Dr. David L. Mech is a wildlife research biologist that has studied
wolves and their prey full-time since 1958. His book
The Wolf: The Ecology and Behavior of an Endangered Species has been in print since 1970 and is widely recognized as the classic work on wolves. Dr. Mech has also written hundreds of scientific and popular articles for
National Geographic,
Audubon,
Defenders,
Natural History,
Science, and other publications.
Dr. Mech has studied wolves in the United States (including Alaska,) Italy, Canada, and elsewhere. In addition to his research on wolves in the High Arctic, Dr. Mech's wolf studies have included major investigations of the wolves and moose of Isleof Isle Royale National Park in Lake Superior, Michigan.
Working for the future of the wolf, Dr. Mech chairs the Wolf Specialist Group of the World Conservation Union and is founder and vice-chair of the International Wolf Center. He has been a memberof several wolf recovery teams and assisted with the reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone National Park
Dr. Mech holds a B.S. degree from Cornell University and a doctorate in Wildlife Ecology from Perdue. He works as a wildlife research biologist for the Biological Resources Division of the U.S. Geological Survey and is an adjunct professor at the University of Minnesota.
You've heard that term Alpha Wolf? Dr. Mech coined that phrase, and reportedly regrets it now, as it, and its related counterparts, "dominant dog/dominance issues/dominant aggression" have become such overused, overdiagnosed cliches all over the veterinary science and canine behavior industries.