We are proud to announce the publication of ‘Way of the Wolf’ – the latest in a series of intricately researched and beautifully illustrated journals of discovery and thought-provoking observation from the mother and daughter team Pollyanna and Anna-Louise Pickering. In common with their highly-acclaimed back catalogue of work, ‘Way of the Wolf’ tackles the perilous state of an endangered species struggling on the edge of existence, battling against loss of habitat, ignorance and disease.
In the book Pollyanna and Anna-Louise will take you on two specific journeys, taken five years apart on different continents, to seek out the threatened European wolf in Romania and the critically endangered Ethiopian wolf that clings to a rapidly diminishing habitat in the high mountains of the Horn of Africa.
In 2004 the intrepid duo travelled to the Carpathian Mountains of Transylvania, the Romanian region forever associated with Bram Stoker’s most famous creation ‘ Count Dracula’, to observe the European wolf in its natural habitat. Romania is a country still steeped in ancient superstition, tradition and folklore where the relentless progress of the twenty-first century has yet to make an impact. This European country with a troubled history is blessed with some truly spectacular scenery: the teeming bird life of the iconic Danube Delta; the rich fertile hinterland and the soaring impenetrable forests of the majestic Carpathian Mountains of Transylvania.
Fast forward five years and Pollyanna and Anna-Louise are on a plane bound for Addis Ababa. The upland regions of the Bale and Simien National Parks are chilly, cloud-covered areas of great beauty surrounded by fertile farmland. This region is home to the Ethiopian wolf, which has the dubious distinction of being the rarest of all canids and the most endangered carnivore in Africa. Small populations survive here having adapted to the harsh Afroalpine meadow and moorland habitat high up on the Roof of Africa. These slight, red-furred long-legged canines, that seem more fox than wolf, face a daily struggle against encroachment from agriculture and deadly diseases spread by domestic dogs.
Ethiopia is a beguiling country that has the power to bewitch and shock in equal measure. There is still poverty and deprivation aplenty, but this journal successfully captures the stunning natural beauty of the landscape and its people and the immense cultural and historical significance of a country rightly known as the ‘Cradle of Civilisation’.
Anna-Louise writes with the straightforward, frequently humorous, observational style of the consummate diarist and her fascinating photographs provide documentary evidence of these meticulously planned expeditions. The beating heart of this book are Pollyanna’s intricate working sketches and stunning original paintings. Her passion for conserving endangered wildlife in its natural environment inhabits her work – the threatened wolves that face a daily struggle for survival in the highlands of Transylvania and Ethiopia could find no greater champion.
Lavishly illustrated with paintings,sketches and photographs on every page in full colour.
Hardback
25cm x 25cm
