Arctic Wildlife

David Mattison is a librarian with the B.C. Provincial Archives and
Records Services Library.

Assisted by colour photographs taken by several of Canada’s best-known nature photographers, Hummel paints an impressive picture of the Arctic as “the last wilderness” and indeed one of the most fragile and important. A brief opening chapter discusses the varied forms of Arctic life and the environment in general.

The two forms of animal life are depicted in separate chapters beginning with the birds and followed by the mammals. Between the two portfolios of photographs is a short chapter describing survival strategies of the Inuit population. The book ends with a summary of species that are considered in danger of becoming extinct and general advice on how best to manage Arctic wildlife with, of course, the total involvement of the Inuit.

The photographs are without exception well executed. The quality of reproduction, however, does not always do justice to these splendid images. Problems with colour registration are evident to the naked eye, and the text in some spots is faded. The book is meant as an introductory survey to Arctic wildlife for the general reader, so specialists will not find the detail nor scientific nomenclature here. The photographers have been credited only at the end of the book. An index by generic name is provided (e.g., Loon, Arctic; Loon, red-throated).