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posted
07/13/09 10:42 AM
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updated
07/13/09 10:42 AM
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Outdoors
Is hunting the best way to control Idaho's wolves?
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Humans at Fault Not Wolves
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| We can protect livestock by removing them from public lands. Save the elk herds? Humans are responsible for the demise of our elk herds, not wolves. We are developing on crucial elk winter habitat and constantly strive to kill the strongest elk with the biggest trophy antlers. Anyone that has taken a biology 101 course knows that given time the elk herds will become stronger with non-human predator management, but we are impatient. Why are humans so blood thirsty for a species that was just, yes just, removed from the endangered species list? This topic should go to a national vote. | |
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Comment by
theidahokid
July 14, 2009
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Wolf predation on public lands should be a cost of doing business there
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Because those who have public grazing permits on our national forests and BLM lands graze pretty much for free (they pay a token $1.35 a month for a cow and calf), the minor cost of predation by wolves, bears, cougars should be a cost of doing business. At any rate, hunting wolves has no relationship to loss of livestock because hunting kills wolves at random and often in places where there are no livestock. Hunting should stand on its own merits, not as a livestock protection strategy. There is good reason to think that a wolf hunt might increase predation on livestock as wolf packs are broken apart and juvenile wolves go out to seek new kinds of prey before they are fully taught by their pack that elk and deer are what's for dinner. Wolf populations can increase rapidly (30% a year). They can also decline just as fast (look at Yellowstone Park in the last couple years). The first year of a hunt should be careful (as with any new game animal). Idaho's hunt appears to me to not be carefully planned. Montana's looks like more thought went into its planning. |
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Comment by
Ralph Maughan
July 15, 2009
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Get Real!
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| Introduce a "non-native" species into an area and watch what happens...The "native" Grey Wolves are extinct now! Thanks to their bigger (some nearly by 30%) "non-native" Canadian cousins. Ecology 101 - non-native species upset natural habitat equilibrium. Whoops - THEY SCREWED UP AND NOW THEY CANNOT MANAGE THE RESULTS. What's it going to take for reality? Wolves running down the streets of Pocatello? Wake up folks - they are the top of the food chain. No natural predators except man. Man can not do anything about that either! PS - Been to Yellowstone lately? One sees more wolves (by the roadside) than elk. | |
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Comment by
Concerned
July 15, 2009
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Wolfs
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| In, my humble opinion. I personally do not see any thing wrong with the Wolf re-Introduction into the NorthWest. I do believe that we should go a step farther though in helping out with our current problem of contention here. Should the wolfs become to big a problem. We could Perhaps introduce Lions, and Tiger’s, and More Bears into our eco-system. This would and should keep the Wolfs in line. However should the Lions and Tigers and more Bears become to bother some also. Then This to could again be easily solved by genetically introducing enhanced DNA samples of the Saber Tooth into the Lions and Tigers. Skip the more Bears at this time. This would or could equal out the other problem species should there be more problems. From here should we acquire any more inconveniences, we then can Re-introduce T-Rex by genetically altering the DNA of perhaps the over abundant and ferocious Alligators and Problem Crocodiles that live in South Florida, Thus eliminating and helping out with this problem in the South. I do believe this would solve our Wolf Problem as it now stands, There are many side benefits from this that would help in some of our Global Warming problems. One of them might be, If we have enough of these critters running around, It would eliminate our carbon dioxide emissions from cars. You say how? Simply put, it would allow T-Rex to patrol our Highways. And keep slow moving or old vintage age vehicles that cannot keep up with the new speed limits posted by our State. The new speed signs could read. Go like Hell if you see T-Rex. Just a thought here…. | |
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Comment by
Norm Rademacher
July 19, 2009
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Wolf hunts
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"Montana and Idaho are moving to host the first open gray wolf hunts in the lower 48 states after the animal's removal from the endangered list across much of the Northern Rockies. Montana wildlife commissioners voted Wednesday to let hunters throughout the state shoot 75 wolves, or 15 percent of Montana's population, beginning in mid-September." (From a Journal story.) This hunting practice is no more than "thrill killing” as wildlife persons have called it. When "game animals" are killed and not harvested for food it is, killing of an animal simply for the "sport" not to put meat on the family table. To boast of the excitement and rush of “murdering" of a wild beast, and using any excuse to justify doing it. But, I do realize the people of these states may contain persons who want to eat a wolf also, but that is not the majority of these thrill killers. I say this because I was told as a youth to not, "play with your food", and "don't kill anything you can't use or eat." I am of Shoshoni decent and had this told to me from Elders and relatives. I think I would be somewhat less appalled of the killings if the following was added to the "hunts". "WASTE OF GAME MEAT", RULE from FISH AND GAME. "Hunters are required to remove and care for the edible meat of big game animals, except mountain lions. This includes the meat of the front quarters as far down as the knees, hindquarters as far down as the hock, neck meat, meat along the backbone and meat covering the ribs. It does not include meat of the head, internal organs and meat on the bones after close trimming." From the same background I do not agree with the "hunts" because the Wolf is a revered animal and is simply "being an animal of its instincts," and does not need to be killed. And as many, many things in this life, is revolving around the religion of the dollar bill. |
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Comment by
Kingsnewclothes
July 22, 2009
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RE: Wolf hunts
