cover image Shadows on the Tundra: Alaskan Tales of Predator, Prey and Man

Shadows on the Tundra: Alaskan Tales of Predator, Prey and Man

Tom Walker. Stackpole Books, $19.95 (177pp) ISBN 978-0-8117-1724-3

Drawing on 25 years' experience as a hunter, licensed guide and photographer, Walker writes a superb account of Alaska's big-game animals and their habitat. Following him, we observe and track grizzly bears, moose, wolves, caribou and Dall sheep. Seeking the latter is a severe test of skill and endurance; Walker, who argues that hunting should be work , offers an eloquent apologia for the sport. On the dark side, he reports on aerial slaughter of wolves and bears (now restricted), wholesale shooting of migratory caribou from snowmobiles, and trapping cruelties. Alaska's native peoples and government agencies are in conflict; Walker addresses these and other problems of wildlife management. Although readers may fret about declining animal populations and loss of habitat, they will enjoy wilderness excursions in the company of a consummate outdoorsman. Photos. (Feb.)