"The only tracks in the fresh snow were those of gray wolves. Hoppe also had a knot in his gut. Nonresident hunting clients were due to arrive tomorrow, and there were no elk to be found."Generally the elk have gone down to the meadows by the time the snow falls. I can remember times when elk lay dead along both sides of the hwys for hundreds of miles, because of starvation. The last thread I saw one of the complaints were for extended hunting seasons!
Also from the author, later in the article.
""Wolf populations are having no significant effect on big game populations," this Montana-based biologist says. "There may be pockets where wolves are having an effect on wildlife, but there’s also a drought going on in the West that’s having a major effect. "
*****
"The only tracks in the fresh snow were those of gray wolves. Hoppe also had a knot in his gut. Nonresident hunting clients were due to arrive tomorrow, and there were no elk to be found."
Let's appeal to the emotions now. After all lambs are people too. BTW, wolves kill fast and eat. It's not a game to them like it is with dogs.
""They don’t seem to have a fear of man," Keranen says....Even shining a spotlight or shooting a gun in the air was considered illegal "wolf harassment.""
" What yoou ahve here folks is a lack of balance and perception. Farms don't belong to the wolves and they are tresspassing, because they know the liberals are in charge. The fact is that they are dangerous and need to be handled. They are smart animals and aren't hard to control. wolf harrassment my butt. Shooting them should be allowed in such cases, just as when any of several animals raid my livestock. I don't have to kill everything that walks in the woods, even the 'coons that are the really dumb ones that never learn from a lesson. Wolves and coyotes do and they behave themselves afterward.
"Within the next five years, I believe American hunters will be able to legally bag a wolf in the West." "
The folks that live there ought to be able to control their operations.
" Who are you going to blame for dead elk?"
What a dumb question- Bush.
Not sure what your point is. The phenomenon you describe is typically the result of an above average snowfall over the course of a winter rather than a lack of forage to sustain the herd. It's just harder and more exhaustive for animals to get to the food. Large foraging animals tend to congregate where movement is easier, such as plowed roadways, but it doesn't assure them more forage. The same thing happens in Alaska during winters when above average snows are too deep for the animals to move and restricts their ability to forage. The moose get killed in above average numbers by trains and cars because they won't readily move off the roads or tracks to fight the snow. We typically see buds stripped off saplings by the moose nearer the roadways, but plenty of food left a few hundred yards off the roadways. It's just too much effort for the animals to get to it.
It doesn't matter whether populations grow unchecked, or if they are limited by hunting and wolves, hard winters will kill many even in healthy, sustainable herd populations.