Charles Long, emeritus professor of biology at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point (UWSP), has published a new 544-page book, "The Wild Mammals of Wisconsin."

According to Long, this book encompasses 44 years of fact gathering and research. "This is the first modern treatise on Wisconsin’s wild mammals since Hartley H.T. Jackson’s book, ‘Mammals of Wisconsin,’ which was published in 1961. Hartley was a colleague and friend and his research was based on 1930s research and so the timing seemed ripe for a modern look at Wisconsin’s wild mammals."

According to Long, he wrote this book for serious professional mammalogists, young and old nature lovers, and professional and amateur conservationists and wildlife experts. A classically trained mammalogist, the book focuses on 69 native mammals and briefer accounts of seven hypothetical or invading species in Wisconsin. Each native mammal narrative includes descriptions, habitat, foods, geographic range, home range, reproduction, den and nest sites, predators, parasites, geographic variations and much more. In addition, an index to scientific and vernacular names is provided.

"The Wild Mammals of Wisconsin" was published by Pensoft and was funded by a grant by a Central Wisconsin resident, Hal Roberts. It is available through Amazon books at a price of $99.50.

Long has published over 200 scientific and scholarly publications, including three previous books on mammals, one of which was on the Wisconsin badger. He has been published in numerous American and foreign journals and in diverse subset areas including mammals, reptiles, amphibians, birds, ecology, evolution, paleontology, anatomy, and even poetry. In addition, he has presented at numerous national and international conferences, including conferences in China.

Two years ago, Long and UWSP biology chair, Christopher Yahnke, combined their talents with a pre-historic fossil discovery in Central Wisconsin. It was later confirmed as the first stag-moose fossil ever discovered in Wisconsin. This animal went extinct some 12,000 years ago and is the northern most stag-moose fossil ever discovered in North America.

He has served as a consultant for the National Geographic Society, the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum and Argonne National Laboratories in Chicago. A Fulbright Scholar in 1977 and 1984, Long was selected as Outstanding Scholar at UWSP. Long is currently the president of the World Scientific and Engineering Academy and Society in Athens, Greece.

He founded the university’s Museum of Natural History in 1968.

Prior to coming to UWSP in 1966, he taught three years at the University of Illinois in Urbana. He obtained his doctorate in the fields of zoology and paleontology at the University of Kansas.

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