Overview

New insights into the changing human attitudes towards wild nature through the depiction of wolves in human culture and heritage. Few animals arouse such strong opinion as the wolf. It occupies a contested, ambiguous, yet central role in human culture and heritage. It appears as both an inspirational emblem of the wild and an embodiment of evil. Offering a mirror to different human attitudes, beliefs, and values, the wolf is, arguably, the species that plays the greatest role in shaping our views on what nature is or should be. North America and, more recently, Europe have witnessed a remarkable return of the grey wolf (Canis lupus, and its close relative the Eurasian wolf, Canis lupus lupus) to eco-systems. The essays collected here explore aspects of this recovery, and consider the history, literature and myth surrounding this iconic species. There are chapters on wolf taxonomy, including the coywolf, the red wolf, and the many faces of the dingo. We also meet the Tasmanian wolf and encounter Nazi Werewolves from Outer Space. The book explores the challenges of separating fact from fiction and superstition, and our willingness to co-exist with large carnivores in the twenty-first century. Biologists, historians, anthropologists, cultural theorists, conservationists and museologists will all find riches in the detail presented in this wolf collection.

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9781837650156

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Ian Convery is Professor of Environment & Society at the University of Cumbria. He is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and is a director of the Lifescapes Project conservation charity. Owen T. Nevin is Chief Executive Officer of the Western Australian Biodiversity Science Institute (WABSI), Adjunct Professor of Conservation Biology at CQUniversity Australia and Anniversary Visiting Professor of Conservation Biology at the University of Cumbria Erwin van Maanen of EcoNatura is a (conservation) biologist, with a specific interest in mammalian carnivore ecology. Peter Davis is Emeritus Professor of Museology in the School of Arts and Cultures at Newcastle University, UK. His research interests relate to the connections between place, nature, heritage, communities and sustainability. Karen Lloyd is the writer in residence with Lancaster University's Future Places Centre. She teaches on Lancaster's MA in Creative Writing and lives in the English Lake District. MARIE ADDYMAN is an independent scholar whose writing and teaching reflects the interdisciplinary approach which is fundamental to her practice. While guest-lecturing on English literature and women's studies at various English universities, she has taught literature, history, and history of medicine for the Open University. Elizabeth Marshall gained her PhD from the University of St Andrews, receiving awards for both her thesis and for her work researching the cultural and sociological issues related to top predator reintroduction to Britain.

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