302M facts for kids

302M, also known as Casanova (2000–2009), was a wolf in the Yellowstone Wolf Project. He was featured in the PBS documentary In the Valley of the Wolves and National Geographic's documentary Rise of Black Wolf. He was born in the Leopold pack and mingled with the alpha's daughters for a while. Whilst 21M was in charge he raised a litter. The following spring, visiting when the coast was clear and after the two alphas disappeared, he joined the pack as beta male. His younger brother 480M stepped up as leader of the pack in 2004.

In 2005 only a couple wolves remained. 302M decided to leave the pack and join up with a group of five younger males (his sons and nephews), drifting through rival territory until joining four females, one adult, one young adult, and two yearlings, to form the Blacktail Plateau pack in late 2008, which 302M began leading. In October 2009, he died of wounds from fights with other wolves.