Lessons From 40 Years Among Wolves

"This is a book about a courageous woman. Often alone in wild country, she endures hardships and faces danger in many forms... It is a book I highly recommend: informative, fascinating, and beautifully written." —Dr. Jane Goodall

Source: Amar Saleem/Pexels.

My research interests for decades have focused on the behavior and social ecology of wild carnivores with a focus on coyotes. I also have been, and remain deeply interested in, the social behavior and behavioral ecology of wild wolves.¹ So, when I learned about Dr. Diane Boyd's new book called A Woman Among Wolves: My Journey Through Forty Years of Wolf Recovery, I couldn't wait to get my eyes on it. I've known of Diane's long-term research for many years, and I remain fascinated by what she was able to do, often against all odds, Often called "the Jane Goodall of wolves," a well-deserved monicker, I couldn't agree more with the accolades her book has received—it truly is a story of passion, resilience, and determination in a career dominated by men. Here's what she has to say about her landmark and deeply inspirational book.

Marc Bekoff: Why did you write A Woman Among Wolves?

Diane Boyd: I wrote A Woman Among Wolves for many reasons: 1) because it is a story that has not been told before, despite the numerous wolf books out there; 2) many of my old coworkers have passed away and can no longer share their narrative; 3) it’s a story that needs telling, of connecting those early years of natural wolf recovery through dispersal without reintroduction, when wolves were truly rare and endangered; 4) it travels full circle from the early wolf recovery efforts monitored by dedicated field biologists in the 1970s and 80s, and updated through present times, including the cultural shifts over these five decades as the societal pendulum has swung from one extreme to the other; and 5) most importantly, I hope through good storytelling and balanced knowledge to open peoples’ minds about what wolves are and what they are not.

Source: Greystone Books/with permission.

This is my personal story that weaves revealing insights about a few individual wolves, wolf population dynamics, science, social dimensions, and politics throughout the book in a way that any reader can take away something new and hopefully thought-provoking. In the long run, I believe all of this will improve wolf conservation efforts and increase human tolerance for having wolves back on the landscape.²

MB: Who do you hope to reach?

DB: I wrote this book for the general public reader who might have an interest in wolves, ecology, facing challenges, or simply love a good adventure story. I also hope to mentor young future biologists, especially women, who want a meaningful career in the wildlife conservation field and to follow their dreams. I’ve published numerous articles in peer-reviewed journals and technical book chapters. However, I strongly believe that more headway is gained in conserving our wildlife and their habitat by reaching out to a broader public audience through well-written popular books and magazine articles based on sound science, but less technically written. Your average peer-reviewed journal article is read by a small number of academics and managers, whereas popular publications have readerships of millions across the world and, I believe, more power to change conservation perspectives.

MB: What are some of the major topics you consider?

DB: I discuss wolf ecology and behavior, trophic cascades, fear, resilience, wolf-dog-human relationships, the process of domestication of dogs from wolves, complex predator-prey relationships, interspecific carnivore interactions and competition, the myth of the Super Wolf, pro-wolf and anti-wolf perspectives, cultural differences across the world in wolf management, and social values as they impact/enhance/battle wolf recovery.

The more complex scientific concepts are presented through stories, examples, and clear language, without the technical jargon of typical scientific discourse that may lose many readers. And yet, there is enough very current science to appeal to the ecologist-biologist-behaviorist. The public reader will better grasp the complicated and highly debated concept of trophic cascades by reading about dynamic exchanges between wolves, mountain lions, grizzly bears, and coyotes than if the reader waded through a long list of scientifically documented studies covering the same. I did not use citations in the text or footnotes (which, as a trained technical writer, was difficult at first until I got into the rhythm of writing a memoir) because my editor wanted the book to flow smoothly without readers being encumbered with a more technical format. There is a list of "further readings" at the end for those who want to delve into more of the research behind discussions in the book.

MB: How does your book differ from others that are concerned with some of the same general topics?

DB: A Woman Among Wolves differs from other wolf books in that it is a memoir written by a woman and her crew who doggedly pursue wolf recolonization from the very first wolf to walk down from Canada in 1979, unaided by humans, and subsequent dispersers that recolonized northwestern Montana 15 years before wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone and central Idaho.

The story expands from this historical, small-scale natural recovery up to present times and a wolf population of more than 3,000 wolves in the western U.S. I would estimate that 99 percent of the public thinks that all wolves in the western U.S. were reintroduced into Yellowstone and Idaho, are foreign, and don’t belong on the landscape, thus packing some baggage; this needs to be corrected. There are many elements that set my book apart from the hundreds of wolf books out there: it is a long-term first-person memoir written by a woman biologist in a male-dominated field, a mix of heart and biology, covering viewpoints from pro- and anti-wolf philosophies, and not preachy. I tell a powerful story without telling readers what they should think, although it will be obvious to the reader that I am passionate about wolves, research, and communication.

MB: Are you hopeful that as people learn more about these wolves they will treat them with more respect and dignity?

DB: I can best answer this by quoting the last paragraph in my introduction:

“I hope these stories, spanning more than four decades of traveling the rocky road of wolf recovery, inspire conservation dreams and actions in the next generations, who will make critical decisions and craft solutions for future wildlife-human interactions. Finally, I hope that this story provides a nuanced understanding of wolf recovery that will make someone who is contemplating killing a wolf pause—and then decide not to pull the trigger.”