A Wolf Called Wander

Under the watchful eye of their elders, Wander and his siblings begin to explore their home territory, learning about pack dynamics by observing the behavior of each wolf. Disabled by an injury, Growl is the pup-watcher who enforces rules and boundaries. Song, Wander’s aunt, hunts with Mother and Father. Together, the pack often howls, blending their voices and solidifying their bonds. Although Wander’s early instinct is to grow to be as large, fast, and strong as he can, he is discouraged when he is unable to best his brother in contests of might. However, his mother reminds him that a lead wolf is not defined by physical characteristics, but by his ability to feed the pack. Wander therefore follows his father to the game-watching place, a vantage point from which Father spends many hours watching for signs of elk. From Father, Wander learns what not to eat, from poisonous plants and fungi to smaller creatures easier to catch but certain to cause inconvenience, like skunks and porcupines. One evening, Wander watches as a flock of ravens sails into view and flutters about his father’s head. Father barks to them and follows their flight path as a deer and her fawn appear on the horizon. Father summons Mother and Song, and Wander studies the elegant choreography of the hunt: a dance that is both practiced and instinctive. Wander vows that one day he will be a pack leader like his father and shadows him every day, hungry to learn more.

One day, when the pups are one year old, another wolf pack much larger than their own is spied close to the perimeter of their pack’s territory, feeding on a kill. Mother and Father leave their marks at strategic intervals along the perimeter defining their pack’s territory, warning the other pack that this region belongs to them. Then they call the pack together to howl, punctuating their message.

A few days later, Father decides it is time to let the pups participate in their first hunt. Wander is disappointed when he is not assigned to run alongside his parents. Instead, his siblings Wag, Sharp, and Pounce are overseen by Father, Mother, and Song, who lead the advance. Warm stands guard to prevent the herd from running in the wrong direction, and Wander is given the task of covering the low ground and steering the elk into a strategic direction. Although Sharp is overeager, he is successful in helping Father make a kill; Wander is jealous when Father tells Sharp “well hunted” (33). Father allows Sharp to eat first, and when it is finally Wander’s turn to eat, less meat remains than he hoped for. Wander is motivated to distinguish himself as a wolf worthy of making kills, but he is always chosen to run and steer the herd instead. Discouraged, he stops following Father and finds his own lookout point. Assuming that Wander wants to leave the pack, Warm asks Wander to take him with him when he goes, promising “I would follow you anywhere,” (36) but Wander feels a deep sense of attachment, loyalty, and responsibility to the pack of his birth and would never consider going off on his own.

In the winter, Wander’s mother gives birth to a new litter of pups, and when they emerge from the den, Wander is there to greet them, conferring pieces of elk meat into their mouths. Distracted, the pack does not notice the arrival of danger. A pack of rival wolves, large, pale, and greatly outnumbering Wander’s, emerges from the woods, posturing and growling to indicate their intentions to take the pack’s territory. Their mother retreats with the young pups, and Wander urges Warm to follow and defend them. The enemy pack attacks Wander’s family, targeting Father aggressively. Wander fights ferociously in defense of Father despite their pack’s significant disadvantage against the interlopers. Wander notices one of the enemies sniffing the ground and worries that he will find the scent trail of his mother and sibling-pups. Wander lures the enemy away, dashing off in the opposite direction from the route his mother took. Wander knows that he may not be the strongest or fiercest combatant, but he is fast. Expertly, he weaves through the trees, using his extensive knowledge of his territory to steer the rival wolf into danger. He goads the enemy into making a dangerous leap, and the rival falls to his death. Emboldened, Wander races back to his pack, hoping to replicate the same tactic. He stops when he hears the sound of his father’s howling, calling out to his pack in the last moments of his life, “Carry on.” Wander runs.

Wander covers significant ground, finding himself alone for the first time. He is desperate to learn what has become of his family, but he knows that howling to them will only reveal his position to the enemy wolves. At dusk, a chorus of howls reaches him, and he recognizes one voice among them, for Sharp has joined the enemy pack in order to avoid being killed. In the morning, Wander thinks he smells Warm’s scent, but it is so faint that he cannot be sure. Wander proceeds back toward his home territory but is repelled by the noxious odor of the rival pack. He hurries away, leaving his own markings so that Warm, if he is still alive, will be able to find him.

Wander smells unfamiliar wolves in the air and watches as a pair of yearling bachelors appear. Wander is disgusted as he watches them kill a sheep, for Father clearly delineated between animals that wolves eat and animals they do not. In Wander’s judgment, the bachelors have no concept of a well-earned meal or the respect that should accompany it. Wander happens upon a herd of elk and barks, hoping that his family will hear him. There is no answer, but Wander is very hungry and decides to take down an elk on his own. Without the cooperation of his pack, he is not only unsuccessful, but vulnerable. Instead of fleeing as the elk might have with a full pack of wolves in pursuit, it stops and delivers a swift kick to Wander’s chest, slicing his skin and cracking his sternum.