The collapse of the wolf myth

The collapse of the wolf myth.

One fine day a friend of mine lent me a book, which I cannot forget. It is not a new one, but I’ve never read it before. The Canadian nature scientist Farley Mowat, who is the author, took me into a world full of nature in his book “Never cry wolf” (“Nie taki wilk straszny”).

The main character is a young scientist conducting research on wolves behaviour, and their influence on caribou species strength. He went on his mission with some assumptions, based on popular opinions, and had to either prove or discard them. The story is full of unexpected situations, a very specific sense of humour and love for the wild nature and wolves, which are very friendly and open-minded mammals. The myth of dangerous wolf species turns out to be false and readers are able to know more about these very interesting and intelligent animals. Following the story we are completely immersed in a magical world. The book deals with very important themes in a really engaging way. As an avid reader I wasn’t able to put the book down. I really like the way it’s written. I also appreciate the knowledge which we can get from reading it. It’s not a scientific book, but a popular one, for the average Joe, but I found it very educational. The main disadvantage of such a good read is the number of pages. I am truly convinced that the book is too thin.

The story was adapted by Carrol Ballard in 1983 and I am going to look for the film “Never cry wolf” (“Już nigdy nie zawyje wilk”). I am also a big fan of the other books of Farley Mowat, who died in 2014 at the age of 92. I highly recommend this precious read to make up your own mind about animals, who exist not only in fairy tales.

by Justyna Komar