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Wolves: Behavior, Ecology, and Conservation
 
 
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Wolves: Behavior, Ecology, and Conservation [Hardcover]

L. David Mech (Editor), Luigi Boitani (Editor)
4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)


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Book Description

November 23, 2003
Wolves are some of the world's most charismatic and controversial animals, capturing the imaginations of their friends and foes alike. Highly intelligent and adaptable, they hunt and play together in close-knit packs, sometimes roaming over hundreds of square miles in search of food. Once teetering on the brink of extinction across much of the United States and Europe, wolves have made a tremendous comeback in recent years, thanks to legal protection, changing human attitudes, and efforts to reintroduce them to suitable habitats in North America.

As wolf populations have rebounded, scientific studies of them have also flourished. But there hasn't been a systematic, comprehensive overview of wolf biology since 1970. In Wolves, many of the world's leading wolf experts provide state-of-the-art coverage of just about everything you could want to know about these fascinating creatures. Individual chapters cover wolf social ecology, behavior, communication, feeding habits and hunting techniques, population dynamics, physiology and pathology, molecular genetics, evolution and taxonomy, interactions with nonhuman animals such as bears and coyotes, reintroduction, interactions with humans, and conservation and recovery efforts. The book discusses both gray and red wolves in detail and includes information about wolves around the world, from the United States and Canada to Italy, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Israel, India, and Mongolia. Wolves is also extensively illustrated with black and white photos, line drawings, maps, and fifty color plates.

Unrivalled in scope and comprehensiveness, Wolves will become the definitive resource on these extraordinary animals for scientists and amateurs alike.

“An excellent compilation of current knowledge, with contributions from all the main players in wolf research. . . . It is designed for a wide readership, and certainly the language and style will appeal to both scientists and lucophiles alike. . . . This is an excellent summary of current knowledge and will remain the standard reference work for a long time to come.”—Stephen Harris, New Scientist

“This is the place to find almost any fact you want about wolves.”—Stephen Mills, BBC Wildlife Magazine


(20031201)

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Editorial Reviews

Review

"This will undoubtedly become the standard work on wolves for academic and professional collections."

(Alvin Hutchinson Library Journal 20040801)

"This book is the first comprehensive review of wolf biology since Mech''s original work. It provides an excellent compilation of current knowledge, with contributions from all the main players in wolf research over the past few decades who are still alive. It is designed for a wide readership, and certainly the language and style will appeal to both scientists and lucophiles alike. . . . This is an excellent summary of current knowledge and will remain the standard reference work for a long time to come. And by today''s standards, it''s refreshingly cheap."—Stephen Harris, New Scientist

(Stephen Harris New Scientist 20040601)

"Everything you wanted to know about wolves!"—Ecology
(Ecology 20040301)

"Everything you wanted to know about wolves!"—Ecology
(Paul Frame Arctic )

"There is no single source that compiles more information about wolves, and this compendium will stimulate a new generation of field biologists to design studies to fill the many gaping holes in our understanding. . . . For its price, this is a bargain of a book."—Mark S. Boyce, Quarterly Review of Biolology
(Mark S. Boyce Quarterly Review of Biology )

"One of the best books ever published about any wild carnivore species. Its 13 chapters cover a great swathe of topics—social ecology, behaviour, reproduciton, communication, feeding ecology, predator-prey relationships, population dynamics, physiology, molecular genetics, evolution and taxonomy, interactions with non-prey species and with humans, and conservation."—Nicholas Gould, International Zoo News
(Nicholas Gould International Zoo News )

“This book, edited by two outstanding wolf biologists, is the first definitive work on the species since Mech’s monograph in 1970. Its expert contributors deal with all aspects of wolf biology—social life, hunting, prowess, physiology, genetics, worldwide distribution, and relations with humans—and this is the place to find almost any fact you want about wolves.” Stephen Mills, BBC Wildlife Magazine
(Stephen Mills BBC Wildlife )

"Wolves provides an outstanding overview of the biology and conservation of the species, delivering an up-to-date and unparalleled account of grey wolf biology. . . . This is undoubtedly the most important book ever published on grey wolves. A heft volume, beautifully published, with many black and white photographs and quality colour plates, at a reasonable price. . . . A must-have reference book for the carnivore biologist, boreal ecologist, landscape conservationist, behavioural ecologist, student of people-wildlife conflicts, and countless wolf lovers worldwide.”—Claudio Sillero-Zubiri, Oryx
 
(Claudio Sillero-Zubiri Oryx )

"[The book] provides one of the most extensive descriptions of the ecology of any mammal species in the world. . . . [It] brings together research conclusions on any conceivable topic related to wolves, very useful either for the interested person or the biologist."
(John B. Theberge Canadian Field Maturalist )

"The book is a highly valuable addition to the bookshelf of anyone who would like to know more about why living with wolves will continue to challenge us and provide perspective on our own ecosystem role."
(Astrid Vik Stronen Ethology )

From the Inside Flap

Wolves are some of the world's most charismatic and controversial animals, capturing the imaginations of their friends and foes alike. Highly intelligent and adaptable, they hunt and play together in close-knit packs, sometimes roaming over hundreds of square miles in search of food. Once teetering on the brink of extinction across much of the United States and Europe, wolves have made a tremendous comeback in recent years, thanks to legal protection, changing human attitudes, and efforts to reintroduce them to suitable habitats in North America.

