KINGDOM OF THE WHITE WOLF

National Geographic explorer and photographer Ronan Donovan travels to Ellesmere Island in the High Arctic, to a landscape uninhabited by humans, in pursuit of the legendary white wolf. The wolves have never been hunted and so they are fearless and free, offering a chance to learn more about this mysterious social predator—and get closer to them—than ever before. But while the wolves aren’t afraid of humans, this doesn’t make Ronan’s journey easy. Dropped into the heart of a vast, frigid wilderness where wolves may range over hundreds of square miles, he must first find a pack just as the season’s pups are born—and then see whether the family will accept him. He searches the tundra, finding a string of strangely empty wolf dens, before he finally discovers a small family caring for a litter of newborn pups. But these wolves are wary, and refuse to let Ronan draw near. Frustrated and weary, Ronan must hurry to find another pack before the short Arctic summer vanishes into winter darkness. He sets off to a new location hoping for a close encounter and soon has more than he’s bargained for when a group of wolves surrounds him, bold and unafraid, matching his curiosity with their own. The pack is large and confident—6 adults and 4 pups—and to his surprise and joy they quickly accept Ronan into their midst. He travels with them through summer, watching as they hunt musk oxen, endure a devastating loss, and struggle to survive in one of the harshest environments on the planet.

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One-eye, the 3 year old female wolf of the Polygon Pack of Arctic wolf (Canis lupus arctos) inspects me. Polygon Pack of Arctic wolf (Canis lupus arctos) traveling east after successfully killing a calf muskoxen. The adults went to the den, but the pups stayed below in the polygon ponds and howled for the adults to come down. The pups might have just been exhausted and needed to sleep. The natural history of Arctic wolves on Ellesmere Island, Cananda. This project originated as a National Geographic Magazine pitch with Kathy Moran (senior natural history editor at National Geographic Magazine). We spoke about the scale of the work and Kathy suggested we pitch it as a join Magazine and NatGeo WILD television project through Janet Han Vissering (Senior Vice President, Development and Production, Nat Geo WILD). The production company was Market Road Films, run by Tony Gerber and based in New York City. There were four of us for the first 7 weeks: Ronan Donovan, Tony Gerber, Luke Padgett and Adam Amir. The project is located on Ellesmere Island in Nunavut Canada. The island is the furthest northern landmass in Canada and is west of Greenland. 40% of the island is permanent icecap with rugged mountains. It’s a very harsh place to live. This project focused on 2 different packs of Arctic wolves. The first pack, located at the end of June, was made up of 3 adults and 2 puppies. This pack was located 50 miles to the southeast of the Eureka Weather Station in a place called Wolf Valley, near Vesle Fjord at the base of the Fosheim. The wolves were named for the story, the Wolf Valley Pack - Mom, Dad, Big Sis and The Pups. Mom was probably 5-6 years old, Dad was 7-8 and Big Sis was 2-3 years old. Unbeknownst to me, a biologist - Dean Cluff – had attempted to collar the wolves as this same den 4 years prior and it didn’t go well. The female ended up moving the pups after two days of pressure from the biologists and they were unable to collar any of the wolves. As a res

Arctic wolf (Canis lupus arctos) yearling female who I would later name Slender Foot. This was the first time meeting her and I followed her on ATV for several miles. She caught and ate an arctic hare during the follow. I had to leave to deal with camp logistics, which was a hard decision to make. The natural history of Arctic wolves on Ellesmere Island, Cananda. This project originated as a National Geographic Magazine pitch with Kathy Moran (senior natural history editor at National Geographic Magazine). We spoke about the scale of the work and Kathy suggested we pitch it as a join Magazine and NatGeo WILD television project through Janet Han Vissering (Senior Vice President, Development and Production, Nat Geo WILD). The production company was Market Road Films, run by Tony Gerber and based in New York City. There were four of us for the first 7 weeks: Ronan Donovan, Tony Gerber, Luke Padgett and Adam Amir. The project is located on Ellesmere Island in Nunavut Canada. The island is the furthest northern landmass in Canada and is west of Greenland. 40% of the island is permanent icecap with rugged mountains. It’s a very harsh place to live. This project focused on 2 different packs of Arctic wolves. The first pack, located at the end of June, was made up of 3 adults and 2 puppies. This pack was located 50 miles to the southeast of the Eureka Weather Station in a place called Wolf Valley, near Vesle Fjord at the base of the Fosheim. The wolves were named for the story, the Wolf Valley Pack - Mom, Dad, Big Sis and The Pups. Mom was probably 5-6 years old, Dad was 7-8 and Big Sis was 2-3 years old. Unbeknownst to me, a biologist - Dean Cluff – had attempted to collar the wolves as this same den 4 years prior and it didn’t go well. The female ended up moving the pups after two days of pressure from the biologists and they were unable to collar any of the wolves. As a result, it seemed, the female – Mom – was shy of humans and made filming very challenging

