Ian McAllister’s second book The Last Wild Wolves, Ghosts of the Great Bear Rainforest is an intimate portrait that documents for the first time ever a distinct population of wolves living on the rugged north coast of British Columbia, one of the last places on the planet where wolves live relatively undisturbed by humans. This book describes Ian’s experiences following two packs of wolves, one in the extreme outer coastal islands and another farther inland in the heart of the Great Bear Rainforest. With contributions by wolf researcher Chris Darimont, the book contains a selection of over 100 photographs taken by Ian during his seventeen years living in and exploring this region.
Praise for Last Wild Wolves:
"A coffee-table book full of McAllister's photos plus a substantial and engaging text, Last Wild Wolves tells the story of a species most people know little about." - MONDAY MAGAZINE, OCT 17, 2007
"McAllister’s extraordinary photographs come from waiting for his subjects to show themselves. He watches from tree platforms built over rivers where the wolves catch salmon, and he shoots while sitting motionless among packs that have consented to tolerate his presence among them. …The resulting photos are thrilling, especially the close-ups of wolves’ faces… and the panoramic landscape shots, but the word-pictures conjured by McAllister’s text are equally vivid." -VICTORIA TIMES-COLONIST, OCT 28, 2007
“Beautiful as The Last Wild Wolves is to look at – McAllister’s worthy-of-framing photos dominate almost every page – it is first and unashamedly a clarion call to care. ‘When I stare into the amber eyes of a wolf… those eyes offer a portal into understanding not just wolves, but the rain forest world they represent’… By introducing people who might never visit the Great Bear Rainforest to another of its treasures, McAllister hopes that real action will be taken to ensure its survival. Because if not now, when? Later will be too late.” - VANCOUVER SUN, NOV 10, 2007
"Mr. McAllister inherited his environmental ethic from his father, Peter, a conservationist who led battles to protect wilderness areas on Vancouver Island … On a trip to support a blockade at Sulphur Pass in Clayoquot Sound in 1988, the elder Mr. McAllister ‘volunteered’ his then-19-year-old son to sit in a hanging wicker basked on a hillside to prevent blasting for a logging road into a disputed wilderness area. ‘I sat in the basket reading Margaret Atwood novels and slapping mosquitoes,’ Ian McAllister recalled. ‘It introduced me to front-line activism." - GLOBE AND MAIL, NOV 16, 2007
"The Last Wild Wolves is a sobering work, a book that brims with brilliance, emotion, and knowledge. …Ian gets as up close and personal with the wolves as possible, with photos so intense you can see the wolves’ eyes, and their penetrating stares that look right into the soul of those they make visual contact with. …With a wonderfully narrated DVD by Twyla Roscovish, the book should not be ignored by lovers of nature, animals, and those in favour of preservation of the species." - SHELF LIFE, DEC 1, 2007
“Unleash your inner wild thing with this beautiful account of the marine wolves of northern British Columbia.” - NATIONAL POST, DEC 1, 2007
"This book will leave you slack-jawed at the wonders of the wild wolf and educated about the raw deal humans are giving them… His intimate portrait of two wolf packs in the area let you into their fascinating world through words, stunning photographs and a DVD. McAllister documents with passion how the lives of these coastal wolves are so interconnected with their half-land, half-water habitat." - CALGARY HERALD, DEC 13, 2007
"McAllister’s deep love for the animals is palpable, and throughout the well-written account, we come to know and care for Ernest, Three Legs, and the other members of the packs he studies. He argues that wolves have much to teach us about larger questions of ecology, perseverance, and self-sacrifice. He involves the First Nations in his field work, and from them learns that according to Heiltsuk belief, wolves only choose to reveal themselves when they have a message to impart." - GEORGIA STRAIGHT, DEC 6, 2007
"For McAllister, wolves are anything but cold, bloodthirsty creatures. They are intelligent and fascinating animals, highly attuned to their environment and able to use cunning, skill and strength to hunt and kill prey. To gather material for the book, McAllister spent weeks andmonths following wolf packs, allowing time for the canines to become accustomed to his scent and presence. He has enough anecdotes from his trips to fill a stack of notebooks." - BC BOOKWORLD, FEB 5, 2008
McAllister: “Most naturalists don’t have any idea how adaptable these animals are to different environments. On the central coast, there are inland packs that feed on moose, mountain goats, deer, beaver and marmots. Then you can go just 20 kilometers to the west, to the extreme outer coast, where wolves fish for spawning salmon, scour the shoreline for beached meals – whales, sea lions, squid, clams – and hunt down seals on the rocky haulouts." - WESTWORLD MAGAZINE, FEB 5, 2008
Awards for The Last Wild Wolves
- Winner of the 2008 BC Booksellers Choice Award
- Shortlisted for the 2008 Roderick Haid-Brown Regional Book Prize
- Shortlisted for the 2008 CBA Libris Award for Non-Fiction Book of the Year
- Shortlisted for the 2007 Banff Mountain Book Award
By: Ian McAllister
Images: Ian McAllister
Introduction by: Paul C. Paquet
Contributions by: Chris Darimont
Publisher: Greystone Books, D & M Publishers Inc.
Hardcover, Pub Date: October 2007
ISBN 978-1-55365-242-7
Price: $45.00
Paperback, Pub Date: September 2009
ISBN 978-1-55365-452-0