Wolf Country

Eleven Years Tracking the Algonquin Wolves

Wolves arouse a passion in people. Some are fascinated by them; others hate them. Time and again, John and Mary Theberge have been confronted by angry hunters and farmers who repeat the same refrain, “What good is a wolf anyway?” In Wolf Country, John Theberge provides a gentle answer to that harsh question by describing the lives of the Algonquin wolves that he and Mary came to know during their eleven years of tracking them. In telling their stories, he also tells something about the questions he set out to answer: whether wolf packs aggressively defend their territories; whether wolves kill more of their prey than the prey population can sustain; and whether pack behavior supports the idea of the survival of the best-fit group. This is a fascinating and inspiring story told by a man for whom the appreciation of science and life are inseparable.