Romeo, il lupo solitario di Juneau

Juneau's Lone Wolf Returns for Winter

ROMEO: Regular sightings began in the winter of 2003-04

By Steve Quinn/ The Associated Press/December 26th, 2008

JUNEAU -- He lets out a piercing howl that slowly penetrates your chest. To human ears, it's the sound of being alone. And the creature who made the cry probably is.
The locals call him Romeo. He's a black wolf without a pack, a wild canine who's often seen patrolling Juneau's Mendenhall Glacier, the state capital's signature recreation area.
Romeo baffles area biologists and naturalists with his refusal to find a pack or a mate, choosing instead to return each winter, clearly at ease with humans walking within a few hundred yards.
He's typically been seen during a six-month stretch starting in late November when the glacier's lakes begin to freeze.
As predators go, he's gregarious, but when he reveals sharp fangs set against a pair of copper eyes, it's clear that he's still part of Alaska's wildlife.
Romeo feeds primarily on beavers, snowshoe hares, ptarmigan, grouse and even salmon still lingering in the park's streams in the late fall.
Age estimates, driven in part by his thick, graying snout, put Romeo at about 8 years old, and he's been part of Juneau's wintertime lore for six of them.
Stories behind Romeo's arrival and how he got his name drive his mystique each year. The prevailing story dates to April 2003.
A pregnant female wolf was found dead about one-quarter mile from the glacier's visitor's center. The wolf was stuffed, mounted in the center, and named Juliet.
Six months later, Romeo's first howl could be heard, leaving some to wonder if the male was longing for the female, possibly his mate.
Over the course of that winter, well into early 2004, the first regular sightings of Romeo occurred.
Known as an Alexander Archipelago species of a gray or timber wolf, Romeo is as much a part of winter in Juneau as cross-country skiing and snowshoeing.
Sometimes he's walking casually. Other times, he seems to be taking in a rare sunny day just lying in the middle of the frozen lake.
Romeo walks with strides that are as graceful as they are strong, leaving trails of paw prints the size of some adult human hands, a stark reminder that he's a wolf, not a stray dog.
He's as curious about us as we are of him and seems to seek the company of people walking their dogs. Spotting a potential canine friend from hundreds of yards away, he runs, bounding toward another dog, then shows a polite restraint, sometimes retreating in a backward dance.

As night falls -- occasionally with fog settling on the ice and reducing Romeo to a dark outline -- the howl emerges.

As sad as it sounds, his cries are an assurance that Romeo is not far away.

Lone black wolf a Juneau mystery
Sunday, January 4, 2009 3:31 AM
By Steve Quinn
Associated Press

JUNEAU, Alaska -- He lets out a piercing howl that slowly penetrates your chest. To human ears, it's the sound of being alone. And the creature who made the cry probably is.

The locals call him Romeo. He's a black wolf without a pack, a wild canine that is often seen patrolling Juneau's Mendenhall Glacier, the state capital's signature recreation area.

Romeo baffles area biologists and naturalists with his refusal to find a pack or a mate, choosing instead to return each winter, at ease with humans walking within a few hundred yards.

He's typically been seen during a six-month stretch starting in late November when the glacier's lakes begin to freeze.

As predators go, he's gregarious, but when he reveals sharp fangs set against a pair of copper eyes, it's clear he's still part of Alaska's wildlife.

Romeo feeds primarily on beavers, snowshoe hares, ptarmigan, grouse and even salmon still lingering in the park's streams in the late fall.

Age estimates -- driven in part by his thick, graying snout -- put Romeo at about 8 years old, and he has been part of Juneau's wintertime lore for six of them.

Stories behind Romeo's arrival and how he got his name drive his mystique each year. The prevailing story dates to April 2003.

A pregnant female wolf was found dead about a quarter mile from the glacier's visitors center. The wolf was stuffed, mounted in the center and named Juliet.

Six months later, Romeo's first howl could be heard, leaving some to wonder whether the male was longing for the female. During the course of that winter and into 2004, the first regular sightings of Romeo occurred.

Known as an Alexander Archipelago species of a gray or timber wolf, Romeo is as much a part of winter in Juneau as cross-country skiing and snowshoeing.

Sometimes he's walking casually. Other times, he seems to be taking in a rare sunny day just lying in the middle of the frozen lake.

