A NATURALIST IN ALASKA

By a Field Research Biologist, National Park Service, this is a series of first hand accounts of the wild life of Alaska, particularly in the Mount McKinley National Park. The tracks, diets, habits, behavior patterns, daily life and seasonal migrations of the wolf, caribou, fox, Dall sheep, Alaska haymouse, gulls, moose, grizzlies, squirrels, fish, lynx, cranes and eagles, on the tundra and on the range, come under his observation. He documents his watchings of bands of wolves and their home life, the rendezvous of the rams, the activity that goes on around garbage dumps. Some of the animals become individuals from constant viewing, Split Ear the fox, mother grizzlies, various wolves; he records notable experiences; he notes population cycles; he makes a plea for the preservation of the intangible values of the flora and fauna of the northern world. Generally factual there are instances of downright enthusiasm and, with its illustrations by his brother, Olaus J. Murie, his own photographs and those of Charles J. Ott, it should be a worthwhile addition to the growing library on our recent state.