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Secret Go the Wolves
The Canadian naturalist recounts the challenges and excitement experienced by his wife and himself in raising two wolf pups from birth and returning them to the wild
Mass Market Paperback
First published March 1, 1980
9 people are currently reading
117 people want to read
About the author
R.D. Lawrence
61 books36 followersR.D. Lawrence was a Canadian naturalist and wildlife author. Born aboard ship in the Bay of Biscay off the coast of Spain on September 12, 1921, he moved to Canada in 1954. RD Lawrence died of Alzheimer's on November 27, 2003 in Haliburton County, Ontario, Canada.
RD Lawrence's many books are published in 26 countries and 15 languages and take us to animal habitats far from humans; to the boreal forests of North America alive with puma, beaver, bear, timber wolves and eagles, to the frigid waters of the Pacific Northwest where orcas thrive, and to the sharks of the Red Sea.
RD Lawrence's many books are published in 26 countries and 15 languages and take us to animal habitats far from humans; to the boreal forests of North America alive with puma, beaver, bear, timber wolves and eagles, to the frigid waters of the Pacific Northwest where orcas thrive, and to the sharks of the Red Sea.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
December 5, 2017
From an historical perspective, this book has valuable insights into life in Ontario, Canada, in the 1960's. It is necessary to understand the history in order to understand how Lawrence and his wife dealt with these wolf cubs. Today, people would not be as likely to stock their freezers with moose meat out of season, or to buy endangered wildlife cubs from a native American, or to raise them secretly both inside their home and outdoors. These actions today would bring fines and criminal records, as a minimum, and possibly jail time.
People would also be less likely to attempt to live with wild animals in their homes, while refusing to domesticate them in order to return them to the wild. Many news stories today show how these animals attack, kill and eat their owners in their homes or outdoor enclosures. In the 60's, especially in remote areas, there was not the overabundance of news like today.
Lawrence recounts how he compassionately rescued many animals and returned them successfully to the wild before he brought home these 2-week old wolf cubs. With a talent and dedication to these animals, whom he first fed by letting them suck milk from his tongue, he saved their lives and raised them to good health. To his surprise, his male Malamute instantly "adopted" these cubs, giving them much of the care required, including discipline, grooming and helping to stimulate bowel movements after eating. Without the help of his dog, the wolves might not have been raised so successfully.
Although his goal was to raise them to be capable of living on their own, he also kept them inside the house, not a natural environment for an animal eventually being returned to the wild. But he regularly took them outside on long walks, teaching them about food supplies, hunting and dangers. To do this required the ability to think like a wolf. It also required him to adopt some wolf behavior, including growling, disciplining by shaking from the scruff of the neck, and maintaining his status as alpha male of the pack.
This led to a situation which almost cost him either his life or possible maiming or disfigurement when the male wolf tried to challenge his position as alpha male. In his own kitchen, he wrestled with the wolf for dominance in the pack. Situations like this serve as a warning to others that this kind of attempt to rescue wildlife can go wrong quickly. Wrestling with a large wolf who is used to drawing blood in a fight for dominance (while leaving the attacked alive but submissive) might work with another wolf. But a human does not have the thick coat to reduce the impact of a bite or the claws with which to defend himself and attack the attacker. It is an uneven battle that a human is eventually destined to lose. Today's methods of raising abandoned animal babies for release to the wild are probably more realistic in that they minimize human contact.
Because he was learning as he worked with the wolves, he made some mistakes which he either did not realize were unwise or did not mention in the book. Reading this book in an effort to understand wolf behavior, especially in rehabilitating wolves to return them to the wild, could have dangerous consequences if the reader does not evaluate for himself the real and long term effects of Lawrence's actions.
For example, when he was trying to force feed the wolves large pills to treat for worms, the wolves's sharp teeth drew blood from his fingers. He no longer had to force the pills down their throat but left them out covered with his blood and the wolves greedily consumed them. He did not mention the effect on the wolves of tasting human blood and associating his scent with that of a "meal". This is an example of how the reader must discriminate in his reading, not accepting every behavior of Lawrence as "successful". In my opinion, this could have led to another news report of an owner of a wild animal being killed and eaten in his own home, something that happens more frequently than we realize. Or perhaps animal lovers do not want stories like this published and news reports often try to satisfy their readers rather than provide the truth.
