ebd10
Well-Known Member
I don't live in Wolf country but, because of my proximity to it, I've been trying to stay abreast of the developments. From what I have researched, there were two major factors that made the introduction of wolves a debacle. The first was the selection of the wolves themselves. The F&W imported Canadian Grey Wolves which are a non-native species. Having evolved eating Caribou, they grow to be about 100-150 pounds and are very aggressive.
Couple that with game species that have not seen a wolfpack in a century, and you understand why Elk herds dropped by 80%. They didn't react to a predator because they didn't recognize it as a predator. End result? By the time the Elk or Deer, or Antelope realized they were in trouble, they were already on the menu, ready to serve.
Wolves are probably here to stay, but the packs must be handled intelligently. Emotion cannot override reality. A Wolf season is not unreasonable.
Couple that with game species that have not seen a wolfpack in a century, and you understand why Elk herds dropped by 80%. They didn't react to a predator because they didn't recognize it as a predator. End result? By the time the Elk or Deer, or Antelope realized they were in trouble, they were already on the menu, ready to serve.
Wolves are probably here to stay, but the packs must be handled intelligently. Emotion cannot override reality. A Wolf season is not unreasonable.