Wolves of the Rocky Mountains from Jasper to Yellowstone

Patrick Colgan is the former executive director of the Canadian Museum
of Nature.

This reissue of the Wolf Story (1994) skilfully blends the experiences
of the author, an independent observer of wolves for more than 30 years,
and pertinent information from the literature on wolves and their prey.

The book is divided into three sections. The first section deals with
such features of wolf life as calling, reproduction, social
organization, patterns of predation, and interactions with competitors.
The second section looks at how the wolf has evolved from varmint to
conservation icon in the popular imagination, a change reflected in the
shift from trapping, bounties, aerial kills, and poisonings to
protection programs and reintro-ductions. In the third section, the
author discusses the relation of wolves, prey, and humans, with
reference to management issues, the dynamics of prey populations, and
the search for balanced approaches to conservation.

The geographic emphasis is on western North America, especially Jasper
Park. The text, which is supplemented with color photographs and line
drawings, is balanced in its interpretations and conversational in tone.
As Dekker correctly insists, how we treat wolves is key to our overall
approach to nature.