Independent Reading

A Guide to
Never Cry Wolf
Farley Mowat

I went completely to the wolves.

short Arctic summer, the earth remains frozen just a few
The Book at a Glance feet below the surface. The human population consists
Never Cry Wolf is a fictionalized account of the of communities of Eskimo people, who travel with the
author’s actual experience observing wolves in sub- caribou herds, but their numbers, along with those of
Arctic Canada. the animals on which their traditional way of life
Setting: the Barren Lands (or tundra plains) of depends, have been decreasing rapidly.
Keewatin in north central Canada in 1958.
Main Characters
Protagonist: Farley Mowat, the author-narrator, a (in order of appearance)
young biologist and a recent university graduate
working for the Canadian government’s Wildlife Farley Mowat, the narrator, a young biologist assigned
Service. by the Canadian Wildlife Service to gather scientific
data about the wolves living on the plains of the
Point of View and Plot Structure: The narrative is Northwest Territories in central Canada.
a first-person account of Mowat’s experiences dur-
ing his six-month stay on the Arctic tundra. The Mike, an eighteen-year-old of Eskimo and white ances-
chapters are arranged chronologically, and they try, who finds Mowat soon after Mowat’s arrival in the
read like a series of anecdotes or journal entries. Barren Lands.
Purpose and Tone: Mowat’s intention is to edu- George, the name Mowat gives to the adult male wolf
cate his readers about wolves in order to appeal to in the family of wolves that he observes for six months
them to halt the wholesale slaughter of the species in their summer den.
by other humans. His tone is entertaining and Angeline, the smaller, slimmer, almost all-white mate
wryly humorous. of George and attentive mother of four wolf pups,
Conflicts: The main external conflict is between whose good-humored affection for her mate and devo-
Copyright © Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.

Mowat and bureaucrats in Ottawa, who sent him tion to her offspring endear her to Mowat.
to gather evidence in support of the politically Uncle Albert, the third adult member of the wolf fam-
popular belief that wolves are responsible for the ily, an older male that assists George with the hunting
dwindling numbers of caribou. This conflict and Angeline with the care of the pups.
quickly moves into the background, and a more
immediate conflict between Mowat and his envi- Ootek, Mike’s cousin, an Eskimo who becomes the
ronment takes center stage. Mowat must also bat- narrator’s invaluable companion and teacher, assisted
tle his internal fear of the wolves. by Mike, who acts as his translator.
Resolution: As a result of his observations, Mowat Summary
becomes convinced that wolves are not a threat to
the survival of the caribou or to human beings. He Chapter 1. The Lupine Project. Mowat opens his nar-
hopes that ordinary citizens, when they learn the rative with a humorous anecdote about his childhood.
truth about wolves, will pressure the government to At the age of five he stored two live catfish overnight in
stop their slaughter. his grandmother’s toilet bowl, terrifying her when she
got up in the middle of the night. After earning a degree
Theme: Greed, self-interest, ignorance, and fear in biology, Mowat joins the Canadian Wildlife Service
can blind people to the truth and cause them to and is assigned a field project to study Arctic wolves.
cling to myths and prejudices. The service hopes that Mowat will bring back evidence
to support the claims of trappers and traders that the
wolves are killing the migrating herds of caribou and are
Background a lethal threat to any humans they encounter. At the end
Tundra. A treeless landscape where snow covers the of the first chapter, he is leaving Ottawa and heading to
ground for at least six months a year. Even during the Churchill in north central Canada.