Following the Polygon Pack of Arctic wolf (Canis lupus arctos) from their den site to a new carcass 5 miles to the south. The 4 pups traveled with them and then spent a few days near this carcass. The natural history of Arctic wolves on Ellesmere Island, Cananda. This project originated as a National Geographic Magazine pitch with Kathy Moran (senior natural history editor at National Geographic Magazine). We spoke about the scale of the work and Kathy suggested we pitch it as a join Magazine and NatGeo WILD television project through Janet Han Vissering (Senior Vice President, Development and Production, Nat Geo WILD). The production company was Market Road Films, run by Tony Gerber and based in New York City. There were four of us for the first 7 weeks: Ronan Donovan, Tony Gerber, Luke Padgett and Adam Amir. The project is located on Ellesmere Island in Nunavut Canada. The island is the furthest northern landmass in Canada and is west of Greenland. 40% of the island is permanent icecap with rugged mountains. It’s a very harsh place to live. This project focused on 2 different packs of Arctic wolves. The first pack, located at the end of June, was made up of 3 adults and 2 puppies. This pack was located 50 miles to the southeast of the Eureka Weather Station in a place called Wolf Valley, near Vesle Fjord at the base of the Fosheim. The wolves were named for the story, the Wolf Valley Pack - Mom, Dad, Big Sis and The Pups. Mom was probably 5-6 years old, Dad was 7-8 and Big Sis was 2-3 years old. Unbeknownst to me, a biologist - Dean Cluff – had attempted to collar the wolves as this same den 4 years prior and it didn’t go well. The female ended up moving the pups after two days of pressure from the biologists and they were unable to collar any of the wolves. As a result, it seemed, the female – Mom – was shy of humans and made filming very challenging. The first month of the project was very challenging as a result of not being able to get closer than

The Polygon Pack of Arctic wolf (Canis lupus arctos) returns to the north, to their core home range in the area of the den. They seemed to be unsettled in looking for White Scarf, who is their leader and oldest female and disappeared. They return to the same large male muskox carcass as the one I found them at. They would spend 3 days there. Eating rotten meat and chewing on bones and waiting. Some of the adults would go off and leave for 5-10 hours and return. The natural history of Arctic wolves on Ellesmere Island, Cananda. This project originated as a National Geographic Magazine pitch with Kathy Moran (senior natural history editor at National Geographic Magazine). We spoke about the scale of the work and Kathy suggested we pitch it as a join Magazine and NatGeo WILD television project through Janet Han Vissering (Senior Vice President, Development and Production, Nat Geo WILD). The production company was Market Road Films, run by Tony Gerber and based in New York City. There were four of us for the first 7 weeks: Ronan Donovan, Tony Gerber, Luke Padgett and Adam Amir. The project is located on Ellesmere Island in Nunavut Canada. The island is the furthest northern landmass in Canada and is west of Greenland. 40% of the island is permanent icecap with rugged mountains. It’s a very harsh place to live. This project focused on 2 different packs of Arctic wolves. The first pack, located at the end of June, was made up of 3 adults and 2 puppies. This pack was located 50 miles to the southeast of the Eureka Weather Station in a place called Wolf Valley, near Vesle Fjord at the base of the Fosheim. The wolves were named for the story, the Wolf Valley Pack - Mom, Dad, Big Sis and The Pups. Mom was probably 5-6 years old, Dad was 7-8 and Big Sis was 2-3 years old. Unbeknownst to me, a biologist - Dean Cluff – had attempted to collar the wolves as this same den 4 years prior and it didn’t go well. The female ended up moving the pups after two days of pressure f

