José Castelló's Reading List

"Well, both are timeless classics that are easy to read over and over. I read both when I was a kid, one after the other. Those were my first books about wild animals and nature, and I probably started loving the beauty of the wolf at this time. London’s prose is passionate and evocative; it transports the reader to the brutal, beautiful wilds of Yukon and the lives and minds of the wolves, dogs, and men. We should give London some literary licence. For their time, these books don’t seem to be too bad. Back then— White Fang was published in 1906—the knowledge of wolf behaviour was limited. People still had a widespread fear of wolves during London’s time. The savage wolf pack stalking the two woodsmen in White Fang was just a hook to terrify and lure in readers. It’s high adventure, and should be taken as such. Wolves exhibit a flexible social system, from living in families (a monogamous breeding pair and their offspring) to more complex social groups with unrelated members. In family packs, there is an age-graded dominance order in which offspring submit to parents and puppies submit to older siblings. Members of the dominant breeding pair usually lead pack movements, and often only the dominant pair breeds. “Domestic dogs rarely form packs with hierarchical structures” In contrast, domestic dogs rarely form packs with hierarchical structures. Free-ranging wild dogs are usually semi-solitary animals or live in social groups of mainly unrelated members that do not have a hierarchical social structure affecting group activities. A dog that goes feral or wild, like Buck, will rarely or never join an existing wolf pack. Such a dog may eventually mate with a wolf that has left its original pack and is looking for a mate. But most wolf packs will consider a dog an intruder, and will kill him."

"This is the story of the first wolves reintroduced to the area of Yellowstone, and it demonstrates how many factors, from political to emotional, came together. The Killing of Wolf No. 10 is a very sad but wonderful tale of a wolf who lived a short but spectacular life; it perfectly depicts the typical confrontation between wolves and communities, seen across many parts of the world. This is probably one of the most controversial topics among the scientific community. There is no single answer to the question. It also depends on the geographical area we are talking about. In many cases, the wolf, if left alone, is able to expand and repopulate large areas without the need for specific reintroductions, as is happening now in Spain. In other areas, like Japan, reintroductions would be the only way to bring back wolves from extinction. (Wolves used to live in Japan until 1905.) This is seen as a way to (re)introduce an apex predator to the ecosystem, which is essential for sustainability and avoids the overpopulation of ungulates. Yellowstone’s reintroduction is always cited as an example of this. However, most of these repopulations or reintroductions face opposition from ranchers and hunters, and in most cases, there is a strong political pressure not to pursue it."

"The history of this species, the red wolf ( Canis rufus ), is a very interesting example of the importance and relationship between taxonomy and politics in the conservation of some species. The red wolf is considered as a species of wolf, native to the southeastern US, closely related to the grey wolf, but distinct, and listed as ‘critically endangered.’ However, some authors have recently suggested that it may be nothing more than a hybrid between coyotes and grey wolves. If so, it will lose its conservation status and protection, given that US legislation does not protect hybrids, leading to the extinction of this animal. “This book is really a must-read for anyone interested in North American ecology” This book explains this and much more. It is easily the most complete book written on these wolves. It summarizes the red wolf from its origins to current research, explores efforts to re-establish it, and current and future threats to the species. The book is divided into three main parts: ‘The Red Wolf Today,’ ‘The Red Wolf Yesterday’ and ‘The Red Wolf Tomorrow.’ Get the weekly Five Books newsletter In the first section, written as a first person narrative, Beeland describes the efforts to re-establish a population of wild wolves in northeastern North Carolina. We meet the biologists and some of the red wolves themselves. This book is really a must-read for anyone interested in North American ecology, and readers will have a much better appreciation for this species. The book is both scientifically compelling and accessible to all. Hopefully, new conservationists will champion the recovery of red wolves after reading this book. As the author says, the story of the red wolf was waiting to be told, and it is a very interesting and tragic story at that. The red wolf was once found throughout forested regions of the American southeast. As a result of aggressive predator control programs and the loss of forest habitat, by 1970 its population had declined to less than 100 wolves and was confined to a small area of coastal Texas and Louisiana. Early recovery attempts were largely unsuccessful and the remaining wolves began mating with coyotes. As a result, the number of pure red wolves decreased and further contributed to the species decline. In 1973, in a final attempt to save the species, efforts were initiated to capture as many wild red wolves as possible. 17 pure red wolves were captured by biologists and became the founders of a captive breeding program. In 1980, the last remaining wild red wolves were brought into captivity and the species was declared extinct in the wild. By 1987, enough red wolves were bred in captivity to begin a restoration program in North Carolina. Since then, the experimental population area has slowly expanded to include three national wildlife refuges. In 2003, approximately 100 red wolves existed in the wild, but the wild population is once again dwindling to a mere 30 or 40, amongst political controversy and pressure from a number of landowners to be allowed to shoot the wolves on their land. Support Five Books Five Books interviews are expensive to produce. If you're enjoying this interview, please support us by donating a small amount . Although the red wolf recovery program once served as a model for the successful recovery of wolves, political barriers seriously threatened the continued existence of this endangered species. In 2014, the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) stopped reintroducing red wolves into the wild and began issuing kill permits to landowners. In a recent proposal announced in 2016, the agency called for placing most of the last remaining wild red wolves in captivity. In 2018, USFWS confirmed what has been evident: the wild population is in crisis and could go extinct within eight years. Termination of the recovery program will inevitably result in the loss of the last population of red wolves, rendering the species ‘extinct in the wild’ in the next few years."