'She Is So Old': One-eyed Wolf In Yellowstone Defies Odds By Having 10th Litter Of Pups In 11 Years

'She is so old': One-eyed wolf in Yellowstone defies odds by having 10th litter of pups in 11 years

By Patrick Pester, published June 3, 2024

Wolf 907F recently gave birth to her 10th litter of pups, which researchers say is likely a Yellowstone National Park record.

Wolf 907F walking past a trail camera in Yellowstone National Park. (Image credit: Yellowstone Wolf and Cougar Project)

The alpha female of a Yellowstone gray-wolf pack has defied the odds by having a 10th litter of pups at the age of 11.

The one-eyed wolf elder, named Wolf 907F, gave birth to her latest litter last month, the Cowboy State Daily reported. Gray wolves (Canis lupus) have an average life span of three to four years, so it's rare for them to reach 11, let alone have pups at that age.

Wolf 907F has given birth to pups every year for a decade straight since she became sexually mature, which Kira Cassidy, a research associate at the Yellowstone Wolf Project, said is likely a record for the wolves of Yellowstone National Park.

At age 11, Yellowstone’s Wolf 907F has lived more than twice a wild wolf’s average life expectancy. In this photo from April, she was pregnant with a litter of pups that she’s since given birth to. (Courtesy Yellowstone Wildlife Project)

"Every day, I expect that she might die just because she is so elderly, but I've been thinking that for the last few years, and she keeps going," Cassidy told Live Science.

Cassidy has calculated that only about 1 in 250 wolves in Yellowstone make it to their 11th birthday, with just six recorded examples since wolves were reintroduced to the park in 1995. The oldest of all of these great elders lived to 12.5 years, according to the National Park Service.

Wolf 907F lies in the snow in Yellowstone in 2015. (Image credit: Kira Cassidy/NPS)

Wolf 907F is the oldest wolf to have lived her whole life in the park's Northern Range, where there is more prey but also more competition from other wolves. Wolves rarely die of old age in the wild, and in Yellowstone National Park, the biggest threat is other wolves.

"In a protected place like Yellowstone, their number-one cause of death is when two packs fight with each other," Cassidy said. "That accounts for about half of the mortality."

One of Yellowstone's oldest wolves, Wolf 907F is pictured here with her pack last year. She's the gray collared wolf on the lower left. (Courtesy Yellowstone Wildlife Project)

Wolf 907F is the alpha female of the Junction Butte pack, which has between 10 and 35 members at any given time. Cassidy noted that this is a large pack — the average wolf pack size is about 12 individuals — and that reduces the risk of being killed in territorial fights. Wolf 907F's experience also gives her pack an edge.

"Packs that have elderly wolves are much more successful in those pack-versus-pack conflicts because of the accumulated knowledge and the experience that they bring to that really stressful situation," Cassidy said.

Wolf 907F has likely boosted her pack's survival chances outside of battle, too. Cassidy noted that the Junction Butte pack rarely leaves Yellowstone's border and that Wolf 907F is "savvy" when it comes to things like crossing roads and avoiding humans.

Wolf 907F, Yellowstone's aging matriarch at 11 years old, only has one eye. She's the fourth wolf to pass by this trail cam. (Courtesy Yellowstone Wildlife Project)

What makes Wolf 907F even more impressive is that she does all of this with only one functioning eye. Researchers aren't sure what happened, but her left eye has been small and sunken since before she turned 4. "You would never know [when] watching her," Cassidy said.

Like other elders, Wolf 907F takes a back seat in hunts now that she's older, and she spends most of her day hanging around with the pack's pups. Cassidy and her colleagues have counted three pups in her current litter, which is smaller than the average litter size of four to five but not surprising. A 2012 study of Yellowstone wolves published in the Journal of Animal Ecology found that litter size declines with age.

"The fact that 907 is still having pups is amazing, and her litter being small is expected given that she is so old," Cassidy said.

A few of Wolf 907F's offspring now lead packs of their own, but most of her pups never reach adulthood due to the perilous nature of being a wolf. However, Wolf 907F and the others in the park don't seem to live like death is on their mind.