Never Cry Wolf 1

Chapter 2. Wolf Juice. On board a Canadian Air Force discovers that the male and female wolf are twenty yards
transport plane, Mowat satirizes the foolishness of his behind him, observing him with quiet curiosity. The fol-
bureaucratic bosses who have saddled him with mounds lowing morning Mowat goes to the spot where he thinks
of impractical equipment, an arsenal of weapons to the den is located and sees four plump wolf pups playfully
defend himself against what they believe are killer wolves, wrestling with one another in a narrow cavern about fif-
and a set of vague orders that fail to pinpoint where to set teen feet deep. That night Mowat decides that he is no
up camp in the vast tundra wastelands. His only happy longer going to assume anything about wolves but will
discovery is that a mixture of the local Moose brand beer approach them with a completely open mind.
and the laboratory alcohol with which he was supplied Chapter 8. Staking the Land. Mowat leaves the cabin
makes a powerful drink, which he calls Wolf Juice. and sets up a tent closer to the wolves. He observes
Chapter 3. Happy Landings. Mowat gets a ride north them discreetly from his tent at all hours and learns that
from a former Royal Air Force pilot flying a rickety they live an orderly, settled existence in which the male
1938 two-engine airplane that, like him, has seen bet- goes hunting every night and returns the next day,
ter days. In a typical example of verbal irony, Mowat while the female stays behind to care for the pups. The
describes the day they take off as “beautiful,” with only male comes and goes on a well-worn path that runs by
a forty-mile-per-hour wind and a “black sea fog.” The Mowat’s tent, but the wolf ignores Mowat’s presence
pilot lands in the middle of a frozen lake leaving Mowat until Mowat urinates on stones and clumps of moss to
and his gear somewhere in the barren North. mark the boundaries of his territory, just as wolves do.
The wolf decides to put his own mark just behind each
Chapter 4. When Is a Wolf Not a Wolf? Alone now, of Mowat’s, conceding some but not all of his territory
Mowat ponders the future. With only a canoe and a and avoiding a violent confrontation.
frozen waterway that he can’t navigate, he must figure
out a way to transport his mountain of equipment and Chapter 9. Good Old Uncle Albert. Having obtained
set up camp. Terrified by the sound of howling from the wolves’ respect for his territory, Mowat stops fearing
the surrounding hills, Mowat huddles under his canvas for his safety and concentrates on studying the wolves’
canoe with revolver drawn, ready to defend himself behavior. As he learns more about them, he grows
against a wolf attack. Finally peering out, he sees a increasingly fond of the hard-working, responsible adult
frightened-looking young man, clad in caribou skins, wolves and their frisky little pups, naming the regal
and his team of fourteen howling Huskies. father George, the elegant mother Angeline. Mowat
also sees a third adult in the group, the helpful, older,
Chapter 5. Contact! Luckily the young man, Mike, probably widowed male, Uncle Albert. At first unsure
speaks some English and uses his dogs to move Mowat’s of Albert’s function other than as an auxiliary hunter,
equipment to Mike’s cabin near a river. There the nar- Mowat discovers that the older male serves as a kind of
rator sets up a base camp where he hopes to conduct his all-purpose baby-sitter, relieving mother Angeline when
study of wolves. In an attempt to befriend Mike, the energetic pups are about to exhaust her.
Mowat shows him his scientific equipment but suc-
Chapter 10. Of Mice and Wolves. By the end of June,

Copyright © Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.

