Wolves on the Hunt – The Behavior of Wolves Hunting Wild Prey - Hardcover

Mech, L. David; Smith, Douglas; Macnulty, Daniel

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 022625514X ISBN 13: 9780226255149

Publisher: University of Chicago Press, 2015

Synopsis

The interactions between apex predators and their prey are some of the most awesome and meaningful in nature - displays of strength, endurance, and a deep coevolutionary history. And there is perhaps no apex predator more impressive and important in its hunting - or more infamous, more misjudged - than the wolf. Because of wolves' habitat, speed, and general success at evading humans, researchers have faced great obstacles in studying their natural hunting behaviors. The first book to focus explicitly on wolf hunting of wild prey, Wolves on the Hunt seeks to remedy these gaps in our knowledge and understanding. Combining behavioral data, thousands of hours of original field observations, research in the literature, a wealth of illustrations, and - in the e-book edition and online - video segments, the authors create a compelling and complex picture of these hunters. The wolf is indeed an adept killer, able to take down prey much larger than itself. While adapted to hunt primarily hoofed animals, a wolf - or especially a pack of wolves - can kill individuals of just about any species. But even as wolves help drive the underlying rhythms of the ecosystems they inhabit, their evolutionary prowess comes at a cost: wolves spend one third of their time hunting - the most time-consuming of all wolf activities - and success at the hunt only comes through traveling long distances, persisting in the face of regular failure, detecting and taking advantage of deficiencies in the physical condition of individual prey, and through ceaseless trial and error, all while risking injury or death. By describing and analyzing the behaviors wolves use to hunt and kill various wild prey - including deer, moose, caribou, elk, Dall sheep, mountain goats, bison, muskoxen, arctic hares, beavers, and others - Wolves on the Hunt provides a revelatory portrait of one of nature's greatest hunters.

About this title

Review:

"In reading "Wolves on the Hunt" you will learn that death has shaped life for millions of years. You'll learn that no activity is more important to the wolf than predation; and although it's a tough and frustrating habit that often fails, wolves survive only because they refuse to give up. By shedding light on these and other important findings, "Wolves on the Hunt" will be incredibly valuable to conservation scientists and citizens alike who appreciate wild places and wild things. It's a great illustration of the constant battle between predator and prey and of dogged determination."--Ted Turner, Chairman, Turner Endangered Species Fund

"This exhaustive account of wolves hunting and killing wild prey could only be compiled by the foremost wolf biologists of our day--Drs. Mech, Smith, and MacNulty. The easy-to-read book cites all the primary and secondary literature as well as many previously unpublished observations. "Wolves on the Hunt "will not only fascinate biologists and those teaching wildlife management but also the general public, including outdoor, environmental, and hunting groups. These detailed observations of predation let us imagine the struggles that our ancestors must have encountered as we competed with wolves to become the earth's supreme hunters of ungulates."--Ed Bangs, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Wolf Recovery Coordinator from 1988 to 2011

"Very detailed. Never before has the predatory behavior of any carnivore been presented in such depth. "Wolves on the Hunt "is a contribution not just to our knowledge of the wolf but to our understanding of predation in general. The authors, experts in wolf predatory behavior who are in the best position to interpret these data from a scientific perspective, review a great amount of information and add an impressive number of accounts of hunting events observed by very few people. Their interpretations of the appropriate literature are clear and elegant. Very well written, easy to read both for specialists and for the general public interested in wolves and wildlife, "Wolves on the Hunt" is unique."--Juan Carlos Blanco, former adviser to the Ministry of the Environment on the Coordinated Plan for Wolf Conservation in Spain

In reading "Wolves on the Hunt" you will learn that death has shaped life for millions of years. You ll learn that no activity is more important to the wolf than predation; and although it s a tough and frustrating habit that often fails, wolves survive only because they refuse to give up. By shedding light on these and other important findings, "Wolves on the Hunt" will be incredibly valuable to conservation scientists and citizens alike who appreciate wild places and wild things. It s a great illustration of the constant battle between predator and prey and of dogged determination. --Ted Turner, Chairman, Turner Endangered Species Fund"

For all wildlife lovers, this is a must read. --Melanie Gade "Defenders of Wildlife blog, Weekly Wolf Wrap-Up ""

Public sentiments over wolves are polarized in the United States: many view wolves as icons of the wild; others consider them the epitome of evil. Significant misconceptions exist over how wolves hunt and kill and what they kill. The authors provide clear answers to these questions, using evidence. . . . Carnivore biologists, particularly those focused on canids, will enjoy it. . . . Recommended. --J. Organ, University of Massachusetts Amherst "Choice ""

Highly useful for defining research questions and informing conclusions from such studies of wolf hunting behavior. Most investigators of these studies will be lucky to witness the pursuit of wolves just once even though this is their focus. Accordingly, this book will be a valuable reference (in more than 1000 hours of radio tracking wolves and moose, I have witnessed only three wolf-prey interactions). I expect the book to be of broad interest as well because the polarizing nature of wolves is due, in part, to their hunting and predatory behavior. As someone who participates in wildlife management meetings where wolves and their prey are common topics of discussion, I can personally attest to the latter. Stories are shared regularly at these meetings, but usually these stories are full of hearsay and innuendo with little fact. The facts contained within this book can inform these discussions, with the ultimate goal of fostering a better understanding of wolves and their interactions with prey. --Bryce C. Lake, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge "Arctic ""

[One of The Best Books of 2015: Nature! ]. . . . It s not often in the world of nature-writing that readers get a chance to read a kind of summation written by the single most knowledgeable expert on a given subject, and in 2015 it happened a few times. Including this great book based in such large part on the research, insight, and vast personal experience Mech brings to the subject of wolves. --Steve Donoghue "Open Letters Monthly ""

The authors represent three generations of career wolf ecologists. . . . This book is indeed unique and will be of interest to many readers, including ecologists and other individuals concerned with wolves and more broadly with wildlife, wilderness, and animal behavior and conservation. . . . A highlight of the book is its superb photography. The images are vivid, graphic, and enthralling. Poignant images are used to carefully point out, convey, or highlight hunting principles or strategies. As also explained in the book, a colossal network of volunteers has been instrumental in collecting the wolf hunting accounts. I have personally witnessed all this effort in the field, although I have not collaborated with the authors directly. I have been there, in Yellowstone and at other field research sites, and I have seen the volunteers, the three authors of this book, and also the wolves and prey, all in action. Readers will be glad that all this finally ends up in a such a cohesive book. --Marco Musiani, University of Calgary, Canada "Ecology ""

Fascinating. . . . Loaded with first-hand accounts of the various stages of gray wolf (Canis lupus) hunting, chronicled throughout mostly North America, the book is illustrated with a captivating collection of photographs and informative comparison data charts. . . . A celebration of . . . the emerging knowledge base about wolves. --David Kline "International Wolf ""

About the Author:

L. David Mech is a senior research scientist with the US Geological Survey and an adjunct professor in the Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology and Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior at the University of Minnesota. He is the author or editor of many books, including Wolves: Behavior, Ecology, and Conservation, coedited by Luigi Boitani and published by the University of Chicago Press. Douglas W. Smith is currently project leader for the Yellowstone Gray Wolf Restoration Project in Yellowstone National park. He is coauthor of The Wolves of Yellowstone. Daniel R. MacNulty is an assistant professor of wildlife ecology at Utah State University.

About this edition

• Publisher: University of Chicago Press
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 022625514X
• ISBN 13: 9780226255149
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 208