Wolves

Wolves
Author: L. David Mech
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Total Pages: 483
Release: 2010-10-01
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0226516989

Wolves are some of the world's most charismatic and controversial animals, capturing the imaginations of their friends and foes alike. Highly intelligent and adaptable, they hunt and play together in close-knit packs, sometimes roaming over hundreds of square miles in search of food. Once teetering on the brink of extinction across much of the United States and Europe, wolves have made a tremendous comeback in recent years, thanks to legal protection, changing human attitudes, and efforts to reintroduce them to suitable habitats in North America. As wolf populations have rebounded, scientific studies of them have also flourished. But there hasn't been a systematic, comprehensive overview of wolf biology since 1970. In Wolves, many of the world's leading wolf experts provide state-of-the-art coverage of just about everything you could want to know about these fascinating creatures. Individual chapters cover wolf social ecology, behavior, communication, feeding habits and hunting techniques, population dynamics, physiology and pathology, molecular genetics, evolution and taxonomy, interactions with nonhuman animals such as bears and coyotes, reintroduction, interactions with humans, and conservation and recovery efforts. The book discusses both gray and red wolves in detail and includes information about wolves around the world, from the United States and Canada to Italy, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Israel, India, and Mongolia. Wolves is also extensively illustrated with black and white photos, line drawings, maps, and fifty color plates. Unrivalled in scope and comprehensiveness, Wolves will become the definitive resource on these extraordinary animals for scientists and amateurs alike. “An excellent compilation of current knowledge, with contributions from all the main players in wolf research. . . . It is designed for a wide readership, and certainly the language and style will appeal to both scientists and lucophiles alike. . . . This is an excellent summary of current knowledge and will remain the standard reference work for a long time to come.”—Stephen Harris, New Scientist “This is the place to find almost any fact you want about wolves.”—Stephen Mills, BBC Wildlife Magazine

Southwestern Desert Resources

Southwestern Desert Resources
Author: William L. Halvorson
Publisher: University of Arizona Press
Total Pages: 375
Release: 2023-01-17
Genre: Science
ISBN: 081655241X

The southwestern deserts stretch from southeastern California to west Texas and then south to central Mexico. The landscape of this region is known as basin and range topography featuring to “sky islands” of forest rising from the desert lowlands which creates a uniquely diverse ecology. The region is further complicated by an international border, where governments have caused difficulties for many animal populations. This book puts a spotlight on individual research projects which are specific examples of work being done in the area and when they are all brought together, to shed a general light of understanding the biological and cultural resources of this vast region so that those same resources can be managed as effectively and efficiently as possible. The intent is to show that collaborative efforts among federal, state agency, university, and private sector researchers working with land managers, provides better science and better management than when scientists and land managers work independently.

Predatory Bureaucracy

Predatory Bureaucracy
Author: Michael J. Robinson
Publisher:
Total Pages: 504
Release: 2005
Genre: History
ISBN:

Predatory Bureaucracy is the definitive history of America's wolves and our policies toward predators. Tracking wolves from Coronado's day to the present, author Michael Robinson shows that their story merges with that of the U.S. Bureau of Biological Survey. This federal agency was chartered to research insects and birds but'because of various pressures'morphed into a political powerhouse operating wildlife-extermination programs. Drawing on deep research and wide reading, Robinson's narrative follows the wolves from the eras of explorers and mountain men through the wolves' 120-year entanglement with the federal government. He shares the parallel story of the Survey's rise, detailing the forces that allowed extermination programs to continue'despite opposition from hunters, animal lovers, scientists, environmentalists, and presidents'though the agency's mission and even its name changed. Predatory Bureaucracy will fascinate readers interested in environmental politics and wildlife.