Of wilderness and wolves /by Paul L. Errington ; edited and with an introduction by Matthew Wynn Sivils ; illustrations by Charles W. Schwartz.

Includes bibliographies and index.

"'I was a predator, myself, and lived close to the land.' With these words, Paul L. Errington begins this lost classic. Now in print for the first time, the book celebrates a key predator: the wolf. One of the most influential biologists of the twentieth century, Errington melds his expertise in wildlife biology with his love for natural beauty to create a visionary and often moving re-examination of humanity's relationship with these magnificent and frequently maligned animals. Tracing his own relationship with wolves from his rural South Dakota upbringing through his formative years as a professional trapper to his landmark work as an internationally renowned wildlife biologist, Errington delves into our irrational fear of wolves. He forthrightly criticizes what he views as humanity's prejudice against an animal that continues to serve as the very emblem of the wilderness we claim to love, but that too often falls prey to our greed and ignorance. A friend of Aldo Leopold, Errington was an important figure in the conservation efforts in the first half of the twentieth century. During his lifetime, wolves were considered vicious, wantonly destructive predators; by the mid-1900s, they had been almost completely eliminated from the lower forty-eight states. Their reintroduction to their historical range today remains controversial. Lyrical yet unsentimental, Of Wilderness and Wolves provides a strong and still-timely dose of ecological realism for the abusive mismanagement of our natural resources. It is a testament to our shortsightedness and to Errington's vision that this book, its publication so long delayed, still speaks directly to our environmental crises."--Provided by publisher.

Part 1: Some small beginnings in experience. Of wolves and boyhood fear and fascination -- Part 2: Toward understanding wolves, what they are, and what they do--a factual background. Of the nature of wolves ; Of wolves and wolf prey ; Of wolves, reindeer, caribou, and human mistakes ; Of wolves and deer and deer range and man ; Of man and wolves and labels and morals -- Part 3: Toward an appreciation of wolves as part of what is wild and free. Of wolves and the big bog ; Mostly about coyotes and the west river country ; Of wilderness and wolves ; Of wilderness and wolves and Scandinavia ; Of modernity and wolves and a wolf named Dagwood ; Of man and maturity -- Epilogue: Going on from some reflections about the dog in the manger.

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