Nine days – in the grand scheme of things it is the blink of an eye, barely even a blip in time on the history of this Earth. It is how many days I was able to see 949M, the alpha male of Yellowstone’s Lamar Canyon wolf pack, during his lifetime. But those nine days of being able to watch 949M and the rest of the Lamar Canyon pack, even if it was for just a short time, will remain forever etched in my memory.

My annual 2-week foray into Yellowstone finds me aching to view wolves, especially the storied Lamar Canyon pack and their alpha female, 926F (my favorite). 949M’s reign as alpha male of this pack began in 2016 and was a short one, but I truly believe, an extremely important one.

When I saw the Lamar Canyon pack in March of 2016, 992M (aka Twin) was still…