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| I can remember when I was younger that nothing that walked on four legs was safe on the Ft. Hall Res. including dogs, to bad you don't still eat dog, maybe you could eat wolf also. You talk about waste of wild game meat, I've seen tribal members hang a deer in the trees and let it drop a little each day to feed their dogs. Maybe they had different elders than you. It took man 200 years to slow down predators in the U.S. I'm sure it will take another 200 years if we don't do something now, not tomorrow, NOW. | |
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Comment by
Jack
July 23, 2009
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www.huntwolves.com
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Wolf season is a big step. Hunting wolves is neccessary. For more information theres a site. wwww.huntwolves.com |
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Comment by
bison
August 03, 2009
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No... we should hunt wolves
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www.huntwolves.com Wolf season is a big step. Hunting wolves is neccessary. For more information theres a site. wwww.huntwolves.com |
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Comment by
larry_j
August 03, 2009
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“Wolves are the greatest reminder of our natural world and also our greatest enemy”
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Well guys, I agree that the human race is completely impatient! I’m laughing here! We reintroduce wolves into our ecosystem and a year later we’re wondering why they aren’t fixing our problems and making bigger ones! Yes, the wolf species that was reintroduced was not the exact previous native species. But you know, bringing grey wolves into the Rocky Mountains is like sending Canadians to Northern Russia (James Bond-ish?)! Yeah there’s a different economy with different people, but it’s the same climate type. It would only take time to learn the language and adjust to the inhabitants! WE need to take time and let the wolves learn our language. Wolves won’t know right off the bat that the roasting steaks passively standing in large groups aren’t up for grabs! Chill my peeps. Just wait! Soon the wolves will understand. As for the hunting regulations, well, I think they should just come along as they are needed. Currently, ranchers, who feel that their livestock is threatened, shoot wolves as they are found. That there is as close to natural selection as humans can get…the wolves that eat the livestock are eliminated and as nature works (if we give it time!), the other wolves will learn. The only people who should be complaining about the wolf hunting regulations are the ranchers. Hunters who want their elk, I believe, have gotten spoiled. Sorry but don’t you already have a rotting trophy elk head or something tacked to your wall? But in any case, it has been shown that wolves hunt the easiest kill. Usually, that isn’t the trophy elk the hunters are after, but the old or young or injured elk. Natural selection at it’s greatest my fellows! Within another year or two, with little human intervention, wolves will have the elk population loaded with bull elk just waiting to be shot in the heart or neck or whatever, skinned, dried, and tacked! Previous records of the wolf vs. elk population in Yellowstone, before the extinction of wolves, showed that the population numbers between the two species shifted every 7-10 years. I personally don’t mind waiting 10 years for the wolf population to grow if it means hunters and ranchers are content and that the wolves will grow and there is little controversy. We all want something from the wolves, whether it be their heads or ecological balance. But yes, for now the wolves are growing, and livestock is being hunted. Ranchers have the right to shoot wolves if they are a threat and are compensated by Defenders of Wildlife for any lost animals. For now, lets wait and see what happens. We’re in no hurry. |
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Comment by
Alfresco
August 07, 2009
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Recent Wolf Research
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When I was very young I sat on the knees of Elders who had traveled the lenght and breath of America in covered wagons drawn by horses and oxen . As a nine year old my Great Grand Mother walked all the way from Illinois to Salt Lake City . My Fathers Mother and Father made four round trips from Malta , Idaho to Calgary , Canada in a horse drawn covered wagon , moving herds of sheep , cattle and horses to ranches in Canada . There were others , Aunts , Uncles , Cousins too numerous to count who were born in the sagebrush and lived in it as Cowbooys , Herders , Woodsmen and Ranchers In Idaho , Nevada , Utah , Arizona and Mexico . They related tales of Cowboys and Indians , Outlaws and Good guys , of Rattlesnaks and Hoopsnakes , Cyotes and Wildcats and Buffalo ; of the time a cowboy shot a Squaw and the Indians came and hanged him by his hands from an upended wagon tongue and skinned him alive . But one thing they never mentioned was a Wolf . I grew up also in the sagebrush hills along the Idaho Nevada border at a time when the pavement ended at the city limits . My folks never warned me to beware of wolves whenever I went out to play . The first time I ever heard of a wolf was when I started school and heard about Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf , and the Three Little Piggies .. Eventually there was Peter and the Wolf . All fairy tales , and figments of the imagination . Here in the real world we had Coyotes and Wildcats . When I first heard about the Wolf RE-introduction plan I wondered what in the world those people had been smoking ? At that point in time I was well advanced in years and thought I knew Western America pretty well , what a surprise ! Well , I'm not from Missori but you gotta show me something better than a Zane Grey novel to convince me that Wolves shared Southern Idaho with Coyotes and Indians before the coming of the White Man . I think the Wolf RE-introduction is the biggest HOAX that ever came down the road ; it has been a vehicle to provide lush government jobs and retirement to a select few people with glib tougues and access to complaisant courts ; Now the rest of us are stuck with an expensive and complicated problem no legislator has the guts to stand up and get rid of . On the other hand -- we do have a gentleman running for Governor who avows his dislike for the Wolf and that just might be what gets him elected . It certainly would be a mandate ! Robert F. Smith |
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Comment by
Robert F. Smith
September 01, 2009
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Wolves
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| Wolf is one of the most perfec beings on earth. Hunting them is like hunting our compassion,humanism and civilization. | |
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Comment by
Ioannis Zambartas
September 02, 2009
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Misinformation given by hunters.