ceeds only in scaring him off. Alone again, Mowat
makes timid sorties outside the cabin. When the spring all the caribou herds have passed through the wolves’
thaw finally melts the frozen water, he is able to cross territory to their grazing grounds in the North. Mowat
the river. He paddles across, climbs a ridge, and comes now believes that the wolves are not using caribou as
face to face with an adult wolf. The animal leaps in the their main food source. Now he must figure out what
air and runs away with great speed. In an example of the wolves are actually eating. He discovers that the
comic understatement, a terrified Mowat reports, “I males catch and eat mice on their nightly hunts and
had at last established contact—no matter how bring home the meat in their stomachs, regurgitating it
briefly—with the study species.” for mother and pups. This discovery of the wolf ’s sur-
prising diet of mice is another ironic blow to the myth
Chapter 6. The Den. The next day Mowat goes back of the ferocious wolf.
to the ridge where he encountered the wolf but soon
Chapter 11. Souris à la Crême. In a tongue-in-cheek
returns to his camp—he is frightened by the wolf ’s
parody of scientific experimentation, Mowat decides to
immense size and by the species’ reputation for ferocity.
find out by trying to live on mice himself whether it is
Heavily armed, he goes out again the next day and dis-
feasible for wolves to live healthily on a diet of mice . He
covers two adult wolves, the male he saw the day before
even goes so far as to create a recipe for creamed mouse,
and a smaller female, frolicking on an esker, the sandy
“souris à la crême.” Mike returns with his Eskimo
remains of an ancient riverbed. Mowat watches them
cousin Ootek, a character who has a special spiritual
through binoculars and observes that the male wolf
relationship with wolves. Ootek is a shaman, or priest,
stands guard over the female in the den.
to his people, and his personal totem, or guiding spirit,
Chapter 7. The Watcher Watched. The next day Mowat is the Wolf Being. He even lived with a wolf family for
returns to the esker with a telescope and trains it on the a month when he was five years old. Ootek becomes
site where he last saw the wolves, but he sees nothing. He Mowat’s invaluable companion and informant.
2 Never Cry Wolf
 Chapter 12. Spirit of the Wolf. Ootek informs Mowat Chapter 18. Family Life. The setting shifts when
that in addition to consuming large quantities of mice, Mowat recalls that he was ordered to make wolf popu-
wolves eat ground squirrels and fish that they catch in a lation studies and to explore predator-prey relation-
variety of ingenious ways. To explain the relationship of ships. To do so, he breaks camp and with Ootek goes
the wolves and the caribou, Ootek shares a piece of on a month-long canoe trip northward into the tundra
inland Eskimo folklore in the form of a parable, which expanse. He estimates that contrary to the government’s
casts the wolf in the role of preserver of the caribou. inflated numbers, there are only about three thousand
Since the wolf preys only on the sick and weak mem- wolves in the Keewatin territory, their numbers kept in
bers of the herd, it keeps the herd strong through a check by natural controls such as litter size.
process that scientists would call natural selection. Chapter 19. Naked to the Wolves. During their cruise
Chapter 13. Wolf Talk. Ootek further reports that the through the solitary tundra, Mowat and Ootek come
various vocalizations that Mowat has heard the wolves upon an Eskimo party, part of the band of forty inland
make are an intricate means of communication Eskimos to which Ootek belongs—the only human
between wolves, which some Eskimos can partially beings for thousands of miles. Ootek goes off hunting
understand. Mowat is particularly taken with the caribou with his male relatives, and Mowat stays behind
beauty of the nightly “song” in which the three adult with the woman and children. Deciding to have a
animals howl in unison for two or three minutes before swim, he goes a distance from the camp, sheds his
the males go off on the hunt. clothes, and dives in. While lying on a rock, Mowat
Chapter 14. Puppy Time. Now in the third week of catches sight of three wolves. He follows them without
June, Angeline is showing a growing desire to go off taking time to put his clothes back on. Cutting a ridicu-
hunting with George, and on the evening of the 23rd, lous figure, he follows the wolves through herds of cari-
she gives out such a plaintive cry that Uncle Albert bou. The Eskimo woman and children chase Mowat
immediately goes and stays with the pups. Angeline with weapons, believing him to have lost his mind.
and George go off together happily. Later, Angeline Chapter 20. The Worm in the Bud. As a result of his
moves the growing puppies out of their deep den into a observations and information provided by Ootek,
ravine. Ootek explains that the pups are now ready to Mowat figures out that even though wolves cannot out-
learn how to hunt for themselves. run healthy caribou, they make occasional runs on
Chapter 15. Uncle Albert Falls in Love. Mike’s small groups of caribou to find out which ones are old
Eskimo relatives are returning south with the caribou or infirm. It is these animals who become the wolves’
herds, and they bring his Husky dogs with them. prey, and it is this thesis—that wolves aid rather than
Knowing that Huskies and wolves share a common threaten the survival of the caribou—that Mowat
ancestry and can interbreed, Mowat decides to mate wishes to communicate to his readers.
Uncle Albert and one of Mike’s female dogs, Kooa, in Later Mowat teases Ootek by telling him, in great
order to get some idea of the mating habits of wolves. detail, about the parasitic worms found in raw caribou
meat, the very food Ootek has been eating all his life.
Copyright © Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.

He presents the courtship and mating in humorous

anthropomorphic terms, casting Uncle Albert and Chapter 21. School Days. The chapter opens with a
Kooa in the role of passionate lovers lost to all dignity description of autumn in the tundra. When Mowat
and good sense. and Ootek return, they find that Angeline’s pups are
Chapter 16. Morning Meat Delivery. Desiring to get a joining their parents on short hunts, where they receive
closer look at the pups in the ravine, Mowat watches demonstrations of hunting technique. Another wolf,
while they drink from a stream, try to catch mice, and which Mowat has not seen before, joins George and
worry a piece of caribou meat. When Angeline returns, Uncle Albert in their nightly hunts.
she feeds them regurgitated caribou meat as Mowat, Chapter 22. Scatology. As October approaches, Mowat
squeamish in spite of himself, looks on. His stomach begins to worry about all the scientific investigations he
starts making loud noises that bring Angeline out of the has neglected in order to observe the wolves. He under-
ravine to find out the source of the rumblings. She looks takes a study of wolf droppings, or scat. Wearing a gas
at him with what he takes to be disdain and walks away. mask while preparing his smelly specimens, he is
Chapter 17. Visitors from Hidden Valley. On a night observed by a group of Eskimos in another comic
in July when Angeline stays behind with the pups, vignette in which Mowat gets a laugh at his own expense.
Mowat is awakened by a low howl coming from south Chapter 23. To Kill a Wolf. It is late October now, and
of his tent. Awakened, Angeline listens intently and Mowat must prepare to leave. The tundra will soon
then walks out to meet two wolves Mowat has never freeze over and the caribou and wolves will have to
seen before. The three wag their tails, sniff noses, and move south into the spruce forests in order to find
walk toward the den. Later Ootek and Mike explain food. Mowat uses the rest of this chapter to report the
that the visiting wolves are from a neighboring family. wholesale and unnecessary murder of wolves by
The visitors are probably Angeline’s mother and sister. humans. He details how they are trapped, poisoned,

