O-Six (2006–2012), also known as 832F or "The 06 Female", was a female
gray wolf
The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly ...
, whose death by hunting just outside the protected area of
Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone National Park is an American national park located in the western United States, largely in the northwest corner of Wyoming and extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the 42nd U.S. Congress with the Yellowston ...
stirred debate about the hunting and protection of wolves in Wyoming, Montana and Idaho. The bestselling book ''American Wolf'' focused on O-Six's life and on conservation policies in the Yellowstone region.
O-Six
O-Six is an alpha female named after the year of her birth. She has light gray fur and is recognized by the faint black ovals around her eyes. She is a kind and loving mother and she is a very intelligent fighter, admired by many wolf watchers, but as she raises her pups and defends her pack, she is in danger from hunters, cattle ranchers, and other wolves who are willing to fight for control of Lamar Valley.
Life
O-Six was for several years
010 - 2012the dominant breeding female of the Lamar Canyon
pack in
Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone National Park is an American national park located in the western United States, largely in the northwest corner of Wyoming and extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the 42nd U.S. Congress with the Yellowston ...
. Born in 2006 in the Agate Creek pack to Agate Creek Wolves #113M (born a Chief Joseph Wolf in 1997) and Wolf #472F (born a Druid Peak wolf in 2000),
she was principally known by the year of her birth. She was a member of the fourth generation of wolves born in Yellowstone after the 1995
reintroduction of wolves to the park. Leaving her birth pack to claim new territory, she established the Lamar Canyon pack as a three-year-old in 2010. The pack's territory in the easily accessible
Lamar River
The Lamar River is a tributary of the Yellowstone River, approximately long, in northwestern Wyoming in the United States. The river is located entirely within Yellowstone National Park.
History
Prior to the 1884–85 Geological Survey of the ...
Valley (named after
Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar (II)
Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar II (September 17, 1825January 23, 1893) was an American politician, diplomat, and jurist. A member of the Democratic Party, he represented Mississippi in both houses of Congress, served as the United States Secr ...
) allowed tourists and wolf researchers to observe and extensively document the activities and behaviours of the wolves. As the dominant breeding female ("
alpha female
Marie Kristin Gabert (June 4, 1982) is a German professional wrestler and former professional powerlifter, strongwoman, bodybuilder, and mixed martial artist under the names Alpha Female and Jazzy Gabert. She is best known on the independent scene ...
"), O-Six was one of the most visible and photographed wolves in Yellowstone and was described as a "rock star."
After several years, O-Six was captured, fitted with a radio-tracking collar and released, gaining the collar number 832F. She produced three litters of pups with her mate, Wolf #755M, before the Lamar Canyon pack was displaced by another wolf pack. Wandering into new territory, the remaining pack members, including O-Six, left the park, where no hunting is allowed, and appeared on private land to the east, near Crandall, Wyoming, during Wyoming's 2012 wolf hunting season. The allowed take in that season was eight wolves. She was shot by a hunter on December 6, 2012, the eighth wolf to be legally killed in Wyoming in 2012.
Legacy
The death of O-Six was immediately reported in the ''New York Times'', leading to extensive coverage of O-Six and wolf-hunting policies surrounding Yellowstone.
Following the publication of the bestselling book ''American Wolf'' by Nate Blakeslee in 2017, which focused on O-Six's life, O-Six received additional media coverage,
and was the subject of a ''National Geographic'' documentary.
[Blakeslee, p.239] More coverage followed the shooting of O-Six's daughter
926F in Montana in 2018.
See also
*
302M
302M, also known as "The Casanova" (2000–2009), was a wolf in the Yellowstone Wolf Project. He was featured in the PBS
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television netwo ...
- Another Yellowstone Wolf.
*
History of wolves in Yellowstone
The history of wolves in Yellowstone includes the extirpation, absence and reintroduction of wild populations of the gray wolf (''Canis lupus'') to Yellowstone National Park and the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. When the park was created in 187 ...
*
List of wolves
This is a list of famous individual wolves, pairs of wolves, or wolf Pack (canine), packs. For a list of wolf subspecies, see Subspecies of Canis lupus. For a list of all species in the Canidae family, several of which are named "wolves", see list ...
References
{{Authority control
2006 animal births
2012 animal deaths
Individual wolves
Individual animals in the United States
Wolves in the United States