''Wolves at Our Door'' is a 1997 documentary film about the "Sawtooth Pack", a group of wolves in the Sawtooth Mountains in Idaho. The film was produced and directed by

Jim Dutcher Jim Dutcher (born 1943), is an American natural history, naturalist, cinematographer, director and author. He has written eight books and produced three wildlife films about wolves. Jim and his wife, Jamie Dutcher, are the creators of the two-t ...

and first aired on The Discovery Channel. It is narrated by

Richard Kiley Richard Paul Kiley (March 31, 1922 – March 5, 1999) was an American stage, film and television actor and singer. He is best known for his distinguished theatrical career in which he twice won the Tony Award for Best Actor In A Musical. Kiley ...

. A two–hour sequel, ''Living with Wolves'', was released in 2005.

Production

In 1990, filmmaker, Jim Dutcher, began observing a pack of wolves in the Sawtooth Mountains in Idaho. Later joined by his wife, Jamie Dutcher, the couple hand-raised and bottle fed pups before releasing them within a larger encampment. Having gained their trust, the Dutcher's were able to film and record the wolves in close proximity. Using both visual and audio recordings, they documented the pack's hierarchy, vocalizations, and behavior.

Sawtooth Pack

Initially starting with one pair of adults, Makuyi and Akai, the pack grew to include: *Original wolves **Akai, adult, original alpha male, was mid–rank from his home in Minnesota **Makuyi, adult, mated with Akai, from a wolf shelter in Montana **Motaki, (

Blackfoot The Blackfoot Confederacy, ''Niitsitapi'' or ''Siksikaitsitapi'' (ᖹᐟᒧᐧᒣᑯ, meaning "the people" or " Blackfoot-speaking real people"), is a historic collective name for linguistically related groups that make up the Blackfoot or Bla ...

for "shadow"), original omega female, killed by a mountain lion *First litter (1991) **Kamots, (Blackfoot for "freedom"), the alpha male **Lakota, (

Sioux The Sioux or Oceti Sakowin (; Dakota language, Dakota: Help:IPA, /otʃʰeːtʰi ʃakoːwĩ/) are groups of Native Americans in the United States, Native American tribes and First Nations in Canada, First Nations peoples in North America. The ...

for "friend"), the

omega male In biology, a dominance hierarchy (formerly and colloquially called a pecking order) is a type of social hierarchy that arises when members of animal social groups interact, creating a ranking system. A dominant higher-ranking individual is so ...

*Second litter (1992) **Amani, (Blackfoot for "speaking the truth"), brother of Matsi **Motomo, (Blackfoot for "he who goes first"), brother of Matsi **Matsi, (Blackfoot for "sweet and brave), the beta male *Third litter (1994) **Chemukh, ( Nez Perce for "black"), the alpha female **Wahots, (Nez Perce for "likes to howl"), brother of Wyakin and Chemukh **Wyakin, (Nez Perce for "spirit"), other female in the pack *Fourth litter/Sawtooth pups (1996) **Ayet, (Nez Perce for "girl"), pup of Kamots and Chemukh **Piyip, (Nez Perce "boy"), pup of Kamots and Chemukh **Motaki, pup of Kamots and Chemukh, named after the original omega female The final surviving pack member, Piyip, died on July 5, 2013 (age 17).

Airing and release

The Discovery Channel first aired the film on October 27, 1997. It was the channel's most successful wildlife documentary film and would garner three

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

nominations, winning two for cinematography and sound mixing. It was released on DVD on June 19, 2001.

Awards and accolades

In 1998 ''Wolves at Our Door'' was nominated for an

in the Outstanding Nonfiction Special category. Jim Dutcher received the Emmy award for Outstanding Cinematography for Nonfiction Programming. Jamie Dutcher received the Emmy award for Outstanding Sound Mixing for Nonfiction Programming.

References

External links