The Yellowstone Wolves: The First Year

by Gary Ferguson

"There is not a predictable moment in this poignant and beautifully told story of the reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone National Park." Jean Craighead George, author of the Newbery Award-winning Julie of the Wolves.

Genres: Wolves, Nonfiction, Nature, Natural History, Biology, Animals

174 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1996

About the author

Nature writer, 1956-
Award-winning author Gary Ferguson has written for a variety of national publications, including Vanity Fair and the Chicago Tribune, and is the author of twenty-six books on nature and science. His memoir, The Carry Home, which the Los Angeles Times called “gorgeous, with beauty on every page,” was awarded “Best Nature book of the Year” by the Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute. Gary is the co-founder of Full Ecology, with his wife, social scientists Mary M. Clare.

Reviews

[... · Rating 4 out of 5]

When it comes to the wolves of Yellowstone, there is no shortage of books, and while new stories are always welcome, what new can be said about the reintroduction itself? In 1996, when Gary Ferguson's book was published, these books would not yet hit the shelves, but even though they're out there now, this one is still very much worth reading.

There are stories here that will be familiar to anyone who's read The Killing of Wolf Number Ten, Decade of the Wolf, or The Rise of Wolf 8, to name just a few, but beyond all that, Ferguson's book offers a fast-paced tale of the first year of the reintroduction, featuring biologists, ranchers, wolfwatchers, and of course wolves: Blue, Splayfoot, Ten, Nine, Seven. With observations and information I've not read in any other book about the Yellowstone wolves, this "older" one sure managed to teach me something new.

It reminds me of Rick Bass's The Ninemile Wolves and The New Wolves; apart from these two, there are several books for further reading that are also worth mentioning:

The Reign of Wolf 21
The Redemption of Wolf 302
Wolfer
The Grand Lady of Yellowstone
American Wolf
Wild Wolves We Have Known

[Cristina · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author was a neighbor and friend of my parents in Red Lodge, MT, and somehow related to a classmate of mine, too. So I'm a little biased, but if you know me, I don't care who you are if I don't like your book. This one was excellent. My parents had raved about it but also I took that with a grain of salt. When packing my mom's books for her to move to Albq, I snagged this from her shelves and recently relished its every page. Ferguson is poetic and empathetic and a wilderness guy, and writes of the areas I know or knew when I lived there, and also the people. The parts about Chad M. who killed the handsome black wolf on a hillside outside Red Lodge were such snapshots of the people I grew up around. Ferguson captures the controversy of love vs hate of the mysterious wolves, and tells their story fairly. He loves the wolves, and so do I. May they howl on forever.

[Kristal Stidham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. Just... WOW! I was thoroughly enamored with this book. Beautifully written and more drama than a year on a soap opera. I learned a ton about wild wolves, while being entertained too. Now I'm curious about the further results of the project and am ready to devour 15 years worth of summaries on this awesome NPS page:

http://www.nps.gov/yell/naturescience...

[Art · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent and interesting read about the first year of the wolf re-introduction. A quick read definitely worth the time.

- heard about this author and discovered this book- his book about the eastern yellowstone backcountry, the Hawk's Rest, was discovered after researching backpacking destinations

[Brent · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite book concerning wildlife, and it is a gripping story as well. You'll LOVE wolves after reading this book.