Book Review: Wolf Island: Discovering the Secrets of a Mythic Animal by L. David Mech

Wolf Island: Discovering the Secrets of a Mythic Animal
by L. David Mech, Ph.D. (599.773 Mec) 

I was pleased to see Wolf Island on the New Books Display this summer. The book describes the research that L. David Mech did over the course of three years (1958-1961) on Isle Royale in Lake Superior, approximately twenty miles off the Canadian and U.S. border. As a longtime supporter of the International Wolf Center in Ely, Minnesota, I was excited to see that its founder had published a book detailing his graduate research that led to his Ph.D. and lifetime career. As described by Mech, the research team plotted out a multi-year project to better understand how wolves hunted, what they ate, how they tracked with the abundance or scarcity of moose, and how successfully they killed their prey. Isle Royale was the perfect environment to study this subject as moose were in abundance and wolves were new to the island. By studying wolf scat to determine the diet of wolves and observing wolf packs as they hunted and killed moose, Mech was able to accumulate a body of research to help us better understand wolves and their impact on the ecosystem. At the time of this study, wolves were found in northern Minnesota and Alaska with little presence in the lower 48 states. With successful reintroduction programs, wolves are now making a comeback in nearly a dozen states. This is a fascinating book about the research that led to a better understanding of wolves and their place in the wild. I highly recommend this book.

 

(If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try The Wolves of Denali by L. David Mech, or The Reign of Wolf 21 : The Saga of Yellowstone’s Legendary Druid Pack by Rick McIntyre.)

 

( publisher’s official Wolf Island web page ) | ( official L. David Mech web site )

 

Recommended by Kim J.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 

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