After a successful hunt the pack settled down to rest under one of the large oaks within their territory. After a few hours pups Amoux and Lakota couldn't sit still anymore so slipped away down to the river. We watched them play in the water for a while when another team came on the radio and told us there was another pack spotted in the area. We watched the pups closely, worried for their safety since adults were still sleeping miles away. After several minutes something seemed to catch the boy's attention. A young gray pup, a female from the Highland Pack, bounced playfully out of the bushes toward Amoux and Lakota. Amoux, being overly cautious by nature, quickly ran the other way back toward the den. Whereas young Lakota eagerly met his new friend and quickly joined her in a game of chase.
The radio came on again and the team told us the Highland pack was on the move, it appeared they noticed one of their missing pups. We watched Lakota and the young female play in the field, blissfully unaware of the growing danger. It wasn't long before an adult and adolescent wolf came rushing out of the bushes towards the two pups. The female fell submissively on the ground while Lakota quickly tried to escape his attackers. One more wolf took pursuit of Lakota while the other stopped to collect the female and her brother before following the rest of the pack. We jumped on the four wheelers and tried to keep up with the chase, often times losing sight of Lakota in the thick brush. We finally caught sight of him again drawing close to the river which runs through the two territory hunting grounds acting as a boundary line. The Highland pack was still drawing closer to Lakota but luckily Drake and the rest of the pack had arrived just as Lakota crossed the river. The pups hid behind the adults in each pack as they each paced back and forth across the shoreline, each daring the other to cross. The stalemate lasted late into the night, each alpha refusing the be the first to walk away and return to their territories. Although both packs had their pride, they differed in strength. Drake's pack holds three adults, an adolescent and two pups whereas the Highland pack contains two adults, two adolescents, and two pups.
Finally as dawn broke Nuka started to head back towards the center of the territory with Amoux and Lakota. One by one the Highland pack broke off from the boundary line as did Drake's pack, until only Drake was left standing on the river bank watching his neighbors disappear over the hill. We continued to watch Drake for a while longer until he finally followed his pack away from the river.