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Living with Wolves
After six years of living among an Idaho wolfpack, the Dutchers offer a unique look at this complex, intelligent, and misunderstood animal.
172 pages, Hardcover
First published May 30, 2005
57 people are currently reading
130 people want to read
About the author
Jim Dutcher
14 books95 followersAfter an award-winning filmmaking career, Jim Dutcher turned his energies to a life-altering focus: the wolf. Armed with a Forest Service permit, he and his wife Jamie lived in a tented camp bordering Idaho’s Sawtooth Wilderness. For six years, they documented the social hierarchy and behavior of the Sawtooth Pack, wolves they bottle-fed as pups. The Dutchers’ extraordinary experiences with what they discovered to be intelligent and compassionate animals led to three Emmy Award-winning documentaries.
Yet with wolves still persecuted by a mostly fearful and misinformed public, the Dutchers knew they needed to do more. In 2005, they founded Living With Wolves. A nonprofit that addresses the complex issues surrounding the historical eradication and Endangered Species reintroduction of wolves, Living With Wolves battles laws that allow the brutal hunting of these beautiful animals.
Yet with wolves still persecuted by a mostly fearful and misinformed public, the Dutchers knew they needed to do more. In 2005, they founded Living With Wolves. A nonprofit that addresses the complex issues surrounding the historical eradication and Endangered Species reintroduction of wolves, Living With Wolves battles laws that allow the brutal hunting of these beautiful animals.
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
August 13, 2024
It taught me so MUCH! It's a five-star book!
December 27, 2021
Listened to this one with my son, truly learned a lot!
October 22, 2019
Jim and Jane Dutcher are filmmakers who are studying and writing about wolves. They start out by returning wolves to their natural habitat at Sawtooth mountain. They document and write about how wolves contribute to their environment. They discuss things such as the massive decline of wolves in the last 100 years and ways to prevent it from ever happening again. As they bring in a new liter of pups, Jim and Jane Dutcher wounder how the other wolves will take it, viciously or with love? Join Jim and Jane in a book full of humor and mischief pups turn and annoyed and mature adult wolves.
I adore this book! I say this because I was able to understand wolves and our environment a lot better. Wolves are not viscous animals at all, they are loving, caring, and protective. They contribute to our environment in so many ways such as not letting the moose population get out of hand. They also can teach us about discipline and social order in an economy. If we would just look at on our environment every once in a while maybe our environment wouldn't be as corrupt. I would recommend this book to people of all ages because everybody needs to learn about their environment and the differnt ecosystems in the world and ways to protect them.
I adore this book! I say this because I was able to understand wolves and our environment a lot better. Wolves are not viscous animals at all, they are loving, caring, and protective. They contribute to our environment in so many ways such as not letting the moose population get out of hand. They also can teach us about discipline and social order in an economy. If we would just look at on our environment every once in a while maybe our environment wouldn't be as corrupt. I would recommend this book to people of all ages because everybody needs to learn about their environment and the differnt ecosystems in the world and ways to protect them.
November 4, 2019
This book is about someone wanting to make a movie on wolves, and he has to raise wolves in their natural habitat so he can see their natural habits, and how they would act in the wild. and in this book the people raised many different wolves, in fact they raised so many wolves they created a whole pack. And the reason why they did this is because they wanted to know truly how the packs worked and how they were organized and ranked. And this book also contains some bad moments about how some tragedies happened while raising the wolves.
My opinion on this book is that I liked it a lot because I like wolves and nature, so I thought it was interesting to see how the wolves act in the wild, but in a much more detailed perspective, and I also liked this book because it had a good plot, it wasn't just about them observing wolves, the book explains the difficulties the people had to overcome, and the book also has tragedies in the book that makes the book sad sometimes, but then you can be happy in the next page or so. So overall I would rate this book as a 5 out of 5 because I enjoyed it and I learned something new, and that is what a book is supposed to do, and that is why I rated it as a 5 out of 5.
My opinion on this book is that I liked it a lot because I like wolves and nature, so I thought it was interesting to see how the wolves act in the wild, but in a much more detailed perspective, and I also liked this book because it had a good plot, it wasn't just about them observing wolves, the book explains the difficulties the people had to overcome, and the book also has tragedies in the book that makes the book sad sometimes, but then you can be happy in the next page or so. So overall I would rate this book as a 5 out of 5 because I enjoyed it and I learned something new, and that is what a book is supposed to do, and that is why I rated it as a 5 out of 5.
