Never Cry Wolf by Farley Mowat Essay Example

Never Cry Wolf by Farley Mowat

For my book report, I have chosen the novel Never Cry Wolf by Farley
Mowat. In this report I will give a brief summary of the novel as well as why I have chosen it for my report. Finally, I will give my reactions to the novel with regards to its analysis of the place of human beings in nature, whether the destiny of humans and nature is intertwined, and how nature is regarded by the different religious and political philosophies demonstrated in the novel. Never Cry Wolf is based upon the true story of the author's experiences during two years spent as a biologist studying a family of wolves in northern
Canada during the mid nineteen fifties. When Mowat is sent on his expedition his goal is to bring back proof of the wolves decimating effect on the northern herds of Caribou. After arriving at the remote location, he finds a group of wolves and begins his research. He then discovers the differing peculiarities of the wolves and finds that they are more than the savage and merciless hunters that he had previously believed them to be. He discovers that they are in fact a very efficient and resourceful and have their own distinctive culture. For example he discovers that they in fact have a symbiotic relationship with the caribou in that they keep the caribou population strong by hunting down only the sick and weaker members of the herd. This leads to a situation where the strongest caribou survive and thus the herd is made stronger. As well they have their own social orders that ensure peaceful co-existence with one another instead of being reduced to fighting amongst themselves. Before Mowat's excursion conventional wisdom thought that that was the only interraction that the wolves were capable of. In his group he finds a monogamous pair who are raising their litter with assistance from another male wolf who Mowat terms to be an "uncle". His previous assumptions which portrayed the wolves as cold heated killers who lived