A strange encounter with an unknown wolf. The lone wolf didn’t run away when it saw the Polygon Pack, but rather waited and lay submissive on the ground. The whole pack greeted her as if they knew her and the pups even jumped on top with excitement. Then it got a little rough, but was still playful. The lone wolf clearly became scared, but the Polygon Pack never really escalated the interaction passed playful. Following the Polygon Pack of Arctic wolf (Canis lupus arctos) headed west to hunt, lead by Clean Coat. They spent 8 hours hunting and were unsuccessful. White Scarf eventually howled to the pack for them to break off from hunting and return to her and the pups. White Scarf was weakened by this time, limping and frail. This was the last time I saw White Scarf, she disappeared the next time I found the pack, presumed dead and was never seen again. They travelled along the shoreline of Greely Fjord before heading back to the east. The natural history of Arctic wolves on Ellesmere Island, Cananda. This project originated as a National Geographic Magazine pitch with Kathy Moran (senior natural history editor at National Geographic Magazine). We spoke about the scale of the work and Kathy suggested we pitch it as a join Magazine and NatGeo WILD television project through Janet Han Vissering (Senior Vice President, Development and Production, Nat Geo WILD). The production company was Market Road Films, run by Tony Gerber and based in New York City. There were four of us for the first 7 weeks: Ronan Donovan, Tony Gerber, Luke Padgett and Adam Amir. The project is located on Ellesmere Island in Nunavut Canada. The island is the furthest northern landmass in Canada and is west of Greenland. 40% of the island is permanent icecap with rugged mountains. It’s a very harsh place to live. This project focused on 2 different packs of Arctic wolves. The first pack, located at the end of June, was made up of 3 adults and 2 puppies. This pack was located 50 miles to the s

Arctic wolf (Canis lupus arctos), locating the Polygon Wolf Pack again as they lounged near a large bull muskox carcass. The same carcass where I found them before. The natural history of Arctic wolves on Ellesmere Island, Cananda. This project originated as a National Geographic Magazine pitch with Kathy Moran (senior natural history editor at National Geographic Magazine). We spoke about the scale of the work and Kathy suggested we pitch it as a join Magazine and NatGeo WILD television project through Janet Han Vissering (Senior Vice President, Development and Production, Nat Geo WILD). The production company was Market Road Films, run by Tony Gerber and based in New York City. There were four of us for the first 7 weeks: Ronan Donovan, Tony Gerber, Luke Padgett and Adam Amir. The project is located on Ellesmere Island in Nunavut Canada. The island is the furthest northern landmass in Canada and is west of Greenland. 40% of the island is permanent icecap with rugged mountains. It’s a very harsh place to live. This project focused on 2 different packs of Arctic wolves. The first pack, located at the end of June, was made up of 3 adults and 2 puppies. This pack was located 50 miles to the southeast of the Eureka Weather Station in a place called Wolf Valley, near Vesle Fjord at the base of the Fosheim. The wolves were named for the story, the Wolf Valley Pack - Mom, Dad, Big Sis and The Pups. Mom was probably 5-6 years old, Dad was 7-8 and Big Sis was 2-3 years old. Unbeknownst to me, a biologist - Dean Cluff – had attempted to collar the wolves as this same den 4 years prior and it didn’t go well. The female ended up moving the pups after two days of pressure from the biologists and they were unable to collar any of the wolves. As a result, it seemed, the female – Mom – was shy of humans and made filming very challenging. The first month of the project was very challenging as a result of not being able to get closer than ¼ mile to the den and to the w

Following the Polygon Pack of Arctic wolf (Canis lupus arctos) headed west to hunt, lead by Clean Coat. They spent 8 hours hunting and were unsuccessful. White Scarf eventually howled to the pack for them to break off from hunting and return to her and the pups. White Scarf was weakened by this time, limping and frail. This one was of the last days I saw her. The natural history of Arctic wolves on Ellesmere Island, Cananda. This project originated as a National Geographic Magazine pitch with Kathy Moran (senior natural history editor at National Geographic Magazine). We spoke about the scale of the work and Kathy suggested we pitch it as a join Magazine and NatGeo WILD television project through Janet Han Vissering (Senior Vice President, Development and Production, Nat Geo WILD). The production company was Market Road Films, run by Tony Gerber and based in New York City. There were four of us for the first 7 weeks: Ronan Donovan, Tony Gerber, Luke Padgett and Adam Amir. The project is located on Ellesmere Island in Nunavut Canada. The island is the furthest northern landmass in Canada and is west of Greenland. 40% of the island is permanent icecap with rugged mountains. It’s a very harsh place to live. This project focused on 2 different packs of Arctic wolves. The first pack, located at the end of June, was made up of 3 adults and 2 puppies. This pack was located 50 miles to the southeast of the Eureka Weather Station in a place called Wolf Valley, near Vesle Fjord at the base of the Fosheim. The wolves were named for the story, the Wolf Valley Pack - Mom, Dad, Big Sis and The Pups. Mom was probably 5-6 years old, Dad was 7-8 and Big Sis was 2-3 years old. Unbeknownst to me, a biologist - Dean Cluff – had attempted to collar the wolves as this same den 4 years prior and it didn’t go well. The female ended up moving the pups after two days of pressure from the biologists and they were unable to collar any of the wolves. As a result, it seemed, the femal

