Wolf V094: The Rise and Fall of the
Half-Moon Pack
By Maeve Rogers
Outreach and Education Specialist
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In late 2019, a new group of wolves invaded the Bowman Bay Pack territory, an area on the southwest side of Lake Kabetogama, ultimately taking it over as their own. This newly established pack, known as the Half-Moon Pack, was led, in part, by a breeding male with a striking appearance— his thick, mottled winter coat and battle scars, including a prominent one across his muzzle, set him apart. Now displaced, the Bowman Bay Pack left the area and eventually settled further south, where they claimed another pack’s territory.
We first collared this grizzled male in 2020, assigning him the research ID ‘V094.’ As the breeding male of the Half-Moon Pack, V094’s life was like that of any other wild wolf - defending a territory, mating, raising pups, and hunting prey, all in the pursuit of survival and reproduction. During the winter of 2019-2020, the pack consisted of four adults: V094, his mate, and two subordinate wolves. In Spring 2020, the pack produced their first litter of pups (the first litter was 4 pups).
Wolf V094 after capture in 2020. He was fit with a GPS collar and two green ear tags seen on this photo.
One of the most intriguing chapters in the Half-Moon Pack’s story came in 2022, when trail camera footage captured two breeding females in the pack, both clearly nursing litters. We confirmed via genetic analysis that V094 was the father of both litters. This phenomenon of plural breeding is more common in places like Yellowstone or Alaska where it occurs in <10-15% of packs. To our knowledge, plural breeding in wolves has not been documented in the Great Lakes Region of North America before—V094 and the Half-Moon Pack are the first.
The younger of the two breeding females, given the research ID as 'Pup 2217,' has an equally fascinating story. Tagged as a pup in the Bowman Bay Pack in 2018, she joined the Half-Moon Pack instead of leaving the area with her pack mates when the Half-Moon Pack took over. For a few years, she was a subordinate female in the pack but in 2022, she, along with the breeding female of the Half-Moon Pack, gave birth to a litter of V094’s pups. The following year, she was the sole breeding female in the pack—somehow taking the role from the older breeding female who disappeared in late 2022. This change illustrates the fluid and unpredictable nature of wolf pack dynamics.
Pregnant Pup 2217 (left), who gave birth just days after this photo was taken, is followed by Half-Moon pack's breeding male, wolf V094 (center), and his mate, the breeding female (right), who have led the pack since its formation in late 2019. You can see in the photo that she has given birth to pups and is nursing based on her distended nipples.
Wolf V094’s skill as an opportunistic predator was highlighted in September 2023, when one of our trail cameras captured an incredibly rare event—V094 successfully ambushing and killing a beaver. The footage, only the second known video of such a predation event, showed V094 launching a swift attack in the dead of night. The struggle was brief but illustrated the challenges and difficulties wolves have when trying to kill beavers.
Trail camera video of wolf V094 ambushing and killing a beaver. Captured by Dani Freund. (Freund et al., 2025. Ecology and Evolution - Nature Note.)
We have now studied Wolf V094 for 6 years, one of the longest periods of time we have studied a single wolf. During this time, V094’s behavior has shed light on the intricacies of wolf predation and pup-rearing behaviors—central themes of the Voyageurs Wolf Project—as well as the challenges of survival for wild wolves.
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For instance, over the years, his physical condition has changed. His teeth, a critical tool for hunting and survival, show the wear and tear of a life spent taking down prey and crunching bones. Between 2019, when V094 was 4 years old, and 2024, he had lost three of his four canine teeth, and his incisors were significantly worn, a testament to the rigors of a wolf’s life.
At nearly nine years old, V094 is elderly by wolf standards. Most wolves only live 3 to 5 years, with few reaching the age of V094. Those that do often face significant challenges due to worn teeth and declining physical condition, both of which make it difficult to catch and kill prey. Despite his age, V094 remains an impressive figure with a robust skull, grizzled appearance, and large frame. When we re-collared him in June 2024, he weighed 84 pounds—one of the largest wolves we’ve studied.
Wolf V094's teeth during capture in 2020.
Wolf V094's teeth during capture in 2024.
Despite maintaining control of their territory for several years, the Half-Moon Pack has recently deteriorated. In Fall 2024, V094 was likely pushed out of his territory by other wolves—a change that appears to have cause the Half-Moon Pack to disband, with individual pack members becoming transient lone wolves. Our trail camera footage shows a pack of three wolves, none of whom we recognize, now roaming the Half-Moon territory.​
In a way, V094's fate is both fitting and ironic—5 years earlier, he and his pack took over this very territory after forcing out its previous occupants. Now, he too has been pushed out, a reminder of the ever-shifting nature of wolf pack dynamics and the constant competition for space and resources.
While the Half-Moon Pack is gone, the story of V094 continues. Since being removed as the breeding male, V094 has wandered for the past 5 months around a large area, some of which includes the former Half-Moon Pack territory. Whether he will join a pack and settle in a territory remains to be seen but we look forward to monitoring his movements and interactions.
A still from a video captured in early January 2025 shows V094 (right) traveling with his 2 year old son, Wolf O6C (middle), and Wolf B3S (left), a 3-year-old female originally from the Lightfoot pack. Could it be that V094 recently formed a new pack? Time will tell!