Wolves act to help bighorn sheep near Yellowstone National Park

Wildlife News ^ | April 26, 2013 | Ken Cole

[roamer_1]

The reintroduction of wolves [...]

As a point of order, this is not a reintroduction. It is the introduction and protection of an invasive species.

The wolves introduced here have never been a part of the natural system - The Great Plains Gray Wolf was not present in the Rockies, and the Mackenzie River (or Alaskan Gray/Timber) Wolf did not get this far south. The real tragedy of the situation, outside of the decimation of the elk herds is that the invasive species will most certainly displace the Timber Wolf that IS native here, and that has always been here.

The Northern Rocky Mountain Wolf Recovery Plan was first approved in 1980, though it was then revised later on in 1987. The plan required a certain population of Northern Rocky Mountains wolves to reside in the area inside and around Yellowstone, which included at least ten breeding pairs, and for the population to remain stable for at least three consecutive years.[12][13] However, the Northern Rocky Mountains wolf was not, at the time of the initial drafting, recognized as a legitimate subspecies, so the wolves involved in the plan were instead the Great Plains wolf and the Mackenzie Valley wolf.[14] The overall reason for this was because the stated two subspecies of wolf roamed in the same general area as the Northern Rocky Mountains wolf and because the plan covered the reintroduction of wolves into the area in general. For this reason, the more plentiful subspecies' were chosen to be trans-located, so as to not upset the balance in the areas they would be taken from.[15]

It is quite like trying to 'help' the grizzly bear population by 'introducing' an Alaskan Brown Bear population.

Our Timber Wolf, while a subspecies of the Gray, is longer in the leg, lighter weight, and tends toward tawny tones. They are solitary, or tend to small family packs BECAUSE that is what can be supported by the land. The invader tends to be bigger, tends toward large packs, and has a more a rapacious nature.

The Timber Wolf has been here all along, and didn't need governmental assistance.

Just sayin'.