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Never Cry Wolf : Amazing True Story of Life Among Arctic Wolves | 
 enlarge | Author: Farley Mowat
Publisher: Back Bay Books
Category: Book
List Price: $12.99
Buy New: $2.00
You Save: $10.99 (85%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  83 reviews
Sales Rank: 16702
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 256
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.8 x 5.2 x 0.8
ISBN: 0316881791
Dewey Decimal Number: 599.773
EAN: 9780316881791
ASIN: 0316881791
Publication Date: September 13, 2001
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Unwanted Gift. I already read this book.
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Product Description
More than a half-century ago the Canadian Wildlife Service assigned the naturalist Farley Mowat to investigate why wolves were killing arctic caribou. Mowat's account of the summer he lived in the frozen tundra alone-studying the wolf population and developing a deep affection for the wolves (who were of no threat to caribou or man) and for a friendly Inuit tribe known as the Ihalmiut ("People of the Deer")-is a work that has become cherished by generations of readers, an indelible record of the myths and magic of wild wolves.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 78 more reviews...
Mice-Eating Wolves August 24, 2008
I really enjoy Mowat's stories. They are so conversational they read like novels. "Never Cry Wolf" is of Mowat's personal experiences with a pair of Arctic wolves. As such, it is a pro-wolf book for pro-wolf people. I include myself in that number but, whereas not disputing Mowat's work, I like hard cold facts and realism.
It is true, as Mowat discovered, that wolves eat a lot of small animals, including mice. Logically, this is more true on the denning grounds, a time when small animals are abundant and large animals--especially migratory animals like caribou--are relatively scarce. Wolves are obliged to hunt for prey within a reasonable distance of their dens i.e. they can't migrate dozens or hundreds of miles in pursuit of large animals.
Predictably, when the cubs leave the den and are able to move long distances, the adult wolves do, too. They tend to pack up and hunt really large animals. Right now the island of Newfoundland is experiencing a catastrophic decline in Woodland Caribou populations...but they have no wolves. Evidence supports the thesis, however, that the decline is due to the relatively recent arrival of that wolf relative, the coyote. Coyotes don't ordinarily attack adult caribou but a newborn fawn is at real risk.
Conservation practices should be realistic. Wolves are wonderful predators and a major asset to wilderness ecosystems. They aren't, however, sacrosanct. Sometimes ballooning wolf populations hurt populations of othr desireable wildlife. In these cases, it is perfectly appropriate to cull excess wolves.
Ron Braithwaite author of novels--"Skull Rack" and "Hummingbird God"--on the Spanish Conquest of Mexico
 The Amazing Lives of Wolves August 2, 2008
The author is a master storyteller; combined with his narrative, the information about the social lives of wolves was indeed fascinating and compelling to read. The folly of man is also a point of interest certainly worth some contemplation....
A taste of real arctic adventure June 22, 2008
This is an excellent book by and excellent author. Having traveled much in the arctic by kayak and canoe, I was thrilled to read a book capturing some of the idiosyncrasies that I've experienced myself. The joys and tragedies of the arctic come through brilliantly and only those with a hatred of wolves could fail to see the obvious conclusions Mowat makes concerning the fate of the caribou. I bicycled the Dempster highway in 2005 and found the landscape littered with caribou remains; a slaughter empowered by a gravel road. Time has proven Mowat right in his conclusions. Man, a relative newcomer, is responsible for the declines in wildlife, not the wolves who have lived on the land for countless centuries. The old saying of wolves and caribou: 'the caribou feeds the wolf and the wolf makes the caribou stronger' seems obvious now. Man on the other hand hunts the strongest in the breed, weakening the herd, kill by kill.
 I don't think they would print what I would like to say May 4, 2008
I read this ...how do you say "NOVEL" pretending to be non-fiction when in grade school years ago.
Since then I have learned that Sir Mowatt doesn't let the truth get in the way of a good yarn.
I will never read any book by him again. ...I give it a negative 5 stars.
save your money and buy a comic book.
Enthralling April 1, 2008
I have come to Farley Mowat and NEVER CRY WOLF rather belatedly, considering the author has been out there stirring things up for fifty years. I found the book absolutely enthralling and could not put it down.
Essentially, as a young field biologist emerging from World War II, Mowat signed up with the government which sent him north to study wolves. The government understood from hunters that wolves were decimating caribou herds and wanted to know more in order to correct the problem. Mowat heads north to the lonely tundra for what begins with a lot of disinformation about the lupine species, bureaucratic nonsense and a slapstick exercise in transportation and establishing a base of operations. Fortunately for him, a half Eskimo dog sledder named Mike shows up and helps him get his feet on the ground. What ensues is a study both in human comedy and the beauty of a naturalist's job. The wolf family Mowat observes is a model of nature in balance. Are they responsible for the overkill of caribou? Of course not. People are.
I gather that Mowat has earned some critics and enemies in his pursuit of environmental consciousness and an enthusiasm for bucking convention. I understand that there are those who discredit his research. This narrative exudes an honesty that makes this reader trust Mowat first.
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