They use them to communicate with other packs, telling them how strong their pack is. One of the things Shaun taught me to do was to howl, so that I could communicate with wolves. Then come the numbers wolves, which fill in the pack with strength of size. He’s a nervous wolf, always on edge, who makes sure that everyone is doing his job. There’s a tester wolf-the quality control dude. Next is the diffuser wolf-the low man on the totem pole, the one who eats last, the one who seemingly is picked on by the other wolves. She can create a phantom pregnancy, which puts all the adult wolves on their best behavior, trying to be picked as nanny-and then when everyone’s acting on their best game, she reveals that she isn’t pregnant at all. She can keep the other females from coming into season, so that she is the only one breeding. An alpha female can terminate her own pregnancy if she feels that it’s not a good time for breeding in the pack. An alpha can hear the change in the rhythm of your heart rate from six or seven feet away. The alpha is the one who tells everyone-including the big tough beta-what to do.

The brains of the group, and too valuable to put him or herself in danger-he’s like the king not going into battle. Betas are expendable they are the thugs in the Mafia family. The first wolf you’ll encounter is not the alpha, but a beta-tough, comes rushing up to you, responsible for discipline in the pack. The first thing Shaun taught me was the rankings of a wolf pack. During a visit to Ellis’ wildlife park, Picoult got up close and personal with these feared animals. Then she met Shaun Ellis, who spent a year living with wolves in the Rockies. Jodi Picoult thought she had created a unique character in her new novel, Lone Wolf-a man who studies wolves by living with them.

Lone wolf jodi