"They are happy to be with their family going from day to day," Cassidy said. "Even if they have injuries or are missing an eye or something really stressful is going on in their life, they move through that stress and go back to seemingly really enjoying their life."

At age 11, Yellowstone's Wolf 907F - the gray wolf in the center of this photo from 2020- has lived more than double the typical lifespan of wolves in the wild. (Courtesy Yellowstone Wildlife Project)

Book Details

We had a question about the price for the book - and thought we would share some more details about it in anticipation of the release.

How Long is the Anthology?

344 pages

What writings are in the book?

Offerings from 30 writers from all over the world: 16 stories (ranging from 2700 words long up to 7600) 17 standalone 221Bs and one long story made out of 31 (!) 221Bs 8 pieces of microfiction 10 poems

What illustrations does it have?

A full color cover by @khorazir The Sherlock Holmes Rose in black & white, and in color by @chained-to-the-mirror 18 black and white interior drawings by @gooolabatooo illustrating the short stories A cast drawing of the characters in the illustrations by gooolabatooo 5 themed b&w illustrations by khorazir to introduce sections of the book A b&w frontispiece illustration by gooolabatoo of a quote from Arthur Conan Doyle from the original canon

What formats will it be available in?

Softcover print copy Hardcover print copy Epub ebook PDF ebook (Epub + PDF bundles will be available via Payhip and DriveThruFiction)

How much will it cost?

Ebook editions: 9.95 USD & CAD / 9,95 EUR/ 7.77 GPR Softcover: 24.95 USD / 19,95 EUR / 19.95 GBR / 29.95 CAD Hardcover: 34.95 USD / 29,95 EUR / 24.95 GBR / 44.95 CAD

How is it being published?

The book is being independently published by volunteers as a charity project. All sales are digital or Print On Demand. Retailers can contact the editorial team (editors@whentherosespeaks.com) for information about purchasing print copies.

Who does it benefit?

akt (the Albert Kennedy Trust) which helps LGBTQ+ youth in the UK find safe supportive homes and livelihoods.

Where & when can we buy it?

https://whentherosespeaks.com/book/ as of August 25, 2024 (the page will be updated with purchase links)

Is there merchandise?

Yes, here: https://whentherosespeaks.com/merch/

Thank you!!!!

@onetraveller @calaisreno @blogstandbygo @momma2boys @bluebuell33 @stellacartography @becoming-a-fox @inevitably-johnlocked

it’s been long enough i’m making an executive decision that we all need to go reread the tgi fridays infinite mozzarella sticks article

I agree, I realized how much the dopamine rollercoaster of social media was stealing my time, energy, and peace of mind. To combat this I've thought about what my interactions with the internet were like as a kid in the early 2000's and I'm trying to replicate that original feeling of exploration, going down curiosity rabbit holes, and experimentation.

So far, I've deleted all social media apps except Tumblr (for now), I'm not going cold turkey but if I want to scroll I have to use a browser. Adding more friction to accessing the reels, TikToks, and doom scrolling has reduced my usage a lot.

I'm also trying to limit most of my Internet use to my desktop computer. So far, I'm definitely seeing some positive changes in my mood, energy, attention span, and mindfulness. Also, I'm having a ton of fun exploring again like when I was a kid just trying to find interesting hidden corners of the web.

i dont see why i cant start a trend, so here goes. lets try to build back our attention spans. lets try to focus on just one thing for as long as possible. lets not watch those "asmr for people with adhd" videos where they fuck up adhd folks even worse. lets resist the urge to reach for our phones when watching a movie. lets read the articles we reblog, even when theyre boring. i know its hard, i have adhd too, but its worth it. i also know that this hard work doesnt always seem super impressive to other people, so id love for yall to tell me in the tags or replies if youve done something, no matter how small, for your attention span. you deserve to feel like youve taken back some of what social media has ripped from you

my dumb? founded. my flabbers? gasted. my gob??? smacked

Pros of having a brain that makes very fast associations: Good comebacks and jokes.

Cons of having a brain that makes very fast associations: that story about how you broke your foot reminded me of a fun fact about lizards.