Wolverines are beautiful, elusive animals. In all of my efforts to catch even a fleeting glance of one of these remarkable beings, I've never been able to do so. On occasion, I've seen their tracks, and when I learned of Norwegian biologist Dag O. Hessen's new book Wolverine Tracks: On the Trail of Memory and Meaning in the Wild, I couldn't wait to read it. I wasn't let down and am pleased he could tell us more about his quest for an elusive animal that reveals the comfort of nature in a changing, uncertain world.

Marc Bekoff: Why did you write Wolverine Tracks?

Dag O. Hessen: After writing several popular science books, I wanted to try something more personal, first and foremost to express my fascination for the wolverine: this almost mythological animal, a symbol of remaining, but vanishing wilderness. What do we really know about the mind and emotions of the wolverine—and other animals for that matter? Second, it was an opportunity to express the difference between going out in nature, and going into nature, and being in the mountains while writing the draft. Finally, the book is also a personal story about time, what has happened (also with nature) over the 50 years that have passed since I first encountered wolverine tracks with my father in the remote mountains. Also, a narrative in the book is revisiting the same areas, searching for wolverine tracks and perhaps also getting a glimpse of this

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