Award-winning author Paula Wild brings her remarkable images, fascinating facts and incredible stories about wolves to the University of Victoria next week.
Wild’s talk is based on her seventh book and B.C. bestseller, Return of the Wolf: Conflict & Coexistence. Her previous book, The Cougar: Beautiful, Wild and Dangerous, was shortlisted for the Bill Duthie Booksellers’ Choice Award in B.C. and was the Gold winner for Foreword Review’s Nature Book of the Year in the U.S.
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In her presentation, Wild explores the wolf’s complex – and at times dangerous – relationship with humans. As highly social, intelligent animals, wolves are proving adept at navigating the challenges of an ever-changing landscape and sharing habitat with people. But are humans adapting to wolves?
She also discusses the unique relationships wolves have with ravens, bears and coyotes, noting that wolf/coyote hybrids are now common in eastern suburban areas such as Toronto and New York City. Wild also reveals physical and social aspects of wolves including howls, sense of smell and pack dynamics, as well as the carnivore’s diet, which can consist of anything from a mouse to a moose, as well as fish, seals and shellfish.
Combining ancient myths, natural history, science and personal stories, Wild gets to the heart of what makes wolves so intensely compelling, yet so eternally controversial.
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In Search of the Real Wolf: A Free Illustrated Talk runs Tuesday, April 9 at 7:30 p.m. at UVic in Room 159 of the Fraser Building.
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