B.C. caribou herds stabilizing where wolves are culled

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IronNoggin

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Since the launch of the wolf cull, caribou deaths have slowed. A herd south of Chetwynd, in northeastern B.C., was down to about 100 animals before the cull and is now increasing annually by nine per cent.

Another herd near MacKenzie in the same region was at 50 animals, but has increased by seven to 14 per cent annually. The Klinse-Za herd (formerly known as the Moberly herd) west of Hudson's Hope is up about 15 per cent annually and now has over 60 animals.

University of Alberta biologist Stan Boutin has studied caribou herds and predator management, including a 10-year wolf cull around Alberta's Little Smoky herd of 80 animals west of Edmonton.

He believes B.C.'s numbers are encouraging, but can only continue if the wolf cull continues.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/caribou-wolf-cull-1.4915683
 
mbogo3 said:
Our military can use some trigger time shooting wolves on the ice from aircraft.
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They’d be useless unfortunately, Griffons ain’t the right machine for the job the wolves will be gone by the time they put it in a shooting position. They’re doing it right paying 500s and professional cullers with just an AR. As a taxpayer I don’t want to pay for a Griffon and crew at $10,000 an hour, plus the ferry from Manitoba, to scare wolves.

Big difference here at my camp too, I’m honestly seeing a woodland Caribou increase, for the first time ever. Incredibly heartening.
 
Thinning wolves does help ungulates and while I do shoot every wolf I see sport hunters have little meaningful impact on their populations.

Locally a number of our ranchers have contracted with year-round wolf trappers and their cattle losses on open range have decreased significantly.

Unsurprisingly moose number appear to be growing in areas with concentrated wolf trapping.
 
Lot of conflicting ideas about wolf control. The neccessity for control is not the issue but the methods used are. The idea I endorse is the method used in these culls. Correct me if I'm wrong (no worries there) but the idea is to wipeout the pack. This way the breeding stops. If you just fragment the pack then they just keep pumping out pups. There are different opinions on this. I also realize that they are targeting calving areas so there is an immediate benefit to the caribou and hopefully a long term downturn in the wolves #'s.
 
Prey species have one maybe two offspring. Predators have litters.

The problem isnt wolf culling, its the age of political correctness. Government listens to the soy eating, Starbucks crowd. Drop the cull, even for a year or two and the numbers are right back.

The cull has to be ongoing, somehow separated from political correctness and politics.
 
2017 population of B.C. 4.817 million (Alberta 4.286 million)
2017 population estimate of caribou 19,000 (www2.gov.bc.ca) although other estimates are 14,000 on the low end
2017 population estimate of wolves 8,500

1901 population of B.C. 178,657 people (www.bcstats.gov.bc.ca)
1900 population estimate of caribou 40,000
1900 population estimate of gray wolves unclear but populations were thought to be higher but from the 1930’s to 1950’s wolf cull programs across Canada and the US had extirpated wolves from all of the 48 US states except Alaska and Northern Michigan. (Wikipedia) In1974 wolves were listed as an endangered species by the Fish and Wildlife Service in the United States and protected. In 2008 their status was changed in a handful of US states after 35 years of listing as an endangered species. (US Fish and Wildlife Service).

Habitat disturbance is the number one factor in declining caribou numbers as their migration routes, food sources and wintering and calving areas have seen significant pressures from oil and gas exploration and development as well as forestry and mining as BC’s human population has increased about 2500% from around 200,000 people about 100 years ago to almost 5 million today. During this time both wolf and caribou populations have seen significant moves to the downside declining over 100%.
 
Ardent said:
They’d be useless unfortunately, Griffons ain’t the right machine for the job the wolves will be gone by the time they put it in a shooting position. They’re doing it right paying 500s and professional cullers with just an AR. As a taxpayer I don’t want to pay for a Griffon and crew at $10,000 an hour, plus the ferry from Manitoba, to scare wolves.

Big difference here at my camp too, I’m honestly seeing a woodland Caribou increase, for the first time ever. Incredibly heartening.
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Ardent, do you know anything about the process they are using to choose who the "hunters" are that shoot from the helicopters? Wonder how one applies for that job LOL
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as for the wolves, I'll be hunting the massive elephant hill/mound burn in the areas less burnt. Killed a big grey/white wolf a few weeks ago in there so once the snow flies , no closed season, no bag limit.... I'll be doing my part in 3-30 and 5-1
 
Alpine Helicopters has a base close by. I don't know what type of helo's they use but..there is a huge amount of noise from them.
And the closer they get the quieter they get ?? So there won't be any sneaking up on the pack with those helo's
The shooter can only get a shot when the wolves are in the open? So I quess they get the pack running then shoot where they can???
Either way really expensive
 
'Boo said:
Thinning wolves does help ungulates and while I do shoot every wolf I see sport hunters have little meaningful impact on their populations.

Locally a number of our ranchers have contracted with year-round wolf trappers and their cattle losses on open range have decreased significantly.

Unsurprisingly moose number appear to be growing in areas with concentrated wolf trapping.
Click to expand...

You are 100 % correct BUT every dead Predator saves a fawn or 2 ! RJ
 
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