October 23, 2021
We listened to this as an audiobook, but I think it would be even better with the adjoining photos. Fascinating story. I can't even imagine trusting a wolf enough to let it lick my face. We learned quite a bit about wolf behavior, from the alpha wolf to the omega wolf, and the ins and outs of studying wolves up close.
December 24, 2021
Wow todo acá fue hermoso. Te describen bien al lobo, te explican sus características , cosas importantes del lobo, etc. Aparte las imágenes están hermosas lo único que no me gusto es que el prólogo estuvo algo largo y aburrido para mi y aveces cuando hablaba Jim se me hacía algo aburrido (No en todos los casos) pero bueno yo a este libro le doy 4 estrellas :)
December 14, 2024
I Absolutely Love This!!!! The insight in to the pack and how they work and live and love. Animals are sentient creatures, same as humans, with emotions and desires. This book was able to show some of that in the research and the pictures and the stories. I would love to be able to spend time with a pack like this, but I also know that being accepting of humans can be death to a pack.
February 11, 2019
Jim e Jamie Dutcher sono fotografi e documentaristi, che hanno preso a cuore il salvataggio del lupo in Nord America, dove è quasi sparito a seguito di una caccia insensata e spietata.
Il libro, ricchissimo di meravigliose foto, spiega l'importanza e la bellezza di questo magnifico predatore.
Il libro, ricchissimo di meravigliose foto, spiega l'importanza e la bellezza di questo magnifico predatore.
October 30, 2020
Great book
Great book for children as well as as adults. It is very interesting and informative and has great resources in the back for those wanting more information. I recommend this book.
Great book for children as well as as adults. It is very interesting and informative and has great resources in the back for those wanting more information. I recommend this book.
August 1, 2025
A lovely book giving an overview of the life of wolves in general (though it does focus exclusively on the U.S.), interposed with the authors’ own experiences living with a pack of habituated wolves. It’s lavishly illustrated with many gorgeous photos. A delightful read for wolf lovers.
September 21, 2023
Great information about the often misunderstood wolves!
March 17, 2024
Saying, “Living With Wolves is forever in my heart,” only scratches the surface of how much I loved it.
Because it wasn’t just filled with facts about wolves and clearing up some of the misconceptions about them. It was also about how the authors conveyed the way they’d come to feel about wolves based on their experiences. In my case, I’d read other books about wolves so the hard part with me was done – I’d already fallen in love with wolves by the time I read this nonfiction story.
But this loving feeling, or getting closer to it, is what Jim and Jamie Dutcher ultimately strive for by the time any reader turns the last page.
What better way to do this than to show the camaraderie between the wolves themselves and the Dutchers, at times, through pictures filled with the breathtaking beauty of the environment around them? To learn the words that go along with those photographs and feel the many bonds that were created, to inch closer to wolves for some of the similarly human ways their family groups work, to feel the healthy respect for their wild behaviors and see just how important wolves truly are to our world.
Complete with a life-size gallery of pictures to the scale of a human hand at the end of this book, the Dutchers not only give the gift of clarity and knowledge about wolves but share the chance to “listen to the voices of the Sawtooth Pack” through the compact disk they made when they lived, together, with wolves.
For me, this was a beautiful way to close because it made me smile to see how my hand was just a little smaller than their paw prints. I loved imagining how I could almost feel their fur and how some of it floated to the ground with each stroke...
and thought about how extraordinary it would've been to be there with the Dutchers.
Because it wasn’t just filled with facts about wolves and clearing up some of the misconceptions about them. It was also about how the authors conveyed the way they’d come to feel about wolves based on their experiences. In my case, I’d read other books about wolves so the hard part with me was done – I’d already fallen in love with wolves by the time I read this nonfiction story.
But this loving feeling, or getting closer to it, is what Jim and Jamie Dutcher ultimately strive for by the time any reader turns the last page.
What better way to do this than to show the camaraderie between the wolves themselves and the Dutchers, at times, through pictures filled with the breathtaking beauty of the environment around them? To learn the words that go along with those photographs and feel the many bonds that were created, to inch closer to wolves for some of the similarly human ways their family groups work, to feel the healthy respect for their wild behaviors and see just how important wolves truly are to our world.
