Wolves on the Hunt: The Behavior of Wolves Hunting Wild Prey, by L. David Mech, Douglas W. Smith, Daniel R. MacNulty
Why need to be this book Wolves On The Hunt: The Behavior Of Wolves Hunting Wild Prey, By L. David Mech, Douglas W. Smith, Daniel R. MacNulty to review? You will never get the expertise and also encounter without managing yourself there or attempting by yourself to do it. Thus, reading this book Wolves On The Hunt: The Behavior Of Wolves Hunting Wild Prey, By L. David Mech, Douglas W. Smith, Daniel R. MacNulty is needed. You could be fine as well as correct sufficient to obtain how vital is reviewing this Wolves On The Hunt: The Behavior Of Wolves Hunting Wild Prey, By L. David Mech, Douglas W. Smith, Daniel R. MacNulty Also you consistently read by obligation, you can assist on your own to have reading e-book routine. It will be so valuable and also enjoyable then.
Wolves on the Hunt: The Behavior of Wolves Hunting Wild Prey, by L. David Mech, Douglas W. Smith, Daniel R. MacNulty
Free Ebook Wolves on the Hunt: The Behavior of Wolves Hunting Wild Prey, by L. David Mech, Douglas W. Smith, Daniel R. MacNulty
The interactions between apex predators and their prey are some of the most awesome and meaningful in nature—displays of strength, endurance, and a deep coevolutionary history. And there is perhaps no apex predator more impressive and important in its hunting—or more infamous, more misjudged—than the wolf. Because of wolves’ habitat, speed, and general success at evading humans, researchers have faced great obstacles in studying their natural hunting behaviors. The first book to focus explicitly on wolf hunting of wild prey, Wolves on the Hunt seeks to fill these gaps in our knowledge and understanding. Combining behavioral data, thousands of hours of original field observations, research in the literature, a wealth of illustrations, and—in the e-book edition and online—video segments from cinematographer Robert K. Landis, the authors create a compelling and complex picture of these hunters. The wolf is indeed an adept killer, able to take down prey much larger than itself. While adapted to hunt primarily hoofed animals, a wolf—or especially a pack of wolves—can kill individuals of just about any species. But even as wolves help drive the underlying rhythms of the ecosystems they inhabit, their evolutionary prowess comes at a cost: wolves spend one-third of their time hunting—the most time consuming of all wolf activities—and success at the hunt only comes through traveling long distances, persisting in the face of regular failure, detecting and taking advantage of deficiencies in the physical condition of individual prey, and through ceaseless trial and error, all while risking injury or death. By describing and analyzing the behaviors wolves use to hunt and kill various wild prey—including deer, moose, caribou, elk, Dall sheep, mountain goats, bison, musk oxen, arctic hares, beavers, and others—Wolves on the Hunt provides a revelatory portrait of one of nature’s greatest hunters.
Wolves on the Hunt: The Behavior of Wolves Hunting Wild Prey, by L. David Mech, Douglas W. Smith, Daniel R. MacNulty - Amazon Sales Rank: #140349 in Books
- Brand: Mech, L. David/ Smith, Douglas W./ Macnulty, Daniel R.
- Published on: 2015-05-22
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 11.00" h x 1.20" w x 8.50" l, .0 pounds
- Binding: Hardcover
- 208 pages
Wolves on the Hunt: The Behavior of Wolves Hunting Wild Prey, by L. David Mech, Douglas W. Smith, Daniel R. MacNulty Review “The authors represent three generations of career wolf ecologists. . . . This book is indeed unique and will be of interest to many readers, including ecologists and other individuals concerned with wolves and more broadly with wildlife, wilderness, and animal behavior and conservation. . . . A highlight of the book is its superb photography. The images are vivid, graphic, and enthralling. Poignant images are used to carefully point out, convey, or highlight hunting principles or strategies. As also explained in the book, a colossal network of volunteers has been instrumental in collecting the wolf hunting accounts. I have personally witnessed all this effort in the field, although I have not collaborated with the authors directly. I have been there, in Yellowstone and at other field research sites, and I have seen the volunteers, the three authors of this book, and also the wolves and prey, all in action. Readers will be glad that all this finally ends up in a such a cohesive book.” (Marco Musiani, University of Calgary, Canada Ecology)“[One of ‘The Best Books of 2015: Nature!’]