I also disagree with his very strong statement that wolves will not attack and kill humans unless they feel threatened. He feels that large predators have a natural fear of humans. His encounters with wolves in the wild gave him the experience to make this comment. However, his experience was based on very limited encounters with wolves. At the same time that he was raising these wolf cubs, I was on a 10-day deer hunting trip along the US-Canada border. We slept outside in tents in November. We met two hunters who slept without a tent who woke up surrounded by a pack of wolves on the other side of the campfire from them. While one (who was sleeping with his rifle, military-style in his sleeping bag) kept guard, his buddy climbed up the tree behind them; then he climbed up the tree while his buddy covered him. If they had not wakened up and if they had not had rifles, they would have been a meal for that pack.
You might disagree with this, since they escaped by staying in the tree all night. And we cannot prove that they would have been killed. Bur at this time in my life, I learned to sleep in canoes anchored in the bay because the native Americans were also moving from their camps to sleep in their canoes because the wolves were too close. In the 60's, in northern Canada, if a Cree Indian was behaving that way, you knew that there was danger.
But facts are more important than these "what-if's". So read the accounts of wolf attacks in Algonquin Park in northern Ontario, Canada, of how people have been dragged out of their sleeping bags at night into the bush by a lone wolf. The wolves were not being threatened by a sleeping visitor to the park; they were hungry and dragging their "kill" into the bush where it could be consumed without interference. An internet search will find many of these examples, and they are becoming more frequent.
Or read "Bear Attacks: their Causes and Avoidance" by Stephen Herrero who has documented every known case of bear attacks in Canada and the US in the 20th century, including those who have been rescued while knocked down prone on the ground, their limbs being chewed on... not an attempt by the bear to protect itself from a threat, but an actual predator-prey situation where the bear tracked and attacked from behind and began to consume a human government worker minutes after being dropped off by a helicopter; her subsequent radio message brought about her rescue but the loss of her arm. There are many accounts of fatal bear attacks; in no cases were the bodies abandoned. Some were stacked in a food cache to eat later; some were partially consumed; in many cases, the bear was found with human body parts in its stomach. So do not be deceived by his comments based on limited experience. Do your own research and come to your own conclusions. But do not base an opinion with such important consequences... you becoming the dinner of a hungry wolf... on the writings on one naturalist. I prefer facts to opinions, especially in a matter this important.
However, the book is well worth reading, despite the heavy emotions throughout as the couple bond emotionally with these wild animals, while intending not to. Lawrence writes well and does not leave anything out. His appreciation of nature and his relationship with the wild animal kingdom are impressive, and he is very humble and appreciative of the trust that the forest animals and birds have of him.
He is also realistic and honest about his inconsistencies. He does not want to see a deer killed but he knows that his wolves must learn to kill deer. So he is torn, both saddened and happy, at the wolves' first kill.
Overall, an impressive book by an impressive person.
But perhaps a wrong message for today.
Lawrence justifies the killing of deer by the wolves as a necessity for survival of both deer and wolves. In predator/prey relationships, usually only the weakest die; the strongest are left to breed. Where there are no predators, the deer will destroy the environment and die of starvation after the vegetation has been denuded. He is correct. The balance of nature is preserved through predator/prey relationships.
But then he takes two wolf cubs who are certain to die soon probably from hypothermia rather than starvation and thirst, and spends most of a year focusing on saving and raising these animals. So here we have inconsistency between belief and action. He understands the balance of nature. But he then makes a commitment with his wife to spend more than a year to rescue these animals.
I am not criticizing him for his compassion. I have done the same thing, found a bird with its tail feathers removed and wing broken by a cat, and wanted to put it in a cage where it could be safe while recovering. My husband's words: "Dear, you know better than that." However, probably better for the bird, it was gone by the time I returned, whether to recover slowly in a place of safety of its own making, or to die by morning.