Never Cry Wolf 3

and shot from airplanes as a kind of sport. His tone is about wolves have subsequently been upheld by
both outraged and sad. “official” science. Students may want to check the
Chapter 24. The World We Lost. The narrator signals accuracy of his claim and find out if any facts have
a passing plane by setting off some smoke generators been learned about wolf behavior since Mowat
and asks the pilot to send a message about his where- made his observations. They may be especially
abouts to Ottawa. Before leaving, he decides to take a interested in whether the number of wolves has
look at the inside of the deep den now that the wolves declined or increased.
have departed. As he moves down the narrow tunnel 3. Comparing Film and Book
and around a curve, he is surprised to discover two pairs In 1983, Disney released Never Cry Wolf as a movie.
of wolf eyes staring at him from the bottom. Panic- Students could “read” the film critically to see if they
stricken, he wishes he had a weapon and then recog- think it has accurately captured the mood and mes-
nizes Angeline and one of her pups. The wolves make sage of Mowat’s book.
no aggressive moves, and he withdraws. In the final
pages of the book, Mowat listens to George howling in Meet the Writer
the distance and mourns the loss of a home in the nat- Farley Mowat (1921– ) was born in Belleville,
ural world that he and all humans have lost forever by Ontario, Canada. (His last name rhymes with poet.)
their own actions. Young Farley developed a passionate interest in animals,
Epilogue. In a terse epilogue, Mowat reports that the many of which joined the family in a kind of traveling
government tried to poison his wolf family the summer menagerie. He went to the Arctic for the first time in
after he made his observations. He does not know if the 1935 with his Uncle Farley, an ornithologist, and he
murderous attempts succeeded. Nor, at the conclusion made many return visits to study the Eskimo people
of the book, is he able to report that the larger issue of and native animals. His second trip in 1958 was the
the survival of the wolf has been resolved. basis for Never Cry Wolf, which was filmed by Disney in
1983 and recorded on audiocassette by Mowat. He has
Approaches for written many works of fiction and nonfiction for chil-
Post-Reading Activities dren and adults.
What is most striking about Mowat’s work is the Read On
unusual way in which he combines humorous, anecdo-
tal narrative and interesting, informative detail to create Farley Mowat, People of the Deer. A nonfiction
a moving appeal to save a species that he has come to account of the extinction of an Eskimo people as a
love. Discussion groups or students doing individual result of bureaucratic ignorance and neglect. A Whale
research might focus on the following activities. for the Killing. An eyewitness account of the tragic
responses of the inhabitants of a Canadian fishing vil-
1. Making a Map lage to the beaching of a rare fin whale on their shores.
The more students know about the Far North setting Woman in the Mist. A biography of Dian Fossey, the

Copyright © Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.

of Mowat’s work, the better they can enter into his “gorilla woman” of Rwanda, who tried to protect a
story. They may want to consult an atlas and a geo- threatened group of African mountain gorillas.
graphic encyclopedia to find out the exact location of
the Barren Lands of Keewatin and to learn more Daphne du Maurier, “The Birds.” Another look at
about the Canadian Northwest Territories. They the natural world—this time the animals attack
could use this information to prepare a map, show- the humans.
ing the boundaries of the tundra plains and indicat- Barry Lopez, “A Presentation of Whales.” A tragic
ing the seasonal movements of the caribou herds. report about an attempt to rescue whales beached off
2. Checking the Facts the coast of Oregon.
In the Preface to the 1973 edition of Never Cry Roger Rosenblatt, “The Man in the Water.” An essay
Wolf, Mowat claims that most of his discoveries about an ordinary man who becomes a hero.

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4 Never Cry Wolf