Complete with a life-size gallery of pictures to the scale of a human hand at the end of this book, the Dutchers not only give the gift of clarity and knowledge about wolves but share the chance to “listen to the voices of the Sawtooth Pack” through the compact disk they made when they lived, together, with wolves.
For me, this was a beautiful way to close because it made me smile to see how my hand was just a little smaller than their paw prints. I loved imagining how I could almost feel their fur and how some of it floated to the ground with each stroke...
and thought about how extraordinary it would've been to be there with the Dutchers.
April 30, 2019
Great non-fiction read for students (2-4 depending on reading level ability). Students will learn a lot about these amazing animals as well as be exposed to new vocabulary. Good cross curriculum read for science.
Read
September 10, 2014This book comes with an hour long CD of wolves howling that freaked my dog out when i played it for recently. i've also played it while going to sleep and the sounds of wolves in your dreams is radical at the very least. i like the description of the wolf heirarchy as i think there are some vague similarities to human social structures, but more that the pack is acts as one and there are no small parts. also demonstrates man's ancient connection with dogs/ wolves, and how we consistently pair to be stronger. reminds me that i need to further the unique relationship between ravens and wolves.
January 7, 2016
I am proud to say at one time I supported the Sawtooth Pack and that trying to keep track of them was part of my life. This book was interesting to read and has so many beautiful pictures that I like to reference in my art. Still, it's falling apart now from use and I most likely won't replace it when it goes simply due to it's size. It's a heavy book and not something you can simply sit down with. The CD is OK... the fact the same recording repeats for hours is a bit annoying just since most players can repeat on their own so it's not needed.
January 13, 2017
Chapter book
Text bubbles with “Did You Know” facts
Many color photos
Extra fact pages
Since wolves usually hide from people, Jim Dutcher knew he would need to do something creative to be able to study these wild animals. He fenced an area of about 25 acres and set up a camp inside the fence because he needed to see how the wolves lived. Now he needs wolves – how can he get wolves into his fence area? He started his own pack. By going to wolf research centers he was able to find two young males and two young females.
Text bubbles with “Did You Know” facts
Many color photos
Extra fact pages
Since wolves usually hide from people, Jim Dutcher knew he would need to do something creative to be able to study these wild animals. He fenced an area of about 25 acres and set up a camp inside the fence because he needed to see how the wolves lived. Now he needs wolves – how can he get wolves into his fence area? He started his own pack. By going to wolf research centers he was able to find two young males and two young females.
February 19, 2013
Incredible insight into the social aspect of wild wolves as seen by the authors, Jim and Jamie Dutcher, who lived with the Sawtooth Pack for years, studying their behavior and sharing their findings with the world. The book includes amazing, art-quality photographs of the Sawtooth Pack and stories of the authors' experiences, as well as a CD of the wolves' vocalizations. I'm listening to it right now. Hauntingly beautiful - sends chills down my spine.
August 3, 2007
The documentary that goes along with the book is excellent as well. I have the DVD.
The book just adds more detail and has some wonderful photography. It's a fantastic story of how Dutcher and his wife lived side by side with the wolves, observing their behavior over the years until they could eventually be returned to the wild.
The book just adds more detail and has some wonderful photography. It's a fantastic story of how Dutcher and his wife lived side by side with the wolves, observing their behavior over the years until they could eventually be returned to the wild.
September 13, 2013
This informative book opens your eyes to the society of Wolves. I've been intrigued on this topic for over fifteen years and Jim and Jamie has proven detailed information against the stereotypical judgements of this particular species. Also recommended is the DVD Documentary, "Living With Wolves."
February 15, 2018
Nonfiction for young readers has come a long way in the past few years. National Geographic Kids Chapters are beginner chapter books: short and easy to comprehend. I gave it three stars because it jumped around a bit, but I will certainly recommend it to the right reader.
May 8, 2010
Gorgeous wolf picture book--goes along with Dutcher's film of the same name.
March 8, 2011
This guy is a total badass - lived wild for a few months and joined a wolf-pack. Great book!
July 14, 2011
This book will change your view towards what you think you know about wolves.
December 21, 2018
I am surprised this only has four stars. This book was great.
February 11, 2023
I loved this book
January 1, 2024
Wolfie picked this one. It was a great book to read with the family. Since N is obsessed with wolves it was great to learn more about their personalities.
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews