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.

Based on a field study of the ecological relationship between the timber wolf (Canis lupus pambasileus) and the Dall sheep (Ovis dalli dalli), 1934-41; includes sections on the ecology of the caribou, moose, grizzly bear, red fox (Vulpes kenaiensis), and golden eagle.

In the 1930s, the National Park Service stopped killing wolves in Alaska's McKinley National Park, beginning a controversy over the value of predators and game animals which lasted for more than 20 years. In this volume, Rawson (history, Alaska Pacific U.) examines the history of this controversy and discusses the ways in which it continues to shape National Park Service policy. c. Book News Inc.

"This book documents the changing tenets of landscape preservation and species protection in preserves of the United States and Canada through a capacious study of canine history."--BOOK JACKET.