– George Bumann

Now available in the gallery!