Posted: 8/6/2008 1:31:44 PM EDT
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A Question for those who are hunters/ranchers. Is the reportedly remarkable recovery of the North American wolf due to the " the prolonged lack of such a predatory force" in the ecosystem? I know that if I were a rancher, I'd probably shoot every stinking one I saw because they're depleting my investment, and I believe that feeding America is more important than satisfying some idiot on drugs' desire to see a real wild wolf. HOWEVER, I have seen multiple programs that suggest that their population is growing like wild fire. It would make sense to me that many of the animals that they are preying on are not used to being predated upon and as such natural selection is taking its course. However, it may be that growth rate may curtail/eliminate the natural selection process by not allowing enough time for the selection to occur, what is your opinion? If the American Wolf is a an extinct animal in 15 years, would it really matter to you? The American Bison was all but confined to captivity during my lifetime, has it really affected me? I don't think so. Moreover, what are your thoughts on the legislation governing our natural resources and whose interest must be protected? The "Would you Shoot Sasquatch" thread got me thinking of this. |
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I saw some in Yellowstone a few weeks ago. They have become pretty common. The wolves were harassing some bison and pronghorns. The elk in the area were much more skittish than I have ever seen them in Yellowstone. The pronghorns and bison didn't seem too concerned. A fish cop I talked to from Idaho a year or two ago said they are really hell the on livestock and elk. They are voracious predators that kill for kicks. He said they had an incident where a couple wolves killed 30 sheep, and that they only ate a few bites. The wolves just love to kill. He said the ranchers often can not prove their damages, because they often can not locate the kill and it is hard to prove that a carcass is wolf kill after the coyotes and crows have been at it. The wolves have drastically reduced the elk herd; I don't blame them - elk is delicous! The fish cop said that the greatest beneficiaries have been the smaller animals (beavers, upland game birds, etc.), because the wolves love to kill coyotes. So reintroducing wolves has been good for the diversity of the ecosystem. I'm all for having wolves. As long as they stay in Wyoming. |
Okay, point taken about supply of beef, but you haven't commented on the real issue. do you think the recovery is based on the prolonged absence of a qualified predatory force, or is it too small in scope to say? |
I'm not expert on the subject, but I'd guess that since people have been forced to NOT shoot anything and everything on 4 feet just 'cause...that the wolves have been allowed to reproduce in an environment of abundance....sorta like it was prior to our arrival. Lots of food, good breeding conditions and so on....lead to more wolves. I think the scale of the wolf population, in comparison to their typical food source is rather small....making their recovery a rather easy one. Few wolves, lots of meal options. The current wolves of Yellowstone are nowhere near their original numbers, which makes for a vigorous rebound for their current limited but growing population. It boils down to this for me. I place a vastly higher priority on the preservation of VERY low numbers of wolves, far above the preservation of more steak and burger supplies, which are and will be well in tact for many, many years regardless of the wolf population. I see absolutely no disadvantage to sustaining wolves in the U.S.....none. |
The fish cop is talking out of his ass. Wolves don't kill for kicks. Sometimes, when conditions make the kill easy, wolves will kill more than they can eat right then, but they will come back to the kills if they are not chased away.
Too late. They're already in Oregon. |