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Firstly; the Gray Wolf is the NATIVE subspecies of wolf to the Great Plains area. This is proven a fact with pictures of these creatures with American Indians from the 19th century, and is also a fact that in Canada and the U.S., the Gray Wolf (irremotus) roamed and migrated back and forth searching for foods and territory. There is no boundary line to seperate the two countries for these animals, so they traveled back and forth from country to country. THEY ARE THE NATIVE SUBSPECIES!!! Secondly; do you actually want to know just how many livestock are killed by carnivores let alone wolves a year? Wildlife orgaizations like Fish and Wildlife, Sierra Club, National Wildlife Federation, IFAW, WWF, and many more have all researched that only a fraction of livestock are killed by carnivores yearly, and only a fraction of that fraction are done by wolves, so this is nothing more than a rumor by hunters to portray these creatures in a negative way. Hunters are trying to portray these creatures in a negative way as best they can with such ridiculous comments of wolves killing for a sport, wiping out herds of elk, caribou, deer, attacking humans, etc. Here is the truth, because I am a BIO student and volunteer in researching carnivores with the Sierra Club. Wolves CANNOT kill for a sport due to their lack of high stamina. They don't have incredibally low stamina like the cheetah does, but is not high like thier big game prey (deer, elk, caribou,etc) have. If wolves kill for a sport, they will lose needed energy that they will need for hunting and defensive purposes (survival and protection). It is not possible for wolves to wipe out herds of prey. DNR stated that elk population, deer and caribou are at their highest in the last 10 years. Elk and caribou are around 10 million in N. America, and in the United States alone, deer are at 30 million. In the past 30 years, according to NWF, caribou population has dropped 60%, but if you look at that, it began 30 years ago, 15 years prior to the Gray Wolf being reintroduced back to its habitat. This is mainly due to climate changes and floods which are drowning the elk, but their populations have recovered. Also, Fish and Wildlife state that only 5% of these prey animals are actually hunted yearly by human or aniaml hunters, and most of the kills are done by human hunters, which means, humans are getting more hunted kills than are wolves or other predators. As for attacking humans, it is scientifically proven by biologists at major universities (Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Michigan, etc, etc, etc) that wolves are more fearful of us than we are of them. I was researching 2 packs of wolves last December, and ran into 3 members of one pack. I did not pose any signs of a threat to them, so all that was done was staring by the wolves, and jogging away. The ONLY time wolves will attack a human is for a defensive and/or survival purpose. If they see a sign of a threat from the human, they will protect their territory, food, self, pack and pups. In the past 120 years, only 108 people in N. America have been attacked by wolves, not all have been killed (I think like 10% if that were actually killed), but that is less than 1 attack a year. |
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Comment by
Phillip Nona
8 months ago
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Research
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| Another thing you people who are for wolf hunts are forgetting is just how important they are to the ecosystems, especially Yellowstone. Not only do they balance prey populations from reaching their carrying capacity and helping out the prey, but they also feed other carnivores from the dead carcas. Foxes, wolverines, badgers, coyotes, etc all benefit from a dead carcas made by a wolf. Yes, most of the times if a wolf kills more than one prey for food it will store the rest, but the carcas they ate out of will have leftover for other carnivores. Whatever is left from the scavengers, fungi will eat it up. This is very important because fungi are decomposers of CO2 back into the air. CO2 is needed for food absorption of vegetations like plants and trees. A healthy plant and tree is needed foer herbivores as food and starch to survive on, along with H2O. Those herbivores are needed for carnivores to feed on. It is a chain in which it is very needed at one point by wolves hunting prey animals. | |
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Comment by
Phillip Nona
8 months ago
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