I am simply stating that the overall picture must be looked at unemotionally. In Australia, where the damage to grazing land by kangaroos is extensive and a cull of 2 million kangaroos was announced (but would not even begin to touch the problem), there was a rescue center that looked after baby kangaroos abandoned when the mother became road kill. These animals were raised to maturity for ultimate release by caring humans and given a lot of human contact. But what kind of release would work? These kangaroos never knew the wild, so they would probably either become nuisances in urban environments or even worse, be attracted to humans because of previous contacts, and be harmed or killed by those who considered them pests. Or they would need to be in a preserve for their lifetimes because they were not familiar with the wild. This is a scenario that does not have the potential for good results. Read "The Bears and I" by Robert Franklin Leslie for an example of a rescue that went bad. Before considering this type of wolf rescue, it would probably be good to read how a return to the wild is not often successful when strong positive human/animal bonds are formed.
There are times perhaps when it is not wise to let human compassion interfere with the balance of nature. Lawrence's book provokes a lot of thought on this issue.
Even if you read only the pages describing the 5 different postures and behaviors of wolves/dogs that indicate and predict the behavior of the animal, the book would be worth reading.
I would have enjoyed a few pictures of the wolves and their activities, and of the Malamute looking after them.
I read this book decades ago; I now reread it and enjoyed it. It is worth reading.
People would also be less likely to attempt to live with wild animals in their homes, while refusing to domesticate them in order to return them to the wild. Many news stories today show how these animals attack, kill and eat their owners in their homes or outdoor enclosures. In the 60's, especially in remote areas, there was not the overabundance of news like today.
Lawrence recounts how he compassionately rescued many animals and returned them successfully to the wild before he brought home these 2-week old wolf cubs. With a talent and dedication to these animals, whom he first fed by letting them suck milk from his tongue, he saved their lives and raised them to good health. To his surprise, his male Malamute instantly "adopted" these cubs, giving them much of the care required, including discipline, grooming and helping to stimulate bowel movements after eating. Without the help of his dog, the wolves might not have been raised so successfully.
Although his goal was to raise them to be capable of living on their own, he also kept them inside the house, not a natural environment for an animal eventually being returned to the wild. But he regularly took them outside on long walks, teaching them about food supplies, hunting and dangers. To do this required the ability to think like a wolf. It also required him to adopt some wolf behavior, including growling, disciplining by shaking from the scruff of the neck, and maintaining his status as alpha male of the pack.
This led to a situation which almost cost him either his life or possible maiming or disfigurement when the male wolf tried to challenge his position as alpha male. In his own kitchen, he wrestled with the wolf for dominance in the pack. Situations like this serve as a warning to others that this kind of attempt to rescue wildlife can go wrong quickly. Wrestling with a large wolf who is used to drawing blood in a fight for dominance (while leaving the attacked alive but submissive) might work with another wolf. But a human does not have the thick coat to reduce the impact of a bite or the claws with which to defend himself and attack the attacker. It is an uneven battle that a human is eventually destined to lose. Today's methods of raising abandoned animal babies for release to the wild are probably more realistic in that they minimize human contact.
Because he was learning as he worked with the wolves, he made some mistakes which he either did not realize were unwise or did not mention in the book. Reading this book in an effort to understand wolf behavior, especially in rehabilitating wolves to return them to the wild, could have dangerous consequences if the reader does not evaluate for himself the real and long term effects of Lawrence's actions.
For example, when he was trying to force feed the wolves large pills to treat for worms, the wolves's sharp teeth drew blood from his fingers. He no longer had to force the pills down their throat but left them out covered with his blood and the wolves greedily consumed them. He did not mention the effect on the wolves of tasting human blood and associating his scent with that of a "meal". This is an example of how the reader must discriminate in his reading, not accepting every behavior of Lawrence as "successful". In my opinion, this could have led to another news report of an owner of a wild animal being killed and eaten in his own home, something that happens more frequently than we realize. Or perhaps animal lovers do not want stories like this published and news reports often try to satisfy their readers rather than provide the truth.
