Special Report: Alaska's Toklat Wolf Pack in Crisis
When senior editor Tracy Ross investigated Denali's wolf controversy, she expected to see a dead wolf--but not a skinned one. Go behind the scenes with video filmed in the field and an interview with Ross on the experience.
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The wolf. No wild animal is more revered—and reviled—than this icon of American wilderness. And now the most important group of wolves in the country, Denali National Park’s Toklat pack, is caught in the crosshairs of these opposing passions. On one side: a hunter who once gleefully turned his gun on the pack’s alpha female. On the other: a biologist who might just hold the key to the Toklat’s protection. Read the feature story, then go behind the scenes of with a video filmed in the wild, and inside a Fairbanks tannery.
DOGS OF WAR
Another dead Denali wolf. A battle for the soul of wild Alaska. Our reporter visits America’s most iconic wilderness for the inside story of a park under siege.
VIDEO REPORT
Dogs of War Part 1: The Harvest
Master hunting guide Coke Wallace lives to hunt wolves. As part of
BACKPACKER Senior Editor Tracy Ross’ investigation into the battle between hunters and conservationists over the fate of Denali National Park’s Toklat wolfpack, she follows Wallace into the Alaskan backcountry to learn how wolf hunters find, catch, and kill their prey.
Dogs of War Part 2: Tracking the Toklat Pack
No one knows Denali’s wolves better than wildlife scientist Gordon Haber. For over 43 years, he’s dedicated his life to learning the behaviors of one single wolfpack. Ross joins Haber on a trip into the park to track down the threatened Toklat pack’s den, where they hope to see wolves thriving in
their natural element.
Dogs of War Part 3: From Wild to Worn
VIEWER DISCRETION ADVISED Alaska wolves are prized for their pelts, but there’s more to it than that. Here, trapper and tanner Al Barrette shows Ross what happens to harvested wolves, and makes the case for continued hunting and trapping as just another form of sensible wildlife management.
EXCLUSIVE ONLINE AUTHOR INTERVIEW
The Alaska Wolf Debate: Q&A with Tracy Ross
In this online Q&A, BACKPACKER senior editor and Dogs of War author Tracy Ross recounts the challenges of interviewing the hunter and biologist at the heart of the fight.
