Find out more about the authors
The Wolves of Denali
L. David Mech, Layne G. Adams, Thomas J. Meier,
John W. Burch, and Bruce W. Dale
Cover photo by
Leo Keeler, 1998
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Find out more about the authors |
The Wolves of Denali L. David Mech, Layne G. Adams, Thomas J. Meier,
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Hunting caribou, Dall sheep, and moose in the shadow of Mount McKinley, the wolves of Alaska's Denali National Park form one of the largest protected populations in the world. Relatively unmolested by humans, Denali wolves have flourished in this massive and beautiful wilderness. For over nine years these wolves have been the subject of intense research by a group of renowned scientists led by L. David Mech. The results of their work comprise the most comprehensive study on a population of wolves and their prey ever available, now made public in this accessible and fascinating book. The Wolves of Denali is the story of more than thirty wolf packs monitored for nine years. Using aerial radio tracking, Mech and his colleagues monitored 147 individual wolves. In order to explore the interactions between wolves and caribou, the authors also simultaneously tracked 653 individual caribou following the herds around Denali park. From this remarkable research comes a vivid portrait of the Denali wolf and its prey. Written in an engaging manner and extensively illustrated with photographs, tables, and charts, the authors explore all aspects of wolf life, from pack competition for space and food, to the story of wolves fighting each other or dispersing hundreds of miles. The Wolves of Denali provides important new information for researchers and general readers, and will appeal to wolf enthusiasts across the world. "Alaska's Denali National Park contains the world's least disturbed mainland wolf population. The Wolves of Denali covers all aspects of wolf ecology, including natural history, pack organization and function, and the wolves' special relationship with Denali's caribou herds. The meshing of a concurrent longitudinal study of the parkss caribou with the wolf research lends added value. The writing is clear, the chapters are well organized, and the book is replete with photographs." Library Journal "Mech, Adams, Meier, Burch, and Dale have taken wolf
biology to a new level. Mech's pioneering The Wolf helped
to take our understanding beyond the wolf as a reflection of
human character, to draw the wolf from the shadows of myth and
place it in the realm of biology. His subsequent studies have
deepened our understanding of the wolf as an ecological force
and as the expression of other ecological forces. The Wolves
of Denali urges us to see that these ecological forces are
more complicated, more varied over time, less hospitable to easy
generalizations. Predation has always seemed simple, but studies
like this one show it to be unexpectedly complex." "This engaging account of a timeless wolf-prey system
is a landmark in wildlife ecology, a unique blend of first--rate
science and wonderful stories. The scope of this study matches
the landscape--extraordinary. This is field biology at its best,
in a magnificent natural ecosystem where the lives of wolves
and their prey depend, respectively, on finding and avoiding
each other. Because neither is completely successful, the system
persists and forms the basis of a rich wild community. The
Wolves of Denali is the most comprehensive study of wolf
ecology to be found between the two covers of any book. Every
reader will learn much from this volume, while becoming engrossed
by the fascinating details of the life and death of wolves and
their prey." ISBN 0-8166-2958-7 Cloth/jacket $29.95
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