Wolves in the Land of Salmon by David Moskowitz

Wolves. We love them, idolize them, and are fascinated by them. We also hate them, fear them, and blame them. The wolf’s relationship with humans is complex and can be emotionally wrought, depending on whether one is a hunter, rancher, or animal lover.

“Wolves in the Land of Salmon” is nature writing at its best. Vivid imagery and a sense of wonder bring the text alive and help the reader understand exactly what it means to be a wolf. David Moskowitz’s training as a wildlife tracker gives him insider knowledge he generously shares with the hope that with greater understanding comes new perspective.

The daring photography provides the first significant portrait of these charismatic animals west of the Cascades and the British Columbia Coast Range. His accounts of young wolves at play, and the stories that shed light on the psychological power wolves have across cultures and generations, make this a true wilderness adventure.–Description from Goodreads

Hardcover, 334 pages

Published February 4th 2013 by Timber Press (OR)

ISBN

1604692278 (ISBN13: 9781604692273)

edition language

English

You can find this book HERE

My thoughts on this book:

There is only one way I can think of to describe the experience of reading this book, and that is, in a word: INCREDIBLE

Wolves in the Land of Salmon has some of the most beautiful and alluring nature photography I have ever seen in a book of this style. The photos are so clear and amazing that you get a real sense of these animals in their natural habitat.

The book opens with a personal story from the author and helps you to understand why he chose his career path and what it means to him. I found this was a nice way to make an introduction and ease into his subject matter.

While the primary focus of this book is on wolves and the salmon they use as prey items, it is also about so much more. This is an important account of the trials and fates that wolves suffer vying for food and a habitat amongst an increasingly populated human world. The author has taken the time to discuss the misconceptions of people about the species as a whole and to enlighten his readers about the direct threats from poaching, a shrinking habitat and disappearing food sources that wolves currently face.

From an ecology standpoint, this book has crucial information about many different varieties of wolves that the younger generations, in my opinion, should be aware of in order to conserve these wild animals. The passages in this book that touched me the most, were the ones about wolf conservation and understanding of the species and their needs.

I also found the photos of the wolf den sites to be particularly of interest, as I have run across them in my own travels and now understand much more about how they are utilized. The author has also included a very informative portion of the book about wolf metabolism and prey items, other than the salmon. I was not aware before reading this book that salmon was even on the menu of the wolf.

The Salmo Pack of Washington was discussed and I have been unable to locate much information on this particular group, so it was very exciting to read about them. The info on the Diamond pack was also interesting, although much easier to locate references for on the internet.

This book offers the reader a comprehensive look at wolves in many different regions and a glimpse at how they live and the adaptations they have had to make in order to survive. If you have ever been curious about where these beautiful animals originate from or what the current situation is for them, you should read this book.

I would recommend this to anyone with a love of nature, conservation, wolves or animals in general, but would highly recommend it for teachers that are in the field. I think students would benefit from the knowledge found in these pages.

I was grateful to have the opportunity to read this valuable book and share parts of it with my own children.

This review is based on a digital ARC from the publisher.