Our wolves that emigrated

H4831

H4831

CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Rating - 100%
151   0   0
Location
BC
As most of you know, wolves from Alberta and BC were caught and released in Yellowstone Park in the US.
One of the funniest stories I heard at the time, was from a female tree hugger, animal saver, anti everything, what ever you want to call her. She had a letter in the Vancouver paper saying how cruel it was to move the wolves to an entirely strange, and different area. She said it would be just like moving someone, strange to the area, into downtown Vancouver and they wouldn't know where the Safeway store was!!! Like so many people writing about wolves, that gal knew absolutely nothing about wolves. I remeber remarking at the time that our wolves, released into the area of vast herds of elk and other game, would think they died and went to heaven. Time has proven this to be true, as here is a quote from the New York Times newspaper.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wolves are intelligent, adaptable, highly mobile in staking out new territory, and capable of rapid reproduction rates if food sources are good and humans with rifles or poison are kept in check by government gridlock — and that is precisely what happened.

From the 41 animals that were released inside Yellowstone from 1995 to 1997, mostly from Canada, the population grew to 650 wolves in 2002 and more than 1,500 today in Wyoming, Montana and Idaho. The wolves have spread across an area twice the size of New York State and are growing at a rate of about 24 percent a year, according to federal wolf-counts
 
The wolves being transported to Yellowstone are the only reason the Deer and elk population has come back, and is remaining healthy.

The Lady in Vancouver is a flake.
 
I remember seeing a doc. on tv about this. Coles notes version the area was grossly over grazed before the wolf transplant. All the cooleys were stripped right to the creek edges. There were lots of ungulates obviously but lots of die off, starvation and desease.

The wolves have obviously done well and knocked the numbers of deer and elk back. To a point shown on the doc that scrub alder, willows and other browse are again over 10 feet high in the low areas and by the creeks. The ungulates that have'nt got ate are healthier and have lots to eat and places to hide.

It occurs to me though that at some point they might want to consider a wolf hunting season. Either that or possibley watch a gruesome decade of a huge spike in the new wolf population then mass starvation of wolves due to low ungulate numbers until nature finds her new balance again years later....
 
last i heard there was a scheme to repatriate some of them to the banff-canmore area as the last remaining wolf of that pack was killed by cars last year- as you can see it's somewhat of a fluid situation
 
Salty said:
It occurs to me though that at some point they might want to consider a wolf hunting season. Either that or possibley watch a gruesome decade of a huge spike in the new wolf population then mass starvation of wolves due to low ungulate numbers until nature finds her new balance again years later....
Click to expand...

Could be, but from what I have seen, and read Wolves are pretty much self balancing when it comes to population... not enough food, and the dominant female will not go into heat.

Unless of course they start breeding with domestic canines...which I suspect is the real problem with places such as here on Vancouver Island. Along with over development of wild habitats with condos and golf courses.
 
Well I'll certainly leave the decision to those in the know down there. There's no golden rule I don't think..

I have though witnessed run away wolf populations in the very north of BC when I lived up there and about 10 years ago here near here in the Nimpkish valley. Agreed in the central/south island the trouble 'wolves' are indeed hybrids. Been there seen that too when we lived near Bowser in the 90s.

Yet tons of the rest of BC and other locations hold healthy populations of wolves that don't seen to spike and create such pandamonium. Dunno why, but I suspect its extremely complicated. I do believe though that man has to do with it. Opening up the forest, building roads etc. in former wilderness areas...
 
Last edited:
I find that the people who campaign for animal rights are the ones that know the least about animals......

Yellowstone can have another 1000 wolves from Alberta as far as Im concerned.
 
Are any of these wolves breeding with coyotes? Our yotes up here in the east are far larger than their southern cousins. I've often wondered if these species cross breed?
 
H4831 said:
...She said it would be just like moving someone, strange to the area, into downtown Vancouver and they wouldn't know where the Safeway store was!!! Like so many people writing about wolves, that gal knew absolutely nothing about wolves. ...
Click to expand...

Yes, typical urban sentimental ignorance about the "natural world" they profess to care about. It is entirely normal in wolfdom for a pack to expand it's territory as it grows in number, migrate to entirely new hunting grounds when game grows scarce or under competitive pressure from another, stronger pack, or for individuals ostracized from their pack to find new territory and other lone wolves to form a new pack. They know how to find their Safeway.
 
Last edited:
Calum said:
The wolves being transported to Yellowstone are the only reason the Deer and elk population has come back, and is remaining healthy..
Click to expand...

I am confused a little about what you are inferring? Are you saying that deer and Elk are doing better because of the wolves? Come back seems to suggest they were in low numbers before? But they were not and it is pretty clear that less elk and deer roam since the wolves were planted. Perhaps I am misunderstanding?
 
Predators tend to take the easiest targets which are the individuals weakened by age, sickness, injury, and the young, leaving the healthiest, strongest individuals. Without that control, the prey species will overpopulate and the habitat won't grow enough food to support them all, so they all begin to suffer from poor nourishment, which makes them all susceptible to disease, and the overcrowding makes it easier to spread disease.
 
Actually, it makes perfect sense.

