Wolves on the Hunt
The Behavior of Wolves Hunting Wild Prey
9780226255149
9780226255286
Wolves on the Hunt
The Behavior of Wolves Hunting Wild Prey
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.
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.
208 pages | 28 color plates, 44 halftones, 3 line drawings, 6 tables | 8 1/2 x 11 | © 2015
Biological Sciences: Anatomy, Behavioral Biology, Ecology, Evolutionary Biology, Physiology, Biomechanics, and Morphology
Reviews
Table of Contents
Foreword
Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction: The Wolf as a Killing Machine
Chapter 1—White-Tailed Deer
Chapter 2—Moose
Chapter 3—Caribou
Chapter 4—Elk
Chapter 5—Mountain Sheep and Goats
Chapter 6—Bison
Chapter 7—Musk Oxen
Chapter 8—Miscellaneous Prey
Conclusion
Appendix: List of Scientific Names of Birds and Mammals Mentioned
Literature Cited
Index
A Note on Accompanying Videos by Robert K. Landis
Videos of wolf-prey interactions, by Robert K. Landis, are available to readers of the print book at the following URL and with these password credentials:
URL: www.press.uchicago.edu/sites/wolves
User name: wolves
Password: hunt2015
Readers of the ebook will find the videos embedded in the text.
Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction: The Wolf as a Killing Machine
Chapter 1—White-Tailed Deer
Chapter 2—Moose
Chapter 3—Caribou
Chapter 4—Elk
Chapter 5—Mountain Sheep and Goats
Chapter 6—Bison
Chapter 7—Musk Oxen
Chapter 8—Miscellaneous Prey
Conclusion
Appendix: List of Scientific Names of Birds and Mammals Mentioned
Literature Cited
Index
A Note on Accompanying Videos by Robert K. Landis
Videos of wolf-prey interactions, by Robert K. Landis, are available to readers of the print book at the following URL and with these password credentials:
URL: www.press.uchicago.edu/sites/wolves
User name: wolves
Password: hunt2015
Readers of the ebook will find the videos embedded in the text.
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