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January 23, 2004
Wolves: Behavior, Ecology and Conservation says it all about the wolf in 2004. World-renowned wildlife biologist L. David Mech, who co-wrote and edited the fascinating new book, will talk about and sign the 448-page classic at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, February 3, at The Loft Literary Center in Minneapolis.
The program, sponsored by the International Wolf Center and The Loft, will benefit the Center's outreach education efforts in Minnesota.
 "In short and crude terms, the number of people who love the wolf has increased, but the number of those who understand its ecological context has probably decreased " in the last thirty years, conclude Mech and Italian researcher and co-editor Luigi Boitani. The book's twenty-two international authors bring 350 person-years of research about the wolf's life and observations of wolf-human relations to bear on that context. The information comes from radio-tracking, genetic studies, pathology exams, and studying the animal's scat, urine, metabolism, diseases, family life, dispersal patterns, prey and progeny.
The book was ten years in the writing and editing, and research continued to pour in during that time, informing what is expected to be the standard wolf resource for the next 50 years. Mech is a senior research scientist with the Biological Resources Division of the U.S. Geological survey and an adjunct professor at the University of Minnesota. His prior books include The Wolf: The Ecology and Behavior of an Endangered Species and The Arctic Wolf.
The authors have assigned royalties to the International Wolf Center, where new outreach efforts are teaching kids about wolves' snow-shoe feet and adults about how to manage conflicts that arise with wolves in farming and suburban areas. Educators borrow boxes of sculls and pelts, families learn how the pug on the sofa resembles its wolf cousin, and school assemblies hear about wolf howling, politics, and ecosystems.
The book signing and presentation by Mech will be free to International Wolf Center members, and a $5 donation is suggested for the public. Books will be available for purchase. Limited seating. The Loft Literary Center is located at 1011 Washington Ave. S. in Minneapolis.
For information on the event, contact the International Wolf Center at 763-560-7374.
 To learn about or schedule an outreach program, contact Anne Koenke at (763) 560-7374 ext. 224 or at outreach@wolf.org.
Quotes from Wolves: Behavior, Ecology and Conservation
"In the early nineteenth century, one could turn to The Natural History of Quadrupeds and read: Perhaps of all other animals, wolves are the most hateful while living and the most useless when deadThe continual agitations of this restless animal render him so furious, that he frequently ends his life in madness."
"Italian wolves have colonized habitat near the outskirts of RomeWolves live near a military training facility at Fort Ripley, Minnesota, where they encounter explosions, low-flying aircraft, human shouts, troop movements, and noisy vehicles. In parts of Spain wolves live primarily in sunflower and wheat fields."
"What history teaches us is the relative ease with which wolves were wiped out of large areas, but also the formidable resilience of the species and its ability to recover wherever it is given a chance. Thus, humans have the technical power to decide the fate of the wolf."
Press release contact:
Mary Ortiz - mortiz@wolf.org
Carissa Knaack - comasst@wolf.org
High resolutions images available.
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