The wolves begin to feed on the herd, eliminating the weak and old, thereby making a stronger, healthier herd that is smaller in number. Not as many deer and elk means the plant life can actaully grown to a sustainable level. The wolves begin to propogate (AKA breed and multiply), thereby maintaining their purpose in the ecosystem. Their numbers will never grow so large as to exterminate the herd; unless, as metioned earlier, the pack begins to breed with common dogs (But that's another issue). Again, as mentioned, the alpha female will only go into heat when something in her "clicks", saying ,"Hey, there's enough food here to support another litter!" Wolves are one of the most Eco-aware animals out there in our forests. On some level, they are conscious of the need to keep their numbers at a number that doesn't exhaust their food source. On the other side of this, by having predators in the area is also good for the deer and elk herds. As I said, the wolves feed off the weak, old, crippled, sick, whatever. By doing this, they also help to ensure that the infirmities (like disease) aren't passed to others in the herd. The numbers of healthy herd members goes up drastically. They have plenty of food, it's all good. Does this explain it a little to you?
 
The wolves begin to propogate (AKA breed and multiply), thereby maintaining their purpose in the ecosystem. Their numbers will never grow so large as to exterminate the herd; unless, as metioned earlier, the pack begins to breed with common dogs
Click to expand...

There's be quite a few biologists studying the BC mountain caribou herds' collapse (and total extinction in areas) that would disagree with that statement.
 
Weak,sick,strong,young or in their prime,wolves will kill whatever they can.This stuff about "only killing weak,young or diseased animals",is the standard Disney educated urban nonsense.Most people that follow that line of thinking have never seen a wolf,or haven't seen what's left of a prime 6X6 bull elk,or a big mulie buck after the pack is finished with it.Wolves can and will eliminate prey populations in certain areas,exactly as Salty & Horshur have pointed out. Mur
 
Feds Approve Wyoming's Gray Wolf Management Plan

Source: Wyoming Game and Fish Department

Earlier this month, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service informed the Wyoming Game and Fish Department that the Service had approved the Cowboy State's "Gray Wolf Management Plan;" announcement comes as the feds prepare to delist wolves by Feb. 28, 2008 (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service photo).

CHEYENNE, Wyo. – The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) has approved Wyoming’s Gray Wolf Management Plan as of Dec. 14, calling it an “adequate regulatory mechanism” that meets the requirements of the Endangered Species Act.

Formal notification of the approval came in a letter earlier this month from Service Director Dale Hall to Wyoming Game and Fish Department Director Terry Cleveland.

In the letter, Hall wrote, “After careful review and consideration, we determined that the 2007 Plan will provide adequate regulatory mechanisms for conserving a recovered wolf population in Wyoming after delisting and meets the requirements of the Endangered Species Act.”

“The Fish and Wildlife Service’s acceptance of Wyoming’s wolf plan is an encouraging sign that wolves in our state will soon be removed from the Endangered Species List, and that Wyoming will be able to manage wolves on its own terms,” said Wyoming Governor Dave Freudenthal.

“It has been a long and difficult road, and in our discussions we have achieved compromise on issues like the dual classification and the state’s ability to manage wolves in relation to their impact on elk and deer.

"I salute Wyoming Game and Fish Director Terry Cleveland and his staff for their hard work in developing the management plan.

"What remains, in terms of process, is for the feds to delist wolves by Feb. 28 of next year.”

Wyoming’s original wolf plan was rejected by the Service in 2004.

With the passage of House Bill 0213 by the 2007 Wyoming Legislature, the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission had latitude to adopt a new plan that met the requirements of the Service.

The plan approved by the Service earlier this month was adopted by the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission on November 16, 2007.

The Commission worked with the Service to make several significant changes to Wyoming’s original wolf plan and reviewed public comments before approving the plan and submitting it to the Service.

Under Wyoming’s approved plan, after delisting the Wyoming Game and Fish Department will assume management of wolves in that portion of the state where wolves will be classified as trophy game animals.

In the remaining portions of the state, gray wolves will be classified as predatory animals.

The Service has determined that 15 breeding pairs of wolves will ensure Wyoming’s share of a fully recovered population.

Wyoming’s plan commits the Game and Fish Department to maintaining at least seven breeding pairs of wolves in the state and primarily outside of Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks and the John D. Rockefeller Memorial Parkway.

The remaining breeding pairs will be located primarily within Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks and the John D. Rockefeller Memorial Parkway.

“Approval of Wyoming’s plan is a major step forward in the recovery of wolf populations in the northern Rocky Mountains and should help clear the way for removing them from the Endangered Species List this winter,” said Cleveland.

“We’re pleased that the Service has worked with us to find a compromise.

"Credit goes to the Governor, the Legislature, the Attorney General, and the Commission for their hard work and efforts in moving wolf delisting to this point.

"The Wyoming Game and Fish Department is fully prepared to assume management of wolves in Wyoming, and we are committed to ensuring a recovered population while managing this species in a way that makes sense for people who live and work in wolf country.”

To see the full text of the Service’s letter approving Wyoming’s wolf plan, go to the Wyoming Game and Fish website at: USFWS 2007 Final Gray Wolf Management.
http://www.predatorxtreme.com/articles.asp?ArticleID=195
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom