Overkill?
Posted on 02/23/2012 1:47:17 PM PST by jazusamo
Idaho wolf Ping!
Just wondering how “mother nature” dealt with too many wolves before man wandered in to deal with the problem. What’s going to happen when the elk get too numerous and start chomping down on people’s veggie gardens and wandering around downtown? Answer? Bring in more wolves. It’s interesting how nature gets out of hand when humans starts messing around with it.
The only places I’m aware of that too many elk were causing problems before the reintroduction of wolves was National Parks. No hunting is allowed in them, the balance of the western states hunting is allowed and there didn’t seem to be a problem.
According to recent studies by researchers from the department, wolves are the primary cause of death in female elk in the Lolo and of calves more than 6 months old.
Finally!!!!
I think this is the first report I've read where the biologists are being HONEST about the declining elk numbers. To paraphrase our politicians: "It's the wolf, stupid!"
Glad to see some action being taken on this front.
Thanks for the ping, Jaz!
Elk herds have been decimated due to the re-introduction of these wolves. if the wolves are not hunted there won’t be any elk left. With the hunting of these wolves it will allow the elk herds to thrive. they will not overpopulate as they are also hunted. And the fact remains that if the wolves are not hunted they will overpopulate, drain their food sources eliminating the ungulate populations then they (the wolves) will starve and die. So it is better for humans to manage these animals as they are not capable of managing themselves. Wolves kill for sport and DO NOT find balance with the rest of nature around them.
Amen...Idaho was hit hard by elk depredation from wolves, glad to see them acting quickly.
I was just being curious. I’ve read where wolves were re-inserted in areas because the local wildlife was getting out of hand. I think they did it in the Olympics in WA and in Oregon someplace. My thoughts were, well how did nature take care of over population of one species. So perhaps looking at areas where there is no hunting, such as National Parks and see how the wolf/elk population is being handled on a natural level. If elk were being depleted by wolves one has to ask why? Introduce more elk? Still seems to me that nature had a way of dealing with over population.
Consideration for your ping list.
I mentioned to another poster was how did nature take care of over balance? It seems the problem was acerbated by the re-introduction of wolves. Why? Was the wolf population down and the elk population increasing? Will be interesting to see how this develops.
Well, yes and no. When areas are over populated there’s not enough food. So that species will die out somewhat and what food they ate slowly recovers and then they come back.
Overkill?
Nah, that wouldn’t be overkill. :-)
It’d get the job done fast and be an excellent training tool for the gunners.
I'm trying really hard to see what the problem is. My cousin summed this up very well: "We're now learning why our forefathers worked so hard to get rid of wolves."
No... Wolves are part of an ecosystem, nothing more, nothing less. They play a role, and a vital one pertaining to their natural prey. For an example of what happens when folks think they can extirpate predators and not suffer the consequences, refer to "Playing God in Yellowstone" by Alston Chase. Further proof can be found in what happened to the deer herds on the Kaibab Plateau in the 1920s. Once the predators were killed by man, the deer herds starved, with losses in the thousands.
Dumbass federales! What did that hunt cost the taxpayer? The profitable solution would have been to sell a limited number of licenses and offer a bounty on the wolves killed........
The same thing applies to the invasive species of snakes in Florida that the state doesn't know how to deal with. Allow open season hunting and offer a bounty.........sheesh!
These people are insane!
Thanks to jazusamo for the article. Good for the elk
You're most certainly right. If Idaho was really focused on killing wolves there would be no wolves left in Idaho.
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