Yellowstone Wolfs

[oldno7]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MoH9GvEgxwI

[Sombeech]

freakin' wolves. :angryfire:

[kris]

freakin' wolves. :angryfire:


I don't see a problem. So the wolves thin the herds, and wolves die off. Elk herds grow in size, then the wolves packs grow in size. Isn't that the way nature works?

[Sombeech]

Yes, but Man brought those wolves into Yellowstone, and they were supposed to be managed.

[kris]

Yes, but Man brought those wolves into Yellowstone, and they were supposed to be managed.

Didn't man take wolves out as well?

[Don]

dun dun dun dun dun, dun. dun dun dun dun dun, dun. duna, dun dun dana.

I guess the good times are gone.




Kinda over dramatic wasn't it?

[bruce from bryce]

the wolves were in existing by killing elk and bison plus other animals long before man even set forth in this area. White men then exterminated the entire population.

therefore, when the wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone, we were only correcting an ecological wrong that we had created.

sorry ranchers but you gotta live with the wolves. yes we manage them by removing any wolf that becomes reliant upon beef for its food.

[shlingdawg]

Don't worry - the ranchers are living with the problem.

Shoot, shovel and shut-up.

Folks in Wyoming don't wait around nor ask permission of government officials to protect their livelihood.

[Sombeech]

Is man natural?

[Deathcricket]

I don't see a problem. So the wolves thin the herds, and wolves die off. Elk herds grow in size, then the wolves packs grow in size. Isn't that the way nature works?

Agreed. The population is being decimated because we F-ed it up in the first place. The elk haven't had a decent predator for years. Of course the population is going to explode. But you know as well as I that once the wolves start in on livestock we'll have to take them out again. And the cycle will repeat.

[catch22]

Can we capture some of those wolves and disperse them a little better throughout the US to help out with this problem:

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration there are about 1.5 million car accidents with deer each year that result in $1 billion in vehicle damage, about 150 human fatalities, and over 10,000 personal injuries. The actual numbers are probably higher because the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's figures for deer accidents, rely on inconsistent state reporting- there is no standard reporting of deer accidents in the country yet, and a "reportable deer accident" varies significantly between states.

[UTJetdog]

We spent a few days in Yellowstone last fall, and it was thrilling to see wolves. We saw several groups. But I have to sympathize with the ranchers.

It was interesting to find out that there are only ~60 moose left in the park - we used to see them everywhere. According to the wildlife groupies we talked to the wolves have wiped them out in the park. If you want to see moose you have to go south to the Tetons. We didn't see one in 4 days in Yellowstone.

[cachehiker]

It has also increased the Fox (and Bobcat too if I'm not mistaken) populations and decimated the relatively over populated Coyotes.

I find it odd that we will spend decades building houses on their historic grazing lands, building roads, erecting oil derricks, and stretching fences that interrupt their historic migration paths, scare the ***t out of them with our snowmobiles and cause them to expend a couple of day's worth of energy over 15 minutes in the middle of a brutal winter, and then blame their recently declining numbers solely on the ten or so years since wolves were introduced. Kind of a myopic way of looking at things if you ask me.

They need to do a better job no doubt but who in government doesn't? All in all, there were no elk left in the 1990's when you compare those herds to ones found in the 1890's. I think Sombeech should have to try and survive a Yellowstone winter with nothing more than what he can stuff in a 5000 cubic inch backpack and see how easy it is. More than one night is more than I can handle.

BTW, I saw my first over the week of New Years. It was likely a lone male with a otter carcass or something similar. There were numerous crows around trying to sneak a morsel and there's one right behind his head in this shot. Too bad I left my 400mm lens at home. Sometimes I take packing light a little too far.