I also disagree with his very strong statement that wolves will not attack and kill humans unless they feel threatened. He feels that large predators have a natural fear of humans. His encounters with wolves in the wild gave him the experience to make this comment. However, his experience was based on very limited encounters with wolves. At the same time that he was raising these wolf cubs, I was on a 10-day deer hunting trip along the US-Canada border. We slept outside in tents in November. We met two hunters who slept without a tent who woke up surrounded by a pack of wolves on the other side of the campfire from them. While one (who was sleeping with his rifle, military-style in his sleeping bag) kept guard, his buddy climbed up the tree behind them; then he climbed up the tree while his buddy covered him. If they had not wakened up and if they had not had rifles, they would have been a meal for that pack.
You might disagree with this, since they escaped by staying in the tree all night. And we cannot prove that they would have been killed. Bur at this time in my life, I learned to sleep in canoes anchored in the bay because the native Americans were also moving from their camps to sleep in their canoes because the wolves were too close. In the 60's, in northern Canada, if a Cree Indian was behaving that way, you knew that there was danger.
But facts are more important than these "what-if's". So read the accounts of wolf attacks in Algonquin Park in northern Ontario, Canada, of how people have been dragged out of their sleeping bags at night into the bush by a lone wolf. The wolves were not being threatened by a sleeping visitor to the park; they were hungry and dragging their "kill" into the bush where it could be consumed without interference. An internet search will find many of these examples, and they are becoming more frequent.
Or read "Bear Attacks: their Causes and Avoidance" by Stephen Herrero who has documented every known case of bear attacks in Canada and the US in the 20th century, including those who have been rescued while knocked down prone on the ground, their limbs being chewed on... not an attempt by the bear to protect itself from a threat, but an actual predator-prey situation where the bear tracked and attacked from behind and began to consume a human government worker minutes after being dropped off by a helicopter; her subsequent radio message brought about her rescue but the loss of her arm. There are many accounts of fatal bear attacks; in no cases were the bodies abandoned. Some were stacked in a food cache to eat later; some were partially consumed; in many cases, the bear was found with human body parts in its stomach. So do not be deceived by his comments based on limited experience. Do your own research and come to your own conclusions. But do not base an opinion with such important consequences... you becoming the dinner of a hungry wolf... on the writings on one naturalist. I prefer facts to opinions, especially in a matter this important.
However, the book is well worth reading, despite the heavy emotions throughout as the couple bond emotionally with these wild animals, while intending not to. Lawrence writes well and does not leave anything out. His appreciation of nature and his relationship with the wild animal kingdom are impressive, and he is very humble and appreciative of the trust that the forest animals and birds have of him.
He is also realistic and honest about his inconsistencies. He does not want to see a deer killed but he knows that his wolves must learn to kill deer. So he is torn, both saddened and happy, at the wolves' first kill.
Overall, an impressive book by an impressive person.
But perhaps a wrong message for today.
Lawrence justifies the killing of deer by the wolves as a necessity for survival of both deer and wolves. In predator/prey relationships, usually only the weakest die; the strongest are left to breed. Where there are no predators, the deer will destroy the environment and die of starvation after the vegetation has been denuded. He is correct. The balance of nature is preserved through predator/prey relationships.
But then he takes two wolf cubs who are certain to die soon probably from hypothermia rather than starvation and thirst, and spends most of a year focusing on saving and raising these animals. So here we have inconsistency between belief and action. He understands the balance of nature. But he then makes a commitment with his wife to spend more than a year to rescue these animals.
I am not criticizing him for his compassion. I have done the same thing, found a bird with its tail feathers removed and wing broken by a cat, and wanted to put it in a cage where it could be safe while recovering. My husband's words: "Dear, you know better than that." However, probably better for the bird, it was gone by the time I returned, whether to recover slowly in a place of safety of its own making, or to die by morning.