. . . . It’s not often in the world of nature-writing that readers get a chance to read a kind of summation written by the single most knowledgeable expert on a given subject, and in 2015 it happened a few times. Including this great book based in such large part on the research, insight, and vast personal experience Mech brings to the subject of wolves.” (Steve Donoghue Open Letters Monthly)“Across decades of writing about wolves and the science associated with their study, I’ve seldom encountered a more gripping opening to a natural history book. . . . Wolves on the Hunt is an in-depth analysis of how wolves kill prey to survive. This new book could not come at a better time. Even though the year is 2015 there remains in the American West some pretty puritanical notions about alleged wolf behavior that have little basis in reality. . . . Mech, considered the world’s foremost wolf authority, and his colleagues deliver a hair-raising and at times grim narrative about how lobos stalk. . . . No matter what lobo camp you’re in, you’ll find Wolves on the Hunt to be endlessly fascinating reading.” (Todd Wilkinson Jackson Hole News&Guide)“For all wildlife lovers, this is a must read.” (Melanie Gade Defenders of Wildlife blog, “Weekly Wolf Wrap-Up”)“Fascinating. . . . Loaded with first-hand accounts of the various stages of gray wolf (Canis lupus) hunting, chronicled throughout mostly North America, the book is illustrated with a captivating collection of photographs and informative comparison data charts. . . . A celebration of . . . the emerging knowledge base about wolves.” (David Kline International Wolf)“A gorgeous new book . . . , which represents in one slightly oversized popular volume some of the most comprehensive research to date on the way wolves hunt their prey. . . . It’s written artlessly but directly, with the aim of updating and broadening some popular misconceptions about the way wolves operate in the wild. As a work of natural history, neither it nor anything else can match the lyricism of Barry Lopez’s Of Wolves and Men, but as a general-audience monograph, it’s one of the most valuable works of science-writing to appear this year. Kudos to the folks at the University of Chicago Press for giving it such a handsome volume.” (Steve Donoghue Open Letters Monthly)“Three experienced wolfy folk, scientists to the bone, with such amazing and lengthy exposure to wild lupines, were always going to produce something fascinating and valuable. I was not disappointed. . . . It reminds us . . . that science, rightfully, replaces assumptions and theories with fact. . . . An important reminder that to love the wolf, it is best to appreciate the whole animal—whether that be fairytale forest shadow, hunter or socially competent family-orientated creature. This impressive book is one for academics, scientists but also for the curious. . . . A book to admire and one that should make us appreciate that the wolf does not have an easy life, even if it is an apex predator.” (Wolf Print)“Public sentiments over wolves are polarized in the United States: many view wolves as icons of the wild; others consider them the epitome of evil. Significant misconceptions exist over how wolves hunt and kill and what they kill. The authors provide clear answers to these questions, using evidence. . . . Carnivore biologists, particularly those focused on canids, will enjoy it. . . . Recommended.” (J. Organ, University of Massachusetts Amherst Choice)“To be honest, I was a bit giddy having the opportunity to review Wolves on the Hunt. . . . The book is a fascinating account. . . . Each chapter is extremely detailed and exhaustive, covering all known wolf prey and how they hunt them. This truly is the capstone to first author Mech’s outstanding >55 year career studying wolves, and the painstaking time involved in writing this all-encompassing book on wolf predation with first-hand . . . descriptions of wolves hunting various prey is a tribute to all three authors. It takes endless hours of dedication and perseverance to make these observations.” (Jonathan (Jon) Way, Eastern Coyote/Coywolf Research Canadian Field-Naturalist)“Highly useful for defining research questions and informing conclusions from such studies of wolf hunting behavior. Most investigators of these studies will be lucky to witness the pursuit of wolves just once even though this is their focus. Accordingly, this book will be a valuable reference (in more than 1000 hours of radio tracking wolves and moose, I have witnessed only three wolf-prey interactions). I expect the book to be of broad interest as well because the polarizing nature of wolves is due, in part, to their hunting and predatory behavior. As someone who participates in wildlife management meetings where wolves and their prey are common topics of discussion, I can personally attest to the latter. Stories are shared regularly at these meetings, but usually these stories are full of hearsay and innuendo with little fact. The facts contained within this book can inform these discussions, with the ultimate goal of fostering a better understanding of wolves and their interactions with prey.” (Bryce C. Lake, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge Arctic)“In reading Wolves on the Hunt you will learn that death has shaped life for millions of years. You’ll learn that no activity is more important to the wolf than predation; and although it’s a tough and frustrating habit that often fails, wolves survive only because they refuse to give up. By shedding light on these and other important findings, Wolves on the Hunt will be incredibly valuable to conservation scientists and citizens alike who appreciate wild places and wild things. It’s a great illustration of the constant battle between predator and prey and of dogged determination.” (Ted Turner, Chairman, Turner Endangered Species Fund)“This exhaustive account of wolves hunting and killing wild prey could only be compiled by the foremost wolf biologists of our day—Drs. Mech, Smith, and MacNulty. The easy-to-read book cites all the primary and secondary literature as well as many previously unpublished observations. Wolves on the Hunt will not only fascinate biologists and those teaching wildlife management but also the general public, including outdoor, environmental, and hunting groups. These detailed observations of predation let us imagine the struggles that our ancestors must have encountered as we competed with wolves to become the earth’s supreme hunters of ungulates.” (Ed Bangs, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Wolf Recovery Coordinator from 1988 to 2011)“Very detailed. Never before has the predatory behavior of any carnivore been presented in such depth. Wolves on the Hunt is a contribution not just to our knowledge of the wolf but to our understanding of predation in general. The authors, experts in wolf predatory behavior who are in the best position to interpret these data from a scientific perspective, review a great amount of information and add an impressive number of accounts of hunting events observed by very few people. Their interpretations of the appropriate literature are clear and elegant. Very well written, easy to read both for specialists and for the general public interested in wolves and wildlife, Wolves on the Hunt is unique.” (Juan Carlos Blanco, former adviser to the Ministry of the Environment on the Coordinated Plan for Wolf Conservation in Spain)
About the Author L. David Mech is a senior research scientist with the US Geological Survey and an adjunct professor in the Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology and Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior at the University of Minnesota. He is the author or editor of many books, including Wolves: Behavior, Ecology, and Conservation, coedited by Luigi Boitani and published by the University of Chicago Press. Douglas W. Smith is a senior wildlife biologist and the Wolf Project Leader in Yellowstone National Park. He is coauthor most recently of Decade of the Wolf: Returning the Wild to Yellowstone. Daniel R. MacNulty is an assistant professor of wildlife ecology at Utah State University.
Where to Download Wolves on the Hunt: The Behavior of Wolves Hunting Wild Prey, by L. David Mech, Douglas W. Smith, Daniel R. MacNulty
Most helpful customer reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful. Number one killing machine. By Wolfgirv The Wolf has been a prime predator on earth for thousands of years, but its behaviour has only been studied, and recorded, and analysed for a fraction of that time. In this book its number one function, to survive, is extensively looked at from its hunting techniques, and its choice of prey. Each chapter looks at each prey animal, and details the difficulties and success the wolf has in catching and killing that animal. Each chapter also lists first hand accounts by prominent biologists of the time over several decades to give an accurate account of how this process operates. Elk, Deer, Moose, Caribou Bison, Hare are all covered individually. Even the controversial consumption of mice is detailed which will hopefully put to rest the fictional account by Farley Mowat in Never Cry Wolf.But be advised, this is not some pretty picture book about the beauty of these wild animals. This is a serious scientific study of the Wolf as a killing machine, and in this light it makes no attempt to mask the wolves primal intention when it hunts its prey. This is a study that illustrates why this predator has survived for so many thousands of years, using its instincts and natural strengths as a predator. Also to add to the understanding of the wolves intense ability, the book is illustrated with many black and white photographs, and a colour insert, showing the variety of hunting strategies the wolf employs in its attempt to secure food for itself, and its pack. Never before has the words by Rudyard Kipling that "The strength of the wolf is the pack, and the strength of the pack is the wolf" been more accurately portrayed in any scientific work.And I make no apologies for my endless fascination for these animals, and my previous reviews of L David Mech's books are evidence of that fact. Readers can defend or despise the wolf for what it is, but they cannot dismiss its growing existence due to successful reintroduction programs, nor its importance as a prime predator and a keeper of the natural balance of nature. This book shows us exactly how they can achieve that.Wolves on the Hunt. Mech/Smith/ Macnulty 187 pages 46 b&w photographs 33 colour photographs 11 tables & graphs. Appendix. Author index. Subject index
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. A quantum leap ahead in understanding how wolves hunt wild prey By Norman Bishop Wolves on the Hunt: The Behavior of Wolves Hunting Wild Prey. 2015. L. David Mech, Douglas W. Smith, and Daniel R. MacNulty. University of Chicago Press. The 8 1/2 x 11” book contains 208 pages, |28 color plates, 44 halftones, 3 line drawings, 6 tables. A unique feature of the book is the inclusion of 18 videos of wolf-prey interaction by cinematographer Robert K. Landis, accessible to readers of the book. The authors cite 390 references.The authors have condensed 100 man-years of personal observations, plus those of others, into a remarkably comprehensive set of descriptions and analyses of how wolves make a living, and how their prey stay alive in the presence of wolves. The authors reveal, one species at a time, how wolves engage their prey in the game of life and death, in terse descriptions that may cover a couple of minutes, or a couple of days. They also remind us that white-tailed deer, moose, musk-oxen, elk, and bison can each kill wolves in self-defense. They tell us one of their smallest prey, arctic hares, can simply outrun them up steep hills, or out-zig-zag them. The authors provide us with answers to knotty questions like, “Are wolves killing machines?” “Do they kill more than they need?” “Can they kill anything they want anytime they choose?” “Can they live on mice?”I tallied the number of accounts of wolves hunting different prey the authors selected to share with us: 63 hunts of white-tailed deer; 78 of moose; 56 of caribou; 26 of elk; 49 of mountain sheep; 7 of mountain goats; 7 of bison; 29 of musk oxen; 3 of pronghorn; 1 of a wild horse; 53 of arctic hares; 3 of snowshoe hares; 4 of waterfowl; 4 of mice. That’s 383 accounts of wolves hunting numerous species of prey. If you wonder why there are so few accounts of wolves hunting bison, maybe it’s because it took ten pages to describe those seven hunts, one of which lasted parts of two days.In reading Wolves on the Hunt, we make a quantum leap forward in our knowledge of wolf hunting behavior. But, as Rolf Peterson observes in his stellar foreword, “There is much that biologists don’t know about wolves, and maybe our ignorance even exceeds our knowledge (how would we know?).Norman A. Bishopnabishop@q.com
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Wolf hunting of deer, moose, musk oxen, mountain goats, caribou, bison. Authors together have a century of wolf experience. By lyndonbrecht This is an informative examination of wolves hunting. The book has chapters on wolves hunting whitetail deer, moose, elk, mountain goats and mountain sheep, bison, caribou, musk oxen, and a chapter on various prey, which include opportunities that may not occur often--seals, beaver, geese, arctic and snowshoe hares, salmon. Even mice (Note: the authors say that the famous Farley Mowat book on wolves is in some error about wolves and mice).Each chapter includes a number of accounts of wolves attacking that species of prey, sometimes successfully and more often not. These are objective observations, but more tender-hearted readers may find them mildly gruesome, as occasionally wolves start eating before the animal is dead. There are a number of photos, interesting and less gory than some of the accounts. Of course people, like me, who like the idea of wolves in the wild, must accept that wolves kill and eat. The authors discuss wolf tactics and generalize from accounts (the authors have among them a great deal of field experience observing wolves). Wolves tend to prey on calves, old and disabled animals, and it's not one-sided because even white-tailed deer have hooves sharp enough and enough body mass to kill a wolf. It's a lucky wolf that lives to an old wolf age (ten or so years). The chapters also discuss prey species tactics for fighting or fleeing wolves.It's plain that these authors like and respect wolves. They do not comment much on wolf hunting, except to note that stereotypes of the wolf as a killer just for the fun of it, are wrong. They also mostly avoid the issue of wolves preying on livestock, which is the main rationale for some Western US states' policy regarding wolves--kill them.
See all 6 customer reviews...
Wolves on the Hunt: The Behavior of Wolves Hunting Wild Prey, by L. David Mech, Douglas W. Smith, Daniel R. MacNulty
Wolves on the Hunt: The Behavior of Wolves Hunting Wild Prey, by L. David Mech, Douglas W. Smith, Daniel R. MacNulty PDF
Wolves on the Hunt: The Behavior of Wolves Hunting Wild Prey, by L. David Mech, Douglas W. Smith, Daniel R. MacNulty iBooks
Wolves on the Hunt: The Behavior of Wolves Hunting Wild Prey, by L. David Mech, Douglas W. Smith, Daniel R. MacNulty ePub
Wolves on the Hunt: The Behavior of Wolves Hunting Wild Prey, by L. David Mech, Douglas W. Smith, Daniel R. MacNulty rtf
Wolves on the Hunt: The Behavior of Wolves Hunting Wild Prey, by L. David Mech, Douglas W. Smith, Daniel R. MacNulty AZW
Wolves on the Hunt: The Behavior of Wolves Hunting Wild Prey, by L. David Mech, Douglas W. Smith, Daniel R. MacNulty Kindle
Wolves on the Hunt: The Behavior of Wolves Hunting Wild Prey, by L. David Mech, Douglas W. Smith, Daniel R. MacNulty
Wolves on the Hunt: The Behavior of Wolves Hunting Wild Prey, by L. David Mech, Douglas W. Smith, Daniel R. MacNulty
Wolves on the Hunt: The Behavior of Wolves Hunting Wild Prey, by L. David Mech, Douglas W. Smith, Daniel R. MacNulty
Wolves on the Hunt: The Behavior of Wolves Hunting Wild Prey, by L. David Mech, Douglas W. Smith, Daniel R. MacNulty
