Return of the wolf to Newfoundland?

CV32

CV32

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Some of you will recall the wolf that was taken on the island by a coyote hunter this past spring. Bit of a furor while we waited for DNA confirmation and all that. Another animal that was trapped also turned out to be a wolf. Now this video from the Clode Sound area of Terra Nova National Park:

[youtube]Hb-nu2dYIqM[/youtube]
 
Well it looks like your moose have a new friend. While visiting The Rock a couple years ago I questioned a CO about the moose over population and why not bring in wolves to bring it down? She replied that the caribou are already in trouble and wolves would only add to the problem.
 
The solution to moose overpopulation is to make more tags available to Hunters, wolves will feast on calves, and once they are there in numbers, you're screwed...

Look what they've done to Yellowstone's elk population, pretty much decimated it...

There has been about a 70 percent drop in the size of the northern elk herd from the 16,791 elk counted in 1995 and the start of wolf restoration to Yellowstone National Park.
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Bland said:
Well it looks like your moose have a new friend. While visiting The Rock a couple years ago I questioned a CO about the moose over population and why not bring in wolves to bring it down? She replied that the caribou are already in trouble and wolves would only add to the problem.
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Some will no doubt claim that the wolf was brought here to deal with a perceived moose overpopulation.

The caribou numbers on the island now (alarmingly) look better than they are in Labrador. Numbers there have (according to census, which has its own issues) dropped from about 800,000 twenty years ago to less than 28,000 today.
 
Nice shot there big time. It was a question posed to a CO in passing as the moose situation is seriously changing parts of the ecosystem due to over grazing. I agree opening up more hunting would be a possible solution. The riparian zones in Yellowstone are in recovery as a result of the downturn in ELk numbers. Elker you know what you can do with your attitude.
 
OK it sounds like I will have to connect the dots. I had a conversation with a CO about the moose population on The Rock. The point I was driving at in my post was if indeed wolves have arrived on The Rock the caribou which are already in trouble ( the CO said this not me) just had another problem added to their already precarious situation. There is a lot of speculation that coyotes which have already arrived are killing the calves. I will try to be more clear as it seems some of you may jump to conclusions. Now do you understand?
 
Bland said:
There is a lot of speculation that coyotes which have already arrived are killing the calves.
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Its not speculation. Black bears and coyotes (as well as bald eagles and lynx, to a lesser extent) kill plenty of caribou calves. The current calf mortality exceeds 80% in the first couple of months of their life.
 
Couple of wolves don't make a pack,:D but maybe indicate a trend. We've got wolves showing up in places where they haven't been seen since the 40s.

http://www.drumhelleronline.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2877&Itemid=66


Grizz
 
HuntNL said:
One would look really good on my wall.:dancingbanana:
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Like this?:D

392127062.jpg


Or this?

267732530.jpg


Grizz
 
HuntNL said:
The latter.

Want my address so you can send it to me?:xes
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I'm up to four. :D None of them more than 50 miles from my house. Same story, wolves were rare as hen's teeth and next thing you know, they seem to be everywhere. Black one is my favorite. Very unique coloration. If you look closely, you can see he has a light brown V over the shoulders He and some buddies were killing calves at a local ranch. Friend shot this one in his yard, just west of Sundre.

399206153.jpg



Grizz
 
The idea of natural balance of animals is pretty well a myth in any populated areas of this country. Game populations do not have the vast territories to exploit any more and if predator populations rise ungulates take a real sh*t kicking and often reach a point where it takes decades to bounce back if they do at all.

If we want to retain our ability to hunt deer, moose, cariboo and so on large predator populations have to be kept in check. If an area like Newfoundland has been without wolves for decades that ecosystem is probably in a relatively stable balance. Yes there will be times of high moose populations but that will change on its own or can be managed by allowing more tags. Also hunting can push game into new territories thus reducing density.

Why the ****ck would anyone want to introduce a time bomb like wolves into this situation. BC is haveing major wolf and cougar issues. I was visiting back home this summer and the boys in the Kooteneys say the game pops especially deer have really taken a hit because of big predators. Game was plentiful there a few years back and in a few years have almost been wiped out.


IN Sask wolves are present but the moose seem to have been pushed into the farmland areas and are thriving there because there are no wolves and wolves in cattle country are not given a friendly welcome.
 
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