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, Theberge provides a gentle answer to that harsh question by describing the lives of the wolves that he and Mary came to know. In telling their stories, he also addresses a number of fascinating issues, such as: 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. Their studies have led them to investigate the many elements that shape wolf habitat, from the prevalence of certain tree species, to the effect of parasites on moose.