Such an endearing book that now ranks up there as one of my all-time favorite wildlife books. If you haven’t read this book yet and you like wolves, wildlife, Alaska, or even dogs, it’s a must-read!
Published in 2014, A Wolf Called Romeo tells the true story of a large black wolf who lived on the wooded outskirts of Juneau, Alaska from 2003 through 2009 and, amazingly, befriended many of the local dogs. He also became friendly with their humans, but according to Jans, a former hunter now writer and photographer of wildlife, Romeo seemed much more interested in their dogs. He showed up one day, along a big lake in the Mendenhall Glacier and bounced up to Dakotah, Jans’s blonde lab, stopping, then making a play bow to her. Everyone who has a dog knows what that is 🙂 The two regarded each other, then engaged in typical dog play. Later, Romeo chased and caught a ball.
At first, of course, Jans and the others were scared – it’s a huge wild wolf, after all. But Romeo never showed any aggressiveness to dog or human, only wanting to play or just tag along on a walk.
Over time, Jans and the other locals grew close to Romeo, missing him and worrying about him when he didn’t show up to play. They surmised that he was the partner of a female black wolf who’d been killed by a taxi, and had fathered the cubs she was carrying. Hence, the name.
Yet Romeo remained wild. It didn’t seem that he’d been fed by any of the locals. Jans found traces of wild animals – like porcupine quills – in Romeo’s scats, and his stools indicated he was feeding well on deer and other animals that a wolf would normally eat.
To be sure, some did worry about danger, and the Department of Fish and Wildlife considered re-locating Romeo further into the forest, but they never did. There were too many who grew to love him.
One thing so remarkable about the book is Jans’s ability to weave facts about wolves seamlessly into Romeo’s narrative. Wolves travel in packs and they mate for life – which was part of the sadness of Romeo’s story. Of course they are dogs’ wild ancestors. So, it makes sense that dogs are so loyal, since we basically take away their ability to mate for life when we spay and neuter them. They then become our mates for life 🙂
This is a truly fascinating book. Jans is such a brilliant writer, the language is beautiful, pensive, and he brings you so fully into his world you grow to love Romeo along with him and the others. I’ve never been to Alaska, but am now dying to go. In the epilogue Jans talks about the planned installation of a memorial to Romeo in the Mendenhall Glacier Visitor Center. I’m going to Yellowstone this year to wolf-watch, but I’m hoping for a trip to Juneau next year!
