Ian McAllister
Greystone Books, $19.95
Every now and then, an author comes along who gives conventional wisdom a gentle nudge and causes us to look at the natural world in a new way. Ian McAllister, a naturalist who has observed and photographed the daily life British Columbia’s coastal wolves for 20 years, provides a lucid view of these fascinating, family-oriented animals. Importantly, he suggests the ancient relationship between man and wolves was much closer than the antagonistic (on the part of humans) relationship we have today. In his work, wolf packs came to recognize and accept him near their den sites and feeding areas. He also found coastal wolves often locate their dens in the remains of ancient native villages, perhaps suggesting an ancient symbiosis. We may have forgotten this relationship, he suggests, and wolves are waiting for us to remember it. —Shawn Perich