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A review by booksforjake
Never Cry Wolf by Farley Mowat
4.0
Really enjoyed this read, and it’s special importance to me, since Neil gave me the physical paperback copy back in 2017/2018.
Biggest takeaway from this book is that the perspective of a white man in the late 1940s are shocking:
*Science was ‘do whatever the fuck you want out there’. Wanna camp next to some wolves and make a territory boundary out of your own piss? Do it! Curious if the wolves will eat fresh bread? Get baking! Wanna see if a wolf will fuck a husky? Tie her up and see the sparks fly baby!
Science back then was so wildly whimsical and arbitrary. Kinda bummed that now we are neck-deep in R and statistical analysis. Oh well.
*Another huge takeaway is the importance of LEK (local ecological knowledge). Almost everything that Mowat is curious about regarding the wolves, Ootek, the indigenous guide, already knows.
Mowat: “There’s no way these magnificent beautiful hunters could eat…mice?!?”
Ootek: “Oh yeah bro they eat hella mice”
This pattern repeated over and over again. Like, maybe we should just learn from people who have lived in an area for hundreds of generations.
In conclusion, awesome and insightful read. Thanks Neil!
Biggest takeaway from this book is that the perspective of a white man in the late 1940s are shocking:
*Science was ‘do whatever the fuck you want out there’. Wanna camp next to some wolves and make a territory boundary out of your own piss? Do it! Curious if the wolves will eat fresh bread? Get baking! Wanna see if a wolf will fuck a husky? Tie her up and see the sparks fly baby!
Science back then was so wildly whimsical and arbitrary. Kinda bummed that now we are neck-deep in R and statistical analysis. Oh well.
*Another huge takeaway is the importance of LEK (local ecological knowledge). Almost everything that Mowat is curious about regarding the wolves, Ootek, the indigenous guide, already knows.
Mowat: “There’s no way these magnificent beautiful hunters could eat…mice?!?”
Ootek: “Oh yeah bro they eat hella mice”
This pattern repeated over and over again. Like, maybe we should just learn from people who have lived in an area for hundreds of generations.
In conclusion, awesome and insightful read. Thanks Neil!