Romeo walks with strides that are as graceful as they are strong, leaving trails of paw prints the size of some adult human hands, a stark reminder that he's a wolf, not a stray dog.

He's as curious about us as we are of him and seems to seek the company of people walking their dogs. Spotting a potential canine friend from hundreds of yards away, he runs toward another dog, then shows a polite restraint, sometimes retreating in a backward dance.

As night falls, the howl emerges.

As sad as it sounds, his cries are an assurance that Romeo is not far away.

If you go
Romeo the black wolf of Juneau

If you see Romeo, don't approach him. Use binoculars or a camera for a closer look. And don't feed him. If you're traveling with a dog, keep your pet on a leash; dogs shouldn't be allowed to play with Romeo.

PS: ma è per caso lo stesso lupo che hai come avatar Randy? gli somiglia molto 8D

Where art thou, Romeo?
Juneau's famous black wolf's absence a mystery

By Kim Marquis | JUNEAU EMPIRE

Plenty of catastrophes can befall a wolf: icy stream crossings, a nasty spat with a bear, a fall in a crevasse, even other wolves.

Romeo faced those dangers and more because he chose to live near humans, where he could socialize with their pets. His increasing comfort around people probably upped his chances of mortality, but at age 7 or 8, he was getting up there in years and could have died naturally.

Then again, maybe he hooked up with a female wolf or joined a pack and left. That scenario seems unlikely to area biologists, but some Romeo fans like to think about it.

Neither hide nor hair of Romeo, the city's celebrity wolf, has been seen in Juneau this winter. Residents who hiked with him every day said he was last seen in mid-September.

Romeo first showed up in the Mendenhall Valley in 2003, hanging around every winter since in the Dredge Lakes area and on the frozen, snow-covered lake.

It was clear this was no ordinary wolf; he instigated playful behavior with dogs being walked by area residents.

"The thing that impressed me most about him was his non-aggressiveness, or his turn-the-other-cheek sort of attitude that he had," said photographer John Hyde, who spent countless hours taking hundreds of images of the animal. "I saw him attacked by various dogs, aggressively attacked and bitten, and he would just turn away and walk off when he could have literally killed those dogs in seconds."

It was clear to many residents the shiny black wolf, estimated at 140 pounds, yearned for canine companionship and was seemingly willing to stifle innate behavior in a quest to make friends.

"He would make noises, wanted to show us something. He wanted to play," said Harry Robinson, who was joined by the wolf on daily walks with his female dog, Brittian. "He'd jump eight feet straight up in the air and grab a branch, be like, 'Look at me, I'm so cute, look what I can do.' He'd play tug-of-war with other dogs but act like he's pulling it, so the dog would not get discouraged or something. He liked to be chased by other dogs."

He lived in the area woods, feeding on mice, voles, salmon and beaver. He sometimes got a deer and sometimes ate dog food, evidenced by the scat. Some say he left in the summer and others say he widened his range but stayed around, harder to see in the lush forest.

Romeo's socialization eventually became routine. He'd hang around the West Glacier Trail parking lot, his ears perking up at the sound of certain vehicles.

His "pack" was made up of a group of unrelated dogs, both large and small, belonging to people who walked their pets at different times of day.

He'd spend only minutes with some, and hours with others.

Robinson said he would hike two hours a day with him, and could call him with a wolf-like howl.

He'd follow many of his canine companions back to the parking lot.

"You'd see him whining and crying as they left, and they'd tell him to go back to where he came from and they left," Hyde said. "But then he'd be there the next day looking for the same thing."

Though thought of fondly by many, Romeo was accused of killing and eating several small-breed dogs.

Those incidences are strongly discounted by his fans but not ruled out by area wildlife managers, who discussed relocating the wolf but decided to attempt to change human behavior instead.

They requested pet owners not let dogs play with the wolf, putting signs up at the trailhead. It didn't stop the socialization, however.

This winter, Romeo did not come back to the lake, where many residents in years past saw him frolicking among ice skaters' pets.

Robinson said Romeo was last seen Sept. 18. He looked healthy and had about three-quarters of his winter coat grown in.

Events and details about Romeo observed by residents who got to know him offer some hints about what may have happened.

Always after canine companionship, Romeo was never that interested in humans but he became too comfortable around them, Hyde said.

"He was beginning to lose that fear of people, so if he saw a dog that looked interesting he'd come right up to it," he said, "even if there was a person on the end of a leash 20 feet away or even less."

