Wolf Wars

[Shadow Wolf]

So has anyone been keeping up with what's been going on for the past couple of years with our furry little friends? The recent de-listing of wolves from the Endangered Species List (ridiculous, if you ask me, they were barely at population numbers to sustain themselves), then the institution of wolf hunting seasons in the Northern Rockies?

I've been a wolf lover and fan ever since I was born, and I have the elementary research to prove it! I've tried to keep up with wolf news, and during my freshman year of college a couple years back I realized that wolves were no longer considered endangered. Woohoo! Right? But then I discovered that right after they were de-listed all of the hunters began calling for hunting seasons, and the farmers started complaining about wolves eating their livestock. Being knowledgeable in wolf facts, I was appalled. I did research for my college essays and speeches, finding a lot of things that angered and disturbed me. I read about Robert Millage, first hunter to bag a wolf during the Idaho wolf season. I even found his blog: wolfcomments.blogspot.com (if you read any of the comments about the posts, look for username Shadow Wolf Z, that's me). Nevertheless, I was really upset. I'm a member of the National Wildlife Federation and I support the Defenders of Wildlife and World Wildlife Fund in their efforts to protect wolves, either by petitioning or donating to put up ads. Most of my research projects involve wolves (I've written a few papers and made a few speeches throughout my academic career).

What's happening now, in 2012, is that despite a ruling a year or so ago by a judge in Wyoming granting all Northern Rocky Mountain wolves protection, Montana is having a hunting season in the fall. The bill either just passed or is on its way to being passed, it'll increase hunting license fees and impose a wolf hunting season. If it hasn't been instituted already, it should be shot down through petitioning. Or at least the provision for the hunting season should be thrown out. I don't mind hunters paying a bit more for their licenses.

Don't get me wrong, I don't hate hunters. Granted I don't quite agree with their lifestyle, but I have friends who hunt and don't blame them. However, the hunting of wolves is unnecessary, no matter what farmers say. In fact, dogs cause more sheep deaths than wolves, with weather being the leading cause of sheep death (of course this data is a few years old). Plus there's always fences to keep the predators away and the sheep to stay >.>

But I digress, what do you guys think? What have you heard recently?

[opferte]

Having lived with pure captive wolves and volunteering at a wolf sanctuary, I have had to look at my love for wolves in an intelligent and reality based manner. Let me clarify, that I believe wolves are the closest thing to a human being. An ape or monkey might look like us... But a wolf sees into our souls, in my opinion. Unless a wolf has attacked a human being, I am saddened by the death of any wolf.

That being said, and me having spent time learning about these magnificent creatures, how long do you think it will be before curious wolves start showing up in cities? Think about it logically: What did us wolf lovers really think would happen when we fought so hard for reintroduction? It is kind of naive to believe that they will stay a fixed number, and remain where they are.

By the very nature of the pack, omegas are ousted and may form other packs, expanding wolf territory. I would like to hear suggestions on what to do with wolves now that they have been reintroduced.

[Shadow Wolf]

Of course, there are some packs that have wandered out of the Yellowstone National Park area, which is why they're in such states as Montana. Then again, there isn't much land for them to live in without encroaching upon humanity. Since they tend to have large territories, they would likely stumble upon cities or settlements. But I don't necessarily think that's their fault, it just that humans have built up so much and have left little forestry for the animals. Especially when they start having pups and forming new packs, their numbers will increase and overrun the territory lines. To be honest, we as humans can't section off pieces of land for wolves and other animals, and expect them to just stay there because we want them to. If we put up fences to keep them inside, they won't be truly free, either.

I definitely don't agree with wolf hunting, especially on the front that it exits to cull the species and control the population--there's just not enough of the population to justify that kind of killing. But I also understand that allowing them to expand their population and territory runs the risk of letting them into civilization. I'm worried they wouldn't know what to do, and encounters with humans could turn fatal either because the wolves feel threatened or are just trying to survive in this new world they entered into. I don't really think we as humans need to set up more shopping malls right next to abandoned buildings, and I don't think we need to expand our own cities just for more McDonalds and Starbucks. We could try to keep them out of the cities, but over time they won't have anywhere else to go. It's the same with most other animals, such as bears, and there doesn't seem to be a clear solution.

We like looking at nature, only until it starts to bother us, then we flee to cities. Soon we'll have wiped out most of nature, and they'll have no choice but to live in the cities with us. If we can't coexist, one of us will face extinction, and I fear it will be the wolves.

[opferte]

I think there are two main avenues of possible contention that could arise if wolves ever found themselves in a populated area in the United States. 1. The dissapearance of peoples dogs. Dogs mean a lot to people these days, and it would do no favors for the wolves' reputation, as dogs noisy barkings, and estrus are two things that would bring wolves in. 2. People seeing the pretty wolves and feeding them. as has been the case in Yellowstone, people feeding them causes them to become unafraid of people, losing their desire to hunt, and ultimately creates a welfare- state wolf that seeks people out, hoping they will provide food. This can lead to an entire new set of issues that also, do not lend to a positive reputation for the lupine species.

Discussing fault i think is not productive at this point. What happens in nature every time- is an equilibrium is achieved after much loss and suffering. We have taken much of the wolves' native land (And other animals, etc) so they have lost much of what they used to have. As they return, they will no doubt seek to expand their terroitories, as they will undoubtedly find the prey abundant in their former absence. As you may well know, the presence of prey equals the presence of pups. SO if there is a lot of food, there will be a lot of wolves- they do not need to be told this, they do it on their own, naturally.

So after reintroduction, we will eventually see their numbers increase to the point where we will one day have to deal with it- which means the destruction of packs, and the destruction of lupine life. This saddens me a great deal. There are non lethal ways of controlling pack boundaries, but having dealt with these magnificent creatures firsthand I can tell you oftentimes they are more cunning than the most intelligently designed trap.

I can tell you that the chances of a wolf seeing a city for the first time, going to said city, then seeking out, or even accidentally coming across a human, deciding to eat the human, and then killing the human are less than zero. Only from feeding them will they gain the confidence they need to become a true nuisance and danger.

Can you see a 200LB wolf saying: "Hey.. HEY! You! Yeah, you! Aren't you gonna feed me? The last guy did... I'm tired, hungry, and I don't feel like running a deer down, now put some food in my snout!"

I can tell you it is a scary thing to be in a pen with a wolf and the wolf wants what you have. I made the mistake once years ago of bringing treats into the pens of 3 of the larger male wolves. They instantly surrounded me and took the food from me so fast I was like "I'm gonna get grubbed!" and then it was all over and I had no food left in my hands. The owner said "That was scary, huh." I was shaking... "No... I'm cool..."

When a wolf has no fear of man, they will take what they want from man- can you imagine someone who is not a devout wolf lover like myself being accosted at a McDonalds because someone who had good intentions decided to give his large fries to the big, hungry doggie?

[Shadow Wolf]

True, much like with bears and other wildlife that have wandered into human settlements. It's inevitable, although some consider hunting them to extinction a justifiable answer to the question of what to do with them once that time comes. Some may want to prevent it from happening by hunting them to extinction. But while we don't know exactly what will happen, and can only estimate based on other experiences, it seems silly to wipe them out "just in case". Then again, it's valid to reason that if wolves wander into human territory and get used to humans, as well as human reactions (such as feeding), then it may lead to bigger problems. Which is why there should be an area for wildlife uninterrupted by human contact, where they can live naturally. If not, then humans will have to learn to coexist with animals, short of killing them all (besides the dogs, that is, XD).

We can only hope it doesn't come to extremes.