I am simply stating that the overall picture must be looked at unemotionally. In Australia, where the damage to grazing land by kangaroos is extensive and a cull of 2 million kangaroos was announced (but would not even begin to touch the problem), there was a rescue center that looked after baby kangaroos abandoned when the mother became road kill. These animals were raised to maturity for ultimate release by caring humans and given a lot of human contact. But what kind of release would work? These kangaroos never knew the wild, so they would probably either become nuisances in urban environments or even worse, be attracted to humans because of previous contacts, and be harmed or killed by those who considered them pests. Or they would need to be in a preserve for their lifetimes because they were not familiar with the wild. This is a scenario that does not have the potential for good results. Read "The Bears and I" by Robert Franklin Leslie for an example of a rescue that went bad. Before considering this type of wolf rescue, it would probably be good to read how a return to the wild is not often successful when strong positive human/animal bonds are formed.
There are times perhaps when it is not wise to let human compassion interfere with the balance of nature. Lawrence's book provokes a lot of thought on this issue.
Even if you read only the pages describing the 5 different postures and behaviors of wolves/dogs that indicate and predict the behavior of the animal, the book would be worth reading.
I would have enjoyed a few pictures of the wolves and their activities, and of the Malamute looking after them.
I read this book decades ago; I now reread it and enjoyed it. It is worth reading.
December 12, 2017
I have read 50 books in 2017, and to put it simply, this may be the best. Why do I say that? Simplicity. The author knows his subject well, and goes straight to it, maintaining his focus.
Lawrence was a Canadian naturalist and wildlife author. He also worked a time as an editor, and it shows. Many writers tend to stray off their main subject and veer over to other interest of theirs that they are determined to share with you. Sometimes, these side thoughts are interesting but they tend to clutter a book and drag it down. This author avoids that, and there are no long lectures on evolution found here either. The book is about saving two baby orphan wolves, growing attached to them, and successfully reintroducing them back into the wild.
The man, and his wife, know what they are doing. He was a real outdoors man. This is the kind of book that after reading twenty pages, I was on Amazon looking for other books by the author. (I am ordering his book on the beaver that he saved- “Paddy).
His real-life stories emerged from the dual instincts of an objective newspaper reporter and a naturalist’s passion for direct (not clinical) observation. Through persistent field research and lengthy stays in the (mostly) Canadian wilderness, RD Lawrence fulfilled his quest to portray each species "as it really is".
There is such a clarity of discovering nature in this book that I could see Muir or Thoreau. Reading it and enjoying it. Sadly, R.D. Lawrence died of Alzheimer’s several years ago, but this beloved Naturalist is remembered by Canadians, partly by means of a nature center dedicated to him at the Minden Hills Cultural Centre, Minden, ON, Canada. I hope to visit that site someday to learn more about this wonderful man and the kind way that he lived with animals.
Lawrence was a Canadian naturalist and wildlife author. He also worked a time as an editor, and it shows. Many writers tend to stray off their main subject and veer over to other interest of theirs that they are determined to share with you. Sometimes, these side thoughts are interesting but they tend to clutter a book and drag it down. This author avoids that, and there are no long lectures on evolution found here either. The book is about saving two baby orphan wolves, growing attached to them, and successfully reintroducing them back into the wild.
The man, and his wife, know what they are doing. He was a real outdoors man. This is the kind of book that after reading twenty pages, I was on Amazon looking for other books by the author. (I am ordering his book on the beaver that he saved- “Paddy).
His real-life stories emerged from the dual instincts of an objective newspaper reporter and a naturalist’s passion for direct (not clinical) observation. Through persistent field research and lengthy stays in the (mostly) Canadian wilderness, RD Lawrence fulfilled his quest to portray each species "as it really is".
There is such a clarity of discovering nature in this book that I could see Muir or Thoreau. Reading it and enjoying it. Sadly, R.D. Lawrence died of Alzheimer’s several years ago, but this beloved Naturalist is remembered by Canadians, partly by means of a nature center dedicated to him at the Minden Hills Cultural Centre, Minden, ON, Canada. I hope to visit that site someday to learn more about this wonderful man and the kind way that he lived with animals.
Read
January 1, 2023Lawrence lives on a wilderness farm in Ontario. Sad to say, in Northern Canada, wolves are considered vermin, with a price on each head. There was a time when Lawrence feared wolves, but once he gets to know them, he realizes how beneficial they are. So, when he comes across two orphaned cubs, merely days old, he takes them home and raises them with the aim of releasing them into the wild.