Last year he began to show some age, shrinking his range and staying out of deep snow more than before. Wolves generally live a decade or so.

"He was just getting older," Hyde said, "and he wasn't quite as rambunctious as he used to be."

Biologist Steve Lewis said Romeo likely died of natural causes.

"My guess is that he's probably dead ... he just died from being a wolf," he said.

Romeo also could have interacted with a pack of wolves, said Lewis, a former researcher for the state department of Fish and Game now with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. He studied the animals until last year.

GPS collars on two of the pack animals showed them moving from Mount McGinnis north to the Katzaheen River near Haines. The pack made regular trips between the two areas but stayed up in the mountains, never coming down to the Mendenhall Valley, Lewis said.

In March they detoured around the valley, crossed the glacier and avoided downtown while heading for Thane to the south. The animals might have been checking boundaries of another pack in the Taku River drainage, Lewis said.

"He potentially could have been interacting with one of these other packs and he could have been killed because of that," Lewis said.

He also could have left on friendlier terms.

Last summer, a second wolf showed itself in the valley.

It was a gray wolf, with brown, black and gray markings said to be smaller than Romeo but not many people, if anyone, got a really good look.

The new wolf did not interact with people but stayed in the forest. Some heard it howl. Hyde said the call got no reaction from Romeo.

"The impression I got watching him, he didn't even answer," he said.

Still, the possibility Romeo could have developed an interest in the gray wolf is attractive, especially to those who became attached to him.

"I'm working on the supposition, an off-chance, that some type of female that came through the area was appealing to him," Robinson said.

Robinson also thinks someone could have hurt the wolf. He suggests it could have been trapped or shot.

State wildlife managers "don't have a clue" what might have happened to Romeo, Fish and Game Area Biologist Ryan Scott said, and drawing conclusions about a wrong doing is "inappropriate."

Romance, violence, a new beginning, a natural death - no one likely knows what happened to Romeo but many agree, a unique opportunity to see a wild animal up close and personal is lost to Juneau residents and visitors.

For Robinson, who saw Romeo as an individual and not just as a wild animal, his disappearance means a bit more than that.

"To me he was intelligent, loyal, very playful," he said. "... I miss him, as a friend, really. Much like - I don't want to say a dog because while I've never petted him, he's really wild - he certainly trusted us and he was a great, loyal companion."

Juneau wonders: Wherefore art thou, Romeo?

Published: January 25th, 2010 09:30 AM
Last Modified: January 25th, 2010 09:30 AM

Link: Juneau Empire Romeo, the lone, laid-back black wolf that showed up in the Dredge Lakes area of Juneau every winter since 2003, hasn't been seen yet this winter, and his fans are starting to worry. A federal biologist thinks Romeo is dead, but locals are hoping he finally found a mate or joined a pack. "The thing that impressed me most about him was his ... turn-the-other-cheek sort of attitude," said photographer John Hyde, who spent hours photographing Romeo. "I saw him attacked by various dogs, aggressively attacked and bitten, and he would just turn away and walk off when he could have literally killed those dogs in seconds." See many of Hyde's photos of Romeo here.

Juneau's famous black wolf mysteriously disappears

SPECULATION: Fans wonder what became of friendly romeo.

By KIM MARQUIS
Juneau Empire

Published: January 30th, 2010 01:06 AM
Last Modified: January 30th, 2010 01:07 AM

JUNEAU -- Plenty of catastrophes can befall a wolf: icy stream crossings, a nasty spat with a bear, a fall in a crevasse, even other wolves.

Romeo, a black wolf known in Juneau for his playful interactions with dogs, faced those dangers and more because he chose to live near humans, where he could socialize with their pets. His increasing comfort around people probably upped his chances of mortality, but at age 7 or 8, he was getting up there in years and could have died naturally.

Then again, maybe he hooked up with a female wolf or joined a pack and left. That scenario seems unlikely to area biologists, but some Romeo fans like to think about it.

Neither hide nor hair of Romeo, the city's celebrity wolf, has been seen in Juneau this winter. Residents who hiked with him every day said he was last seen in mid-September.

Romeo first showed up in the Mendenhall Valley in 2003, hanging around every winter since in the Dredge Lakes area and on the frozen, snow-covered lake. It was clear this was no ordinary wolf; he instigated playful behavior with dogs being walked by area residents.

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"The thing that impressed me most about him was his non-aggressiveness, or his turn-the-other-cheek sort of attitude that he had," said photographer John Hyde, who spent countless hours taking hundreds of images of the animal. "I saw him attacked by various dogs, aggressively attacked and bitten, and he would just turn away and walk off when he could have literally killed those dogs in seconds."

It was clear to many residents the shiny black wolf, estimated at 140 pounds, yearned for canine companionship and was seemingly willing to stifle innate behavior in a quest to make friends.

"He would make noises, wanted to show us something. He wanted to play," said Harry Robinson, who was joined by the wolf on daily walks with his female dog, Brittian. "He'd jump eight feet straight up in the air and grab a branch, be like, 'Look at me, I'm so cute, look what I can do.' He'd play tug-of-war with other dogs but act like he's pulling it, so the dog would not get discouraged or something. He liked to be chased by other dogs."

He lived in the area woods, feeding on mice, voles, salmon and beaver. He sometimes got a deer and sometimes ate dog food, evidenced by the scat. Some say he left in the summer and others say he widened his range but stayed around, harder to see in the lush forest.

LONE WOLF MAKES FRIENDS

Romeo's socialization eventually became routine. He'd hang around the West Glacier Trail parking lot, his ears perking up at the sound of certain vehicles.

His "pack" was made up of a group of unrelated dogs, both large and small, belonging to people who walked their pets at different times of day.

He'd spend only minutes with some, and hours with others.

Robinson said he would hike two hours a day with him, and could call him with a wolf-like howl.

He'd follow many of his canine companions back to the parking lot.

Though thought of fondly by many, Romeo was accused of killing and eating several small-breed dogs.

Those incidences are strongly discounted by his fans but not ruled out by area wildlife managers, who discussed relocating the wolf but decided to attempt to change human behavior instead.

They requested pet owners not let dogs play with the wolf, putting signs up at the trailhead. It didn't stop the socialization, however.

This winter, Romeo did not come back to the lake, where many residents in years past saw him frolicking among ice skaters' pets.

Robinson said Romeo was last seen Sept. 18. He looked healthy and had about three-quarters of his winter coat grown in.

Events and details about Romeo observed by residents who got to know him offer some hints about what may have happened.

Always after canine companionship, Romeo was never that interested in humans but he became too comfortable around them, Hyde said.

"He was beginning to lose that fear of people, so if he saw a dog that looked interesting he'd come right up to it," he said, "even if there was a person on the end of a leash 20 feet away or even less."

Last year he began to show some age, shrinking his range and staying out of deep snow more than before. Wolves generally live a decade or so.

"He was just getting older," Hyde said, "and he wasn't quite as rambunctious as he used to be."

Biologist Steve Lewis said Romeo likely died of natural causes.

"My guess is that he's probably dead ... he just died from being a wolf," he said.

Romeo also could have interacted with a pack of wolves, said Lewis, a former researcher for the state department of Fish and Game now with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. He studied the animals until last year.

GPS collars on two of the pack animals showed them moving from Mount McGinnis north to the Katzaheen River near Haines. The pack made regular trips between the two areas but stayed up in the mountains, never coming down to the Mendenhall Valley, Lewis said.

In March they detoured around the valley, crossed the glacier and avoided downtown while heading for Thane to the south. The animals might have been checking boundaries of another pack in the Taku River drainage, Lewis said.

"He potentially could have been interacting with one of these other packs and he could have been killed because of that," Lewis said.

LOVE FOR ROMEO?

Romeo also could have left on friendlier terms.

Last summer, a second wolf showed itself in the valley.

It was a gray wolf, with brown, black and gray markings said to be smaller than Romeo but not many people, if anyone, got a really good look.

The new wolf did not interact with people but stayed in the forest. Some heard it howl. Hyde said the call got no reaction from Romeo.

"The impression I got watching him, he didn't even answer," he said.

Still, the possibility Romeo could have developed an interest in the gray wolf is attractive, especially to those who became attached to him.

"I'm working on the supposition, an off-chance, that some type of female that came through the area was appealing to him," Robinson said.

Robinson also thinks someone could have hurt the wolf. He suggests it could have been trapped or shot.

State wildlife managers "don't have a clue" what might have happened to Romeo, Fish and Game Area Biologist Ryan Scott said, and drawing conclusions about a wrongdoing is "inappropriate."

Black wolf killed; is it Romeo?

The Associated Press

Published: May 25th, 2010 03:47 PM
Last Modified: May 25th, 2010 03:48 PM

JUNEAU -- Juneau residents are wondering if a black wolf killed last fall is Romeo -- an unusually sociable black wolf that disappeared last September. Alaska State Troopers say 46-year-old Jeffrey Peacock of Lebanon, Pa., and 40-year-old Park Myers of Juneau are charged with the unlawful taking of big game animals.

Troopers say they found the wolf's hide in their investigation. Trooper spokeswoman Beth Ipsen says they do not know if it is Romeo.

Troopers say the men also were found to be operating an unlawful bear bait site north of Juneau along the road system.

Peacock's bail was set at $10,000. Myers' bail was set at $2,500.

Lt. Steve Hall with the troopers says the black wolf's pelt was sealed last fall. Romeo was last seen on Sept. 18.

Read more: http://www.adn.com/2010/05/25/1293875/blac...l#ixzz0pXcEwGbb

Io mi auguro con tutto il cuore che non sia lui.

Juneau man receives suspended sentence for hunting violations
By Klas Stolpe | JUNEAU EMPIRE



A Juneau man accused of multiple hunting violations in the area, including the illegal shooting of a black-colored wolf many Juneau residents believe was the one called "Romeo," pleaded guilty and was sentenced Wednesday morning in Juneau District Court as a crowded courtroom looked on.

Park Myers pleaded guilty to unlawfully taking big game by using a rim fire cartridge to take a wolf and unlawful possession of that wolf. The charges stemmed from the same Sept. 22, 2009, incident.

Myers also pleaded guilty to establishing a black bear station to hunt bear using bait or scent lures without an Alaska Department of Fish & Game permit, and two more counts of unlawful possession stemming from May 2009 and May 2010.

Judge Keith Levy sentenced Myers to a total of 330 days in jail, all suspended; $12,500 in fines, $7,500 suspended, for a total of $5,000 due within two years. Myers has additional restitution of $1,100 and must forfeit three rifles and surrender any interest in hides generated in this case. His hunting license is suspended for the duration of his probation.

Myers had no comment as he left the court building but stated later in the afternoon, "I am remorseful about what I did. I take the punishment seriously. I apologize to the community and hope everyone can learn from this and move on. I would especially like to thank my supporters."

District Attorney Doug Gardner stated that it was important to note the case, although very emotional to the public, was not about whether or not a black wolf was taken, but one of illegal hunting violations.

"I think it is important for hunters to understand this case is about being a sportsman," District Attorney Doug Gardner said after court. "Alaska may be the last frontier but it is not a lawless frontier. The laws are there to keep people safe and make hunting fair for everybody."

Prior to sentencing Gardner called Alaska Wildlife Trooper Aaron Frenzel as a witness. Frenzel testified to conducting a joint investigation with the U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Search warrants were served on Myers' house, Myers' hunting client Jeffrey Peacock's workplace and a local taxidermist. Peacock is currently facing charges related to the Sept. 2009 taking of the wolf.

Frenzel's investigation also included interviews with Myers and Peacock in which Myers admitted to the violations.

Frenzel stated the law for big game hunting in Alaska was by center fire only, except in two game units, due to the possible wounding of game with smaller caliber typical of rim fire cartridges.

Frenzel also displayed the black-colored wolf hide seized from a taxidermist that was to be mounted for Myers.

Gardner asked Frenzel to comment on a slide show of recovered images relevant to the wolf and bear obtained in search warrants. Images showed Peacock and Myers posing with the black-colored wolf after it had been taken and during the skinning process at the taxidermist. They also showed images of a Juneau Empire article entitled "Romeo, Where Art Thou?" from Peacock's cell phone.

Gardner asked and Frenzel confirmed that no DNA testing was done but people can look at the images and make their own decision.

Other images showed a black bear at a bait site.

Frenzel said surveillance of Peacock and Myers led to an unlawful bait site at Glacier Highway mile 26, near the Bridget Cover area. Myers and Peacock were observed bringing a bear out of the woods. Surveillance cameras revealed the two baiting the site.

Frenzel's testimony also revealed Myers and Peacock took a bear on the beach by the Shrine of St. Therese, an area including Peterson Creek and the waterline to Glacier Highway and a quarter mile inland that is closed to big-game hunting.

Frenzel also revealed photos confiscated that were taken the day before the wolf kill that showed a single black wolf, near Herbert River and the side trail to Windfall Lake, walking up to a vehicle and one of the same wolf in the Herbert River parking lot, again walking up to a vehicle's window.

Frenzel said the wolf was falsely sealed by Peacock because Myers did not want to take the blame for shooting Romeo.

Frenzel also testified that author Nick Jans received a request from Peacock to write "Romeo, Romeo, where art thou" as an inscription in Peacock's copy of Jans' book about Romeo, titled "Glacier Wolf."

Myers' attorney David Mallet cross-examined Frenzel by telephone, asking if Myers was forthcoming in his admissions, which Frenzel replied "yes." Frenzel told Mallet he was not sure why the wolf hide was marked gray but it was the same wolf as in all the images.

Public attendees to the trial gathered outside the courtroom to examine the black-colored wolf hide.

"That is definitely Romeo," said Friends of Romeo founder Harry Robinson. "No mistake. You can tell by this scar here. I don't think anybody is happy about the outcome. The profound loss of this animal to the community is overwhelming. Young kids cannot look at Romeo running in the wild again. I myself personally took elderly citizens out just to see him."

Mallet said in a sentencing memorandum to the court that the wolf's identity has never been confirmed. Frenzel said in court that, although DNA samples exist, they have not been tested.

Spirit of Romeo rises over old roaming grounds
By Klas Stolpe | JUNEAU EMPIRE



The familiar howl came in Saturday afternoon's winter wind.

Low and lonely off the fields of ice, the wail pranced along the face of the glacier the Tlingit once called Sitaantaagu ("the Glacier Behind the Town") or Aak'wtaaksit ("the Glacier Behind the Little Lake").

The wild cry played upon the Mendenhall Glacier waters, searching for another to return its lament.

And on the shores of Mendenhall Lake, at the base of the Mendenhall Valley, in the capital city of Juneau, the weary soulful tune of the beloved black wolf Romeo found its love again.

Many loves, in fact, lined the shore to reflect the enrichment their lives had felt by interacting with the town's beloved mascot.

"So many have been touched by Romeo," Joel Bennett said from atop a large rock to a group of more than 75 people gathered on the shores of Mendenhall Lake near the West Glacier Trail. "This is a testament to that by the number of you who have gathered here."

Bennett mentioned the illness of his wife who, in her last days, was able to see Romeo from the lake edge.

"To see him from the shoreline," Bennett said. "She was energized and I know it prolonged her life."

Romeo once played with Harry Robinson's dog, smiled for author Nick Jans camera and followed Lin Davis across the frozen lakes and up the glacier trail.

"I lost a true companion as did all the dogs here today, his playmates," said Robinson, who founded Friends of Romeo. "Anyone that came out here to see him had a chance to see something special. It wasn't his fault he was born a big scary wolf."

Robinson said he would hike with Romeo for hours in the woods and Romeo would make "Wolf angels" in the snow. Robinson said one day a brown bear confronted he and his dog and Romeo rushed to sit by their side, growling until the bear was scared away.

Said Robinson, "Romeo was my friend. The lake is much emptier without him."

It was noted Romeo has a following in Japan and Sweden and that President Barack Obama has a framed portrait of the wolf.

Jans, an outdoorsman and author, said Romeo was about eight years old and weighed a little more than 140 pounds.

"He was more excitable in the mating season," Jans said. "But he was never seen with another wolf mate."

Jans also recounted what Eskimo elder Nellie Woods told him, "Animals have a soul just like you, just like me."

Jans said in the history of traditional hunting worldwide, hunters have always treated animals around them as equals.

"I have killed more things than I can remember," Jans said. "There is nothing wrong with hunting or subsistence. What is wrong is to lose respect for the wild animals you hunt."

Davis recounted her meetings with Romeo and said, "I have cried so many tears over this."

Tina Brown, president of the Southeast Chapter of the Alaska Wildlife Alliance, said, "Romeo brought us joy and reminded us who we are."

As the last recorded howls of Romeo were played at his glacier memorial Saturday morning, tears reminded those who gathered and leashed dogs raised their heads in soulful answer.

Romeo was remembered Saturday afternoon. However, judging by the response of those gathered, it seems unlikely his spirit ever will be laid to rest.