Do not shout: "Wolves!"

A young biologist after graduation comes to work in the Service for the Study of the Animal World of the Ministry of Northern Affairs and Resources of Canada . He is entrusted with the study of the relationship " wolf - deer " in the northern poorly studied areas of the country. The ministry suggests that wolves cause a sharp decline in the number of deer- caribou in the tundra .

Researchers alone are thrown on a plane to a study area for which there is not even a map. Almost no communication with the outside world (the low-power radio station soon had batteries ). In general, the equipment of the expedition (issued according to the norms of the ministry) was thought out rather badly. Soon the biologist meets with local people Mike, and then with Eskimo Utek, who provide him with the necessary assistance, and later the author learns a lot of interesting things from them about wolves.

Observing wolves, the author comes to completely unexpected conclusions: wolves are non-aggressive towards humans and rarely attack deer, feeding largely on rodents and other small animals. The reduction in the number of caribou is primarily due to immoderate hunting .

Canadian biologist, research supervisor Farley Mouet Alexander William Banfield criticized the book “Don't scream: wolves!”. He argues that the book is based not so much on Mouette's personal experience, but on the work of other researchers and is a "fiction based on facts." Mowet did not work alone, but as part of a group of three biologists, and most of the observations cited in the book were not made by him. However, some statements (for example, that wolves feed mainly on rodents) do not correspond to reality ^[1] .

Soviet and Russian zoologist M.P. Pavlov draws attention to the fact that not all conclusions reached during the observations of wolves in the conditions of northern Canada can be transferred to other regions. The danger of wolves for humans depends on the density of the wolves and the security of their natural prey. In addition, the population of the places where Mowe worked was not engaged in animal husbandry and was not forced to protect livestock from wolves. With reference to some regions of the former USSR and a number of other countries (for example, India ), Pavlov gives many facts about the attack of wolves on humans ^[2] .

In 1983 , the book was screened . In the Russian hire film was released under the title " Do not call the wolves ."

• Farley Mowat. “Do not shout:“ Wolves! ”” = Never Cry Wolf. - M .: Peace, 1968.