As much as possible, he raises the wolves as if he himself were a wolf. It is amazing the depth he reaches to accomplish this. The question, when he first brings them home, is how will his malamute react? Will the dog kill them or adopt them? No question that his wife is immediately charmed by them. But the couple is accustomed to caring for wild animals on their farm.
The trick is to keep the wolves hidden or face the wrath of neighbors. Mrs Lawrence, who loves animals, wants to keep the wolves forever.
Page by page kept me hooked, from the rearing of the wolves, to interactions with other animals, to a detailed description of the Lawrence’s annual maple syrup harvest. Indeed, the story is both entertaining and informative.
As much as possible, he raises the wolves as if he himself were a wolf. It is amazing the depth he reaches to accomplish this. The question, when he first brings them home, is how will his malamute react? Will the dog kill them or adopt them? No question that his wife is immediately charmed by them. But the couple is accustomed to caring for wild animals on their farm.
The trick is to keep the wolves hidden or face the wrath of neighbors. Mrs Lawrence, who loves animals, wants to keep the wolves forever.
Page by page kept me hooked, from the rearing of the wolves, to interactions with other animals, to a detailed description of the Lawrence’s annual maple syrup harvest. Indeed, the story is both entertaining and informative.
December 31, 2023
Lawrence lives on a wilderness farm in Ontario. Sad to say, in Northern Canada, wolves are considered vermin, with a price on each head. There was a time when Lawrence feared wolves, but once he gets to know them, he realizes how beneficial they are. So, when he comes across two orphaned cubs, merely days old, he takes them home and raises them with the aim of releasing them into the wild.
As much as possible, he raises the wolves as if he himself were a wolf. It is amazing the depth he reaches to accomplish this. The question, when he first brings them home, is how will his malamute react? Will the dog kill them or adopt them? No question that his wife is immediately charmed by them. But the couple is accustomed to caring for wild animals on their farm.
The trick is to keep the wolves hidden or face the wrath of neighbors. Mrs Lawrence, who loves animals, wants to keep the wolves forever.
Page by page kept me hooked, from the rearing of the wolves, to interactions with other animals, to a detailed description of the Lawrence’s annual maple syrup harvest. Indeed, the story is both entertaining and informative.
As much as possible, he raises the wolves as if he himself were a wolf. It is amazing the depth he reaches to accomplish this. The question, when he first brings them home, is how will his malamute react? Will the dog kill them or adopt them? No question that his wife is immediately charmed by them. But the couple is accustomed to caring for wild animals on their farm.
The trick is to keep the wolves hidden or face the wrath of neighbors. Mrs Lawrence, who loves animals, wants to keep the wolves forever.
Page by page kept me hooked, from the rearing of the wolves, to interactions with other animals, to a detailed description of the Lawrence’s annual maple syrup harvest. Indeed, the story is both entertaining and informative.
Read
November 14, 2021Highly recommended
I loved this book because it educated me as well as transported me into another dimensio I'm a city dweller and the only way I escape is through books written by the author.
I loved this book because it educated me as well as transported me into another dimensio I'm a city dweller and the only way I escape is through books written by the author.
December 6, 2025
A beautiful story of a naturalist (the author), his wife, and his dog raising two wolf pups from near death to fully healthy individuals. Lots of interesting facts and statements that make you really think about the human nature relationship.
November 20, 2020
Incredible book!
January 29, 2024
The raising of 2 wolf cubs so that they can be released back to the wild was a journey that was nearly a full time job. Excellent book but not for the squeamish, as RD did what was needed to insure these cubs survived and grew up as wolves. It really illustrates the core difference between dogs and wolves, and gives excellent insight into the behaviors of our own dogs. Reading RD's North Runner first will expand your understanding reading this book.
July 9, 2016
Wonderful writer! He adopts two baby wolves and he and his wife raise them in order to set them free. Great story! Wa and Matta and Tundra the Malamute.
December 10, 2010
a school assignment for Ann CSU biology.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews