New book reveals how wild wolves are changing Yellowstone’s ecology

Yellowstone’s wolves provide thrills and new discoveries

New discoveries about wolves, plus exciting eyewitness observations and incredible photographs, are brought together in an extraordinary book about the wolves of Yellowstone National Park. Written by noted naturalist Dr. James C. Halfpenny of Gardiner, Montana, “Yellowstone Wolves in the Wild” (Riverbend) vividly portrays the park’s “new” wolves and the ways they are changing the park’s very nature.

Yellowstone’s wolves have become the most easily seen wild wolves in the world, a phenomenon no one predicted when wolves were reintroduced into the park in 1995 and 1996. This visibility has thrilled thousands of park visitors and enabled scientists to make astonishing discoveries about wolf behavior.

“Yellowstone Wolves in the Wild” presents new information about wolf social behavior, pack structures, territories, and hunting behavior. Some of the most fascinating stories involve interactions with other wildlife. There is a wonderful examination of the symbiotic relationship with ravens and a cutting-edge discussion of “trophic cascade,” an ecological theory that predicts how the presence of wolves will affect the entire ecosystem. There are even tips about where and how to see wolves in the park.

Wolf lovers will be pleased to know the book does not use any photographs of captive or game-farm animals. All photos are of wild, free, Yellowstone wolves—another

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testament to the wolves’ high visibility. There are beautiful portraits of wolves howling and running through the snow; rarely seen behavior such as wolves hunting elk and bison, chasing coyotes, and tending pups at a den; and several dramatic photos of events never before captured on film. One photo shows a wolf pack standing in a circle around the body of a wolf they had just killed in a territorial battle. Another shows a wolf trying to kill a grizzly bear cub while the mother bear literally stands guard over it.

Dr. Halfpenny, a scientist and author who teaches wolf classes for the park’s interpretive association, based the book on interviews with dozens of scientists, park officials, and “wolf watchers,” the hundreds of dedicated wolf lovers who spend days, weeks, and even months in the park simply looking for wolves.

Yellowstone Wolf Project Leader Douglas C. Smith wrote the book’s foreword and points out how unusual it is to see wolves “virtually every day.”

“In June 2002, the 100,000 Yellowstone visitor laid her eyes on a wolf—a phenomenal statistic,” Smith writes. “I worked on wolves for 13 years in Isle Royale National Park, hiking 500 miles each summer, and if I saw one wolf it was an accomplishment.”

A portion of the book’s proceeds goes to the Wolf Fund to support wolf research in the park. The 104-page, art-quality paperback costs $19.95 and is available at bookstores or by calling the publisher toll-free at 1-866-787-2363.

Yellowstone Wolves in the Wild

By Dr. James C. Halfpenny

104 pages, 8 ½ x 10 ½ inches, paperback

61 color photographs

$19.95, ISBN 1-931832-26-9

Riverbend Publishing

Helena, Montana

Yellowstone Wolves in the Wild

By Dr. James C. Halfpenny

About the author

Dr. James C. Halfpenny is a scientist, educator, and author specializing in carnivore ecology, animal tracking, and cold environment ecology. From his home in Gardiner, Montana, on the edge of Yellowstone National Park, he has studied the Yellowstone wolves since their reintroduction and annually conducts classes and educational programs about the wolves. Dr. Halfpenny is the author of several books, including A Field Guide to Mammal Tracking in North America.