cover image WOLVES AT OUR DOOR: The Extraordinary Story of the Couple Who Lived with Wolves

WOLVES AT OUR DOOR: The Extraordinary Story of the Couple Who Lived with Wolves

Jim Dutcher, with James Manfull. . Pocket, $26 (320pp) ISBN 978-0-7434-0048-0

The Dutchers spent six years living with a pack of captive wolves in the Sawtooth Mountains of Idaho, producing the Emmy Award–winning documentary of the same title. In this book, Jim (The Sawtooth Wolves, with Richard Ballantine) and Jamie elaborate on their experience, describing how they became involved with the project, sharing their most memorable moments in the pack, and revealing the logistical problems posed by wildlife filming. Supporting the premises of their movie, the book details many myth-dispelling, playful interactions among the wolves and between wolves and humans. (These wolves were raised—largely by Jim—in captivity but in a large wilderness area with minimal interference from humans.) The reader gets to know the various wolf "personalities" that beguiled and bedeviled the authors, including Kamots, the calm, regal alpha who once comforts Jim by placing a paw on his hand; Matsi, the gentle beta; and Lakota, the slump-shouldered, tail-dragging Omega who is also the joker of the pack. Episodes of tragedy and mourning (as when a wolf is killed by cougars) are countered by moments of exuberance and touching inter-species communication. The Dutchers describe how the wolves dance in delight at the snows of winter, compete viciously for status and entertain themselves with complex social role-playing. This accessible book will delight nature fans and general readers alike. Maps and color insert not seen by PW. (Feb.)