The Real Wolf: The Science, Politics, and Economics of Co-Existing with Wolves in Modern Times – Paperback
by Ted B. Lyon and Will N. Graves
How have thriving elk populations of thousands dwindled to mere hundreds in just a matter of years? Author Ted B. Lyon asserts the wolf is at fault. He also blames the wolf for the rampant spread of infectious diseases among livestock populations and the decimation of wild deer, moose, sheep, and domestic animals alike. A trial lawyer with over 37 years of litigation experience, Lyon proves his case in The Real Wolf: The Science, Politics, and Economics of Co-Existing with Wolves in Modern Times. In this detailed yet easy-to-read essay collection, authors Ted B. Lyon and Will N. Graves investigate the majesty and myths surrounding wolves in the United States and offer a new, true picture of the wolf in contemporary America. The Real Wolf is an in-depth study of the impact wolves as a federally protected species have had on big game and livestock populations. Each chapter in the book is meticulously researched and written by authors and scientists who have spent years studying wolves and wolf behavior. Contributing authors Rob Arnaud, Dr. Arthur Bergerud, Karen Budd-Falen, Jess Carey, Dr. Matthew A. Cronin, Dr. Valerius Geist, Don Peay, Laura Schneberger, Heather Smith-Thomas, and Cat Urbigkit each describe a unique aspect of the wolf in the United States. The Real Wolf does not call for the eradication of wolves from the United States, but rather advocates a new system of species management that would allow wolves, game animals, and farmers to live in harmony.
*Note* I was privileged to be asked to write a book review of “The Real Wolf”. Subsequently it became the foreword for this book. If you would like, you can read a copy of that below: (this review has been slightly edited from this original submission.)
Book Review: The Real Wolf
The Science, Politics, and Economics of Co-Existing with Wolves in Modern Times
Ted B. Lyons and Will N. Graves and other contributions
It has been nearly 30 years since United States Government employees undertook steps to import Canadian wolves into Yellowstone and Central Idaho; much of that event done illegally. To pull it off, the greatest sales pitch, or con job, in U.S. History had to take place. Wolves were sold as something they were not. Wolf advocates deliberately lied[this has been changed to something more politically correct], brainwashing masses of people with images of the gray wolf as a “keystone predator”, an “indicator species”, a “flagship species”, and all wrapped up in descriptions of wolves “balancing nature” and “sanitarians” of the forests. This was all done for one purpose: to sell the people about introducing wolves into the Lower 48 States. After all, if people were reminded of the truthful history of wolves globally, they would not have fallen for the idea.
It has taken nearly 30 years to compile between two book covers all the facts to explain to the American people that they were lied[also changed] to about the wolf. Everything you need to learn about the truth concerning wolves, can be found in “The Real Wolf.” The Real Wolf is destined to become the encyclopedia of wolf facts, loaded with resources from some of the most renowned scientists, researchers, investigators and historians the world has to offer.
The Real Wolf presents hundreds of pages of documents, facts and real life stories about gray wolves, including over 450 references, footnotes and links to sources and facts.
What began in this country at least 100 years ago, a deliberate effort to change the minds of American children, cannot be reversed in one book publication, but as far as the repulsive fairy tales that have been told about gray wolves around the world, The Real Wolf is a strong first step. It should be the foundation of understanding the wolf and required reading for all wildlife managers and biologists.
For those always wishing they had at their disposal a comprehensive publication in which to share with others and increase their own knowledge of “real wolves”, The Real Wolf is certainly something to add to your library.
Some of my favorite researchers and scientists have contributed to this book: Will N. Graves, author of Wolves in Russia: Anxiety Through the Ages; Dr. Valerius Geist, a leading ethologist and professor emeritus University of Calgary; Dr. Tom Bergerud, the world’s leading authority on caribou; and Dr. Matthew Cronin, a research professor of Animal Genetics at the University of Alaska in Fairbanks.
The Real Wolf will teach readers of wolf history across the globe, wolf introduction in the United States, the more than 50 diseases wolves carry, how U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service alters science to fit agendas, how mongrel mutts are being introduced as pure wolves, the devastation wolves have had on other wild animals and private property depredating livestock and the unbelievable affect it has had on people, plus a whole lot more.
