Meet Bob Hayes.
He may be new to town, but that’s exactly what a standing room only crowd did at the Smithers Art Gallery as he met folks on his official release of his self published book, The Wolves of the Yukon.
Spending most of his life working as a wolf biologist in the Yukon, at the end of those 20 years he was surprised to see that people still didn’t know much about wolves. After he retired two years ago, he decided to change all that, he said.
“When I retired, I thought I was going to write a book,” Hayes said, and what better to write it on than wolves, one incredibly popular topic, and the Yukon, another popular topic.
Wolves are a fairly controversial topic where rarely there is a middle ground, Hayes said. Now, the Yukon is looking at a wolf conservation plan that is based on some of the work Hayes has done in the past. One of the most important things on the table is around intensive aerial wolf control, which Hayes said doesn’t have a benefit for moose and cariboo and isn’t the right way to be managing wildlife.
“That came from all of the research we’ve done,” Hayes said.
It’s a central message of Wolves of the Yukon. Sure to entertain, the book covers the natural history of the Yukon since the ice age through the eyes of the wolf.
“The wolf is the centrepiece of the book … there’s been a lot of interest,” Hayes said.
After contacting some people, he began writing the book, his first, two years ago and finished it in September 2010. Hayes, who is planning on moving here this coming summer to be closer to family, self-published the book that so far has sold over 500 copies. In fact, most of everything that went into the book: the research, the illustrations, the editing was all produced with family and friends, Hayes said.
“You really go to a place that’s unknown,” Hayes said of self publishing a book.
Published by a company in Munich, Germany, there’s a German version of the book that is currently being translated, Hayes said, due to release later this year.
With lots of Europeans visiting the Canadian North every year, there’s been a pretty deep interest in the book that portrays the northern way of life; something highly valued by Germans especially, Hayes said.
Hayes is already looking at publishing another book, he said, likely on wolves in prehistoric times, up at the northern tip of the Yukon.
“I really have to say a lot of people complain about writing books and how much work it is, and while it’s a lot of work when it’s work and it’s fun it’s really gratifying and rewarding,” Hayes said.
For more information, check out www.wovlesoftheyukon.ca. Copies are available for sale at Interior Stationery.