Following the Polygon Arctic wolf (Canis lupus arctos) pack along Station Creek to a fresh male Muskox (Ovibos moschatus) carcass after sunset. The natural history of Arctic wolves on Ellesmere Island, Cananda. This project originated as a National Geographic Magazine pitch with Kathy Moran (senior natural history editor at National Geographic Magazine). We spoke about the scale of the work and Kathy suggested we pitch it as a join Magazine and NatGeo WILD television project through Janet Han Vissering (Senior Vice President, Development and Production, Nat Geo WILD). The production company was Market Road Films, run by Tony Gerber and based in New York City. There were four of us for the first 7 weeks: Ronan Donovan, Tony Gerber, Luke Padgett and Adam Amir. The project is located on Ellesmere Island in Nunavut Canada. The island is the furthest northern landmass in Canada and is west of Greenland. 40% of the island is permanent icecap with rugged mountains. It’s a very harsh place to live. This project focused on 2 different packs of Arctic wolves. The first pack, located at the end of June, was made up of 3 adults and 2 puppies. This pack was located 50 miles to the southeast of the Eureka Weather Station in a place called Wolf Valley, near Vesle Fjord at the base of the Fosheim. The wolves were named for the story, the Wolf Valley Pack - Mom, Dad, Big Sis and The Pups. Mom was probably 5-6 years old, Dad was 7-8 and Big Sis was 2-3 years old. Unbeknownst to me, a biologist - Dean Cluff – had attempted to collar the wolves as this same den 4 years prior and it didn’t go well. The female ended up moving the pups after two days of pressure from the biologists and they were unable to collar any of the wolves. As a result, it seemed, the female – Mom – was shy of humans and made filming very challenging. The first month of the project was very challenging as a result of not being able to get closer than ¼ mile to the den and to the wolves, which was no

Playing while following the Polygon Pack of Arctic wolf (Canis lupus arctos) from an area near the Eureka Weather Station back to the north, 15 miles, towards their den and core home range. The natural history of Arctic wolves on Ellesmere Island, Cananda. This project originated as a National Geographic Magazine pitch with Kathy Moran (senior natural history editor at National Geographic Magazine). We spoke about the scale of the work and Kathy suggested we pitch it as a join Magazine and NatGeo WILD television project through Janet Han Vissering (Senior Vice President, Development and Production, Nat Geo WILD). The production company was Market Road Films, run by Tony Gerber and based in New York City. There were four of us for the first 7 weeks: Ronan Donovan, Tony Gerber, Luke Padgett and Adam Amir. The project is located on Ellesmere Island in Nunavut Canada. The island is the furthest northern landmass in Canada and is west of Greenland. 40% of the island is permanent icecap with rugged mountains. It’s a very harsh place to live. This project focused on 2 different packs of Arctic wolves. The first pack, located at the end of June, was made up of 3 adults and 2 puppies. This pack was located 50 miles to the southeast of the Eureka Weather Station in a place called Wolf Valley, near Vesle Fjord at the base of the Fosheim. The wolves were named for the story, the Wolf Valley Pack - Mom, Dad, Big Sis and The Pups. Mom was probably 5-6 years old, Dad was 7-8 and Big Sis was 2-3 years old. Unbeknownst to me, a biologist - Dean Cluff – had attempted to collar the wolves as this same den 4 years prior and it didn’t go well. The female ended up moving the pups after two days of pressure from the biologists and they were unable to collar any of the wolves. As a result, it seemed, the female – Mom – was shy of humans and made filming very challenging. The first month of the project was very challenging as a result of not being able to get closer than ¼ mil

Polygon Pack of Arctic wolf (Canis lupus arctos). White Scarf rests with the pups after the other adults unsuccessfully tried to separate a calf muskox from a herd. The natural history of Arctic wolves on Ellesmere Island, Cananda. This project originated as a National Geographic Magazine pitch with Kathy Moran (senior natural history editor at National Geographic Magazine). We spoke about the scale of the work and Kathy suggested we pitch it as a join Magazine and NatGeo WILD television project through Janet Han Vissering (Senior Vice President, Development and Production, Nat Geo WILD). The production company was Market Road Films, run by Tony Gerber and based in New York City. There were four of us for the first 7 weeks: Ronan Donovan, Tony Gerber, Luke Padgett and Adam Amir. The project is located on Ellesmere Island in Nunavut Canada. The island is the furthest northern landmass in Canada and is west of Greenland. 40% of the island is permanent icecap with rugged mountains. It’s a very harsh place to live. This project focused on 2 different packs of Arctic wolves. The first pack, located at the end of June, was made up of 3 adults and 2 puppies. This pack was located 50 miles to the southeast of the Eureka Weather Station in a place called Wolf Valley, near Vesle Fjord at the base of the Fosheim. The wolves were named for the story, the Wolf Valley Pack - Mom, Dad, Big Sis and The Pups. Mom was probably 5-6 years old, Dad was 7-8 and Big Sis was 2-3 years old. Unbeknownst to me, a biologist - Dean Cluff – had attempted to collar the wolves as this same den 4 years prior and it didn’t go well. The female ended up moving the pups after two days of pressure from the biologists and they were unable to collar any of the wolves. As a result, it seemed, the female – Mom – was shy of humans and made filming very challenging. The first month of the project was very challenging as a result of not being able to get closer than ¼ mile to the den and to the w

Following the Polygon Pack of Arctic wolf (Canis lupus arctos) from their den site to a 15 miles to the south. The 4 pups traveled with them as well and then went to the Eureka Airstrip to hunt for Arctic hares. The natural history of Arctic wolves on Ellesmere Island, Cananda. This project originated as a National Geographic Magazine pitch with Kathy Moran (senior natural history editor at National Geographic Magazine). We spoke about the scale of the work and Kathy suggested we pitch it as a join Magazine and NatGeo WILD television project through Janet Han Vissering (Senior Vice President, Development and Production, Nat Geo WILD). The production company was Market Road Films, run by Tony Gerber and based in New York City. There were four of us for the first 7 weeks: Ronan Donovan, Tony Gerber, Luke Padgett and Adam Amir. The project is located on Ellesmere Island in Nunavut Canada. The island is the furthest northern landmass in Canada and is west of Greenland. 40% of the island is permanent icecap with rugged mountains. It’s a very harsh place to live. This project focused on 2 different packs of Arctic wolves. The first pack, located at the end of June, was made up of 3 adults and 2 puppies. This pack was located 50 miles to the southeast of the Eureka Weather Station in a place called Wolf Valley, near Vesle Fjord at the base of the Fosheim. The wolves were named for the story, the Wolf Valley Pack - Mom, Dad, Big Sis and The Pups. Mom was probably 5-6 years old, Dad was 7-8 and Big Sis was 2-3 years old. Unbeknownst to me, a biologist - Dean Cluff – had attempted to collar the wolves as this same den 4 years prior and it didn’t go well. The female ended up moving the pups after two days of pressure from the biologists and they were unable to collar any of the wolves. As a result, it seemed, the female – Mom – was shy of humans and made filming very challenging. The first month of the project was very challenging as a result of not being able to

Camera trap images of a large male Muskox (Ovibos moschatus) carcass where I initially found the Polygon Wolf Pack. The pack would visit this carcass on and off for the next month, along with several other unknown wolves. Camera trap photos. The natural history of Arctic wolves on Ellesmere Island, Cananda. This project originated as a National Geographic Magazine pitch with Kathy Moran (senior natural history editor at National Geographic Magazine). We spoke about the scale of the work and Kathy suggested we pitch it as a join Magazine and NatGeo WILD television project through Janet Han Vissering (Senior Vice President, Development and Production, Nat Geo WILD). The production company was Market Road Films, run by Tony Gerber and based in New York City. There were four of us for the first 7 weeks: Ronan Donovan, Tony Gerber, Luke Padgett and Adam Amir. The project is located on Ellesmere Island in Nunavut Canada. The island is the furthest northern landmass in Canada and is west of Greenland. 40% of the island is permanent icecap with rugged mountains. It’s a very harsh place to live. This project focused on 2 different packs of Arctic wolves. The first pack, located at the end of June, was made up of 3 adults and 2 puppies. This pack was located 50 miles to the southeast of the Eureka Weather Station in a place called Wolf Valley, near Vesle Fjord at the base of the Fosheim. The wolves were named for the story, the Wolf Valley Pack - Mom, Dad, Big Sis and The Pups. Mom was probably 5-6 years old, Dad was 7-8 and Big Sis was 2-3 years old. Unbeknownst to me, a biologist - Dean Cluff – had attempted to collar the wolves as this same den 4 years prior and it didn’t go well. The female ended up moving the pups after two days of pressure from the biologists and they were unable to collar any of the wolves. As a result, it seemed, the female – Mom – was shy of humans and made filming very challenging. The first month of the project was very challenging a

Kingdom of the White Wolf

June 2, 2021

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