Wolves in the News
July 8, 2010: Wolf predator mythology dispelled by wildlife biologists
Most prevalent wolf myths: they kill all the elk and leave none for hunters and they are the biggest threat to livestock.
Wolves have primarily been a hated and highly misunderstood species by ranchers, landowners, and hunters, but the reasons are often based on myth and allegory, for which they are unfairly maligned.
According to a recent report by Defenders of Wildlife, Some hunters report that it is more difficult to find elk since wolves have returned to the states of Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming, which leads some people to mistakenly assume that elk numbers have significantly dropped from wolf predation.
Instead, as documented by scientists and researchers, the wolf’s hunting behavior of testing their prey for weakness can cause elk to avoid open areas, move to higher altitudes, seek out more areas with heavy foliage for cover, or instinctually move toward human dominated landscapes where landowners may offer less hunter access.
Wolves have primarily been a hated and highly misunderstood species by ranchers, landowners, and hunters, but the reasons are often based on myth and allegory, for which they are unfairly maligned.
According to a recent report by Defenders of Wildlife, Some hunters report that it is more difficult to find elk since wolves have returned to the states of Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming, which leads some people to mistakenly assume that elk numbers have significantly dropped from wolf predation.
Instead, as documented by scientists and researchers, the wolf’s hunting behavior of testing their prey for weakness can cause elk to avoid open areas, move to higher altitudes, seek out more areas with heavy foliage for cover, or instinctually move toward human dominated landscapes where landowners may offer less hunter access.
Meanwhile, overall estimates for those states in 2009 suggest there are more than 350,000 elk in the region, which is more than enough for both wolves and humans to hunt.
In nature, a wolf’s primary food source is wild prey, like elk, deer, moose, caribou, bison, big horned sheep, muskoxen, and smaller prey--not livestock. But, they are opportunistic and unattended livestock could end up being an easy meal.
Ranchers and landowners mistakenly believe that wolves present the greatest threat to their livestock, but statistics from the National Agriculture Statistics Service, shows that only 1% of lost livestock, including unconfirmed losses, is due to wolves. The biggest threat remains to be disease, birthing issues, extreme weather, and other predators, including wild dogs.
-Copyright © 2010 The Examiner
Read the full article HERE
facebook