As wolf populations have rebounded, scientific studies of them have also flourished. But there hasn't been a systematic, comprehensive overview of wolf biology since 1970. In Wolves, many of the world's leading wolf experts provide state-of-the-art coverage of just about everything you could want to know about these fascinating creatures. Individual chapters cover wolf social ecology, behavior, communication, feeding habits and hunting techniques, population dynamics, physiology and pathology, molecular genetics, evolution and taxonomy, interactions with nonhuman animals such as bears and coyotes, reintroduction, interactions with humans, and conservation and recovery efforts. The book discusses both gray and red wolves in detail and includes information about wolves around the world, from the United States and Canada to Italy, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Israel, India, and Mongolia. Wolves is also extensively illustrated with black and white photos, line drawings, maps, and fifty color plates.

Unrivalled in scope and comprehensiveness, Wolves will become the definitive resource on these extraordinary animals for scientists and amateurs alike.

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 472 pages
  • Publisher: University Of Chicago Press; 1 edition (November 23, 2003)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0226516962
  • ISBN-13: 978-0226516967
  • Product Dimensions: 11.4 x 8.5 x 1.5 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 3.6 pounds
  • Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,260,638 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

 

Customer Reviews

17 Reviews
5 star:
 (16)
4 star:    (0)
3 star:
 (1)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.9 out of 5 stars (17 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

45 of 45 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Wolf Bible, January 31, 2004
By 
This review is from: Wolves: Behavior, Ecology, and Conservation (Hardcover)
If David L Mech's original book "the Wolf"(1970) has been known by wolf students and admirers as the 'Bible', then this new text must be known as the new testament. With contributions by the cream of the wolf biology world, including familiar names, Fred H Harrington, Rolf O Peterson, Ronald M Nowak, Ludwig N Carbyn, Douglas W Smith, Michael K Phillips and Steven H Fritts to name a few, Dr Mech (the Wolfman) and his European counterpart Luigi Boitani have put together 344 pages (plus 104 pages of index and references) of superbly researched material about Canis Lupus, the most misunderstood creature on the planet earth.

This detailed text is supplimented with numerous graphs, line drawings and photographs. But be aware, this is not a pretty picture book for your coffee table, the photographs here are included to Illustrate the behaviour and life cycle of a complex, social, carnivorous predator, whose brutal environment is matched only by their sometimes brutal survival behaviour.

Dr's Mech and Boitani must be applauded for the presentation of their material in a very readable style, scientific but not so complicated that the average reader or wolf enthusiast cannot make sense of the information provided. Yet for a wolf biology student the inclusion of the graphs and scientific data makes this a priceless piece of work, with numerous references to other available field data.

Until Dr David L Mech writes his next Wolf book (which is always an event in itself) THIS is the only book on wolves that anyone needs in their collection. Support David L Mech, support Wolf research, buy this book.

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22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Essential reference but not for beginners, November 9, 2005
By 
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Wolves: Behavior, Ecology, and Conservation (Hardcover)
This is a wonderful book but it's not for someone who has just discovered an interest in wolves. If you want a good introduction to wolves, I'd suggest Peter Steinhardt's "In the Company of Wolves" or something similar.

Good as it is, it's not the kind of book that you'll take to the beach. It is important to realize that this is a huge book, about 8.5x11 inches and over 3.5 pounds (1.5 kg). It's also a scholarly volume, though accessible to the educated lay reader. The book is exhaustive and thorough, comprehensive in scope and detailed throughout. It has dozens of pages of bibliography, making it an essential reference if you want to read any part of the scientific literature on wolves.

The book emphasizes natural science topics relevant to wolves, but includes social-scientific and humanistic issues as well such as wolf management and human-wolf interaction. Some of the chapters address topics that the lay reader probably won't find interesting (such as taxonomy, physiology and parasitology, or molecular genetics). Other chapters cover topics that are less common in books for the Wolf Freak, such as communication between wolves or wolves' relations with other non-prey species.

Interesting as many of those topics are, most lay readers will probably turn first to the chapters dealing with wolves' relations with humans or wolf recovery. These do not disappoint. From there, you could turn to other chapters according to interest.
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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Highly credible writing, November 30, 2005
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Wolves: Behavior, Ecology, and Conservation (Hardcover)
I was priviledged to participate in research in the "wolf-moose-spruce- goose-papoose" biome, Isle Royale in the middle of Lake Superior and received a hands-on education into the work of David Mech.

This book is systematic, rigorous, solid with breadth and depth of current understanding of wolves. This is not a "day at the beach" read, but a serious tome that is easy to access. Good references, indices, graphs and commentary. Wildland species and ecoystems have become polarized and politicized as special interests compete for their own belief systems. Science is based on evidence, not belief and Mech goes a long way to set the record straight on our understanding of wolves and ecosystems that support and sustain wolves in both Eurasia and North America.

This is a critical book for anyone seriously interested in wolves and wolve-sustaining ecosystems.
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Inside This Book (learn more)
First Sentence:
THE FIRST REAL BEGINNING to our understanding of wolf social ecology came from wolf 2204 on 23 May 1972. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
supplanted wolf, wolf kill rates, wolf sociality, colonizing wolf population, small wolf populations, wolf population dynamics, wolf density, captive wolf research, wolf reproduction, red wolf program, wolves disperse, wolf conservation, homesite attendance, recolonizing population, wolf management, caribou density, wolves coexist, wolf biology, wolf vocalizations, wolf dispersal, natal pack, pack splitting, single wolves, dispersing wolves, wolf pack size
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
North America, Isle Royale, United States, Van Ballenberghe, Yellowstone National Park, Denali National Park, Left Shoulder, North Carolina, Superior National Forest, British Columbia, Kenai Peninsula, Old World, Soviet Union, Ellesmere Island, Great Lakes, David Mech, Lake Superior, Middle East, Northwest Territories, Stable Incr, Denali Park, Luigi Boitani, Rocky Mountains, South America, Michigan Moose
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