In the time of Lewis and Clark, wolves were abundant throughout North
America from the Arctic regions to Mexico. But man declared war on this
cunning and powerful animal when cattle replaced the buffalo on the
western plains, reducing the wolf's range to those few areas in the Far
North where economic necessity did not call for its extinction.
Between 1939 and 1941, Adolph Murie, one of North America's greatest
naturalists, made a field study of the relationship between wolves and
Dall sheep in Mount McKinley National Park (since renamed Denali
National Park) which has come to be respected as a classic work of
natural history. In this study Murie not only described the life cycle
of Alaskan wolves in greater detail than has ever been done, but he
discovered a great deal about the entire ecological network of predator
and prey.
The issues surrounding the survival of the wolf and its prey are more
important today than ever, and Murie helps us understand the careful
balance that must be maintained to ensure that these magnificent animals
prosper. Originally available only in government publications which are
long out-of-print, this account of a much maligned animal is now
available in its first popular edition.