This book is a compilation of selected papers presented at the Second North American Symposium on Wolves, held in Edmonton in August 1992.

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

Animals that must hunt and kill for at least part of their living are inherently interesting to many people and the role that carnivores play in biological communities attract interest from ecologists and conservation biologists. Conflicts with human activities stimulate continual debates about the management of carnivore populations, and throughout the world people seek workable solutions for human/carnivore coexistence. This concise yet authoritative handbook describes research methods and techniques for the study and conservation of all terrestrial carnivore species. Particular attention is paid to techniques for managing the human/carnivore interface. Descriptions of the latest methodologies are supported by references to case studies, whilst dedicated boxes are used to illustrate how a technique is applied to a specific land cover type, species, or particular socio-economic context. The book describes the most recent advances in modelling the patterns of animal distributions, movements, and use of land cover types, as well as including the most efficient methods to trap, handle, and mark carnivores. Carnivores are biogeographically diverse and whilst extensive scientific research has investigated many aspects of carnivore biology, not all species have been equally covered. This book is unique in its intention to provide practical guidance for carrying out research and conservation of carnivores across all species and areas of the world.

No group of wild mammals so universally captures the emotions of people world-wide than do wild canids. That emotion can be enchantment and fascination, but it can also be loathing, because the opportunism that is the hallmark of the dog family also leads them into conflict with humans. In the developed world at least, the fascination with wild canids doubtless stems from people's captivation with domestic dogs - everybody feels they are an expert on canids! While most people may be familiar with only the better known members of the dog family, such as the grey wolf and the red fox, there are in fact 36 species of wolves, dogs, jackals and foxes. They attract hugely disproportionate interest from academics, conservationists, veterinarians, wildlife managers and the general public. This book brings together in single volume an astonishing synthesis of research done in the last twenty years and is the first truly compendious synthesis on wild canids. Beginning with a complete account of all 36 canid species, there follow six review chapters that emphasise topics most relevant to canid conservation science, including evolution and systematics, behavioural ecology, population genetics, diseases, conflict/control of troublesome species, and conservation tools. Fifteen detailed case studies then delve deeply into the very best species investigations currently available written by all the leading figures in the field. Much of the material is previously unpublished and will make fascinating reading far beyond the confines of canid specialists. These chapters portray the unique attributes of wild canids, their fascinating (and conflictive) relationship with man, and suggestions for future research and conservation measures for the Canidae. While most canid species are widespread and thrive in human dominated landscapes, several are in severe jeopardy; habitat loss, illegal hunting, persecution by farmers and disease all imperil dwindling populations. A final chapter analyses the requirements of, and approaches to, practical conservation, with lessons that go far beyond the dog family. It concentrates particular attention on priorities for the protection of the most threatened canid species, including the red wolf, African wild dog, Ethiopian wolf, Island fox and Darwin's fox. The wild canids provide examples that will thrill the evolutionary biologists and theoretician, enthral the natural historian and challenge the conservationist and wildlife manager. Anybody interested in evolutionary and behavioural biology, in mammals, in the environment, or in conservation will find much that is new and enriching in this book.

This volume brings together a collection of case studies examining wildlife ecology and conservation across India. The book explores and examines a wide range of fauna across different terrains and habitats in India, revealing key issues and concerns for biodiversity conservation, with a particular emphasis on the impact of humans and climate change. Cases are as wide ranging as tigers, leopards, sloth bears, pheasants, insects and birds, across a diverse range of landscapes, including forests, wetlands, nature reserves and even a university campus. Split into three parts, Part I focuses on how the distribution of animals is influenced by the availability of resources such as food, water, and space. Chapters examine key determinants, such as diet and prey and habitat preferences, with habitat loss also being an important factor. In Part II, chapters examine human-wildlife interactions, dealing with issues such as the impact of urbanization, the establishment of nature reserves and competition for resources. The book concludes with an examination of landscape ecology and conservation, with chapters in Part III focusing on habitat degradation, changes in land-use patterns and ecosystem management. Overall, the volume not only reflects the great breadth and depth of biodiversity in India, but offers important insights to the challenges facing biodiversity conservation not only in this region, but worldwide. This volume will be of great interest to students and scholars of wildlife ecology, conservation biology, biodiversity conservation and the environmental sciences more broadly.

Table of contents

This book is an authoritative work on the ecology of some of America's most iconic large mammals in a natural environment - and of the interplay between climate, landscape, and animals in the interior of the world's first and most famous national park.Central Yellowstone includes the range of one of the largest migratory populations of bison in North America as well as a unique elk herd that remains in the park year round. These populations live in a varied landscape with seasonal and often extreme patterns of climate and food abundance. The reintroduction of wolves into the park a decade ago resulted in scientific and public controversy about the effect of large predators on their prey, a debate closely examined in the book. Introductory chapters describe the geography, geology and vegetation of the ecosystem. The elk and bison are then introduced and their population ecology described both pre- and post– wolf introduction, enabling valuable insights into the demographic and behavioral consequences for their ungulate prey. Subsequent chapters describe the wildlife-human interactions and show how scientific research can inform the debate and policy issues surrounding winter recreation in Yellowstone. The book closes with a discussion of how this ecological knowledge can be used to educate the public, both about Yellowstone itself and about science, ecology and the environment in general. Yellowstone National Park exemplifies some of the currently most hotly debated and high-profile ecological, wildlife management, and environmental policy issues and this book will have broad appeal not only to academic ecologists, but also to natural resource students, managers, biologists, policy makers, administrators and the general public. - Unrivalled descriptions of ecological processes in a world famous ecosystem, based on information from 16 years of painstaking field work and collaborations among 66 scientists and technical experts and 15 graduate studies - Detailed studies of two charismatic North American herbivore species – elk and bison - Description of the restoration of wolves into central Yellowstone and their ecological interactions with their elk and bison prey - Illustrated with numerous evocative colour photographs and stunning maps

For more than nine years the wolves in Alaska's Denali National Park were the subject of intense research by a group of renowned scientists led by L. David Mech. The result of their work is the most comprehensive study of a population of wolves and their prey ever available. This accessible, fascinating, and extensively illustrated book will appeal to researchers, general readers, and wolf enthusiasts across the world.

This beautifully illustrated volume on the Yellowstone Wolf Project includes an introduction by Jane Goodall and an exclusive online documentary. The reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone National Park was one of the greatest wildlife conservation achievements of the twentieth century. Eradicated after the park was first established, these iconic carnivores returned in 1995 when the US government reversed its century-old policy of extermination. In the intervening decades, scientists have built a one-of-a-kind field study of these wolves, their behaviors, and their influence on the entire ecosystem. Yellowstone Wolves tells the incredible story of the Yellowstone Wolf Project, as told by the people behind it. This wide-ranging volume highlights what has been learned in the decades since reintroduction, as well as the unique blend of research techniques used to gain this knowledge. We learn about individual wolves, population dynamics, wolf-prey relationships, genetics, disease, management and policy, and the rippling ecosystem effects wolves have had on Yellowstone’s wild and rare landscape. Featuring a foreword by Jane Goodall, beautiful images, a companion online documentary by celebrated filmmaker Bob Landis, and contributions from more than seventy wolf and wildlife conservation luminaries from Yellowstone and around the world, Yellowstone Wolves is an informative and beautifully realized celebration of the extraordinary Yellowstone Wolf Project.

In this first-ever landmark study of New Mexico's wild carnivores, Jean-Luc E. Cartron and Jennifer K. Frey have assembled a team of leading southwestern biologists to explore the animals and the major issues that shape their continued presence in the state and region. The book includes discussions on habitat, evolving or altered ecosystems, and new discoveries about animal behavior and range, and it also provides details on the distribution, habitat associations, life history, population status, management, and conservation needs of individual carnivore species in New Mexico. Like Cartron's award-winning Raptors of New Mexico, Wild Carnivores of New Mexico shares the same emphasis on scientific rigor and thoroughness, high readability, and visual appeal. Each chapter is illustrated with numerous color photographs to help readers visualize unique morphological or life-history traits, habitat, research techniques, and management and conservation issues.