Essay On Wolf Reintroduction

For one, by 1980, wolves doubled to 50. By then it was apparent, ‘balance of nature’ seems to be the force that guides nature. This shows that wolves should be introduced because they are needed for balance

For a number of years the wolves were not missed by most people, the ranchers and farmers were happy to have the pests gone. Coyotes,

Many threats to the red wolf include loss of habitat and ecosystem due to human activities such as deforestation and degradation of environment agriculture and shooting as well as climate change as red wolves generally prefer swampy wet lands.

With the reintroduction of the Grey Wolf into the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem there have been many people who are opposed. Mainly the ranchers in Montana

Also, the government wanted to step in and help the economy, so bounties were set in order to encourage the hunting of the creatures. Communities began to see the "bounty hunters" as heroes, and these men felt as such. The attitude towards wolves spiraled out of control, causing hunts based on vengeance and hatred, and inhumane practices of poisoning, trapping, and torturing began. Even a former governor of Alaska, Jay Hammond, felt that flying in a plane and shooting down hundreds of wolves was necessary to protect the citizens of the state. Wolf furs were coveted, the animals were loathed, and the image of the wolf as a cowardly murderer stuck based on old-fashioned beliefs and legend-based fears. Nothing was done to stop the practices, and the hunts continued to be encouraged, until there were basically no wolves left to hunt (Lopez 139-145). It was nearly too late once the problem was noticed, but the government finally stepped in to address the problem. The wolves were going extinct, and it became clear that the animals were an important part of the ecosystem. The timber (gray) wolf was placed on the endangered species list, and severe consequences were put into action for anyone who hunted the animals illegally. The Wisconsin DNR began a very carefully regulated action plan to reintroduce the wolf to the state, which included radio collars and careful tracking of the animals in order to monitor their progress, as well as make sure they stay in

While highly controversial, the reintroduction of wolves in Yellowstone Park has provided many beneficial ecological changes to the entire parks ecosystem. After a nearly 70 year absence, in January of 1995, 14 wolves from separate packs were captured in the Canadian Rockies and transported to Yellowstone National Park in the states of Wyoming, Montana and Idaho (Sanders par. 2).

Recently I watched a news article on the reintroduction of wolves to Scotland. This sparked my interest because I felt there was a large misconception about what they eat, why they kill it and how dangerous they are to people. It seems that it could have a vast impact on the environment the questions are: Should large predators such as the wolf be re-introduced into the wild? And is it truly safe?

In “Scared to Death” by Ed Yong and Sharon Levy’s “Wolf Family Values,” we read about the need to protect the population of wolves in North America. These two articles have very different ways to go about this. Ed Yong talks about the wolf effects on elk as well as the rest of the environment. Levy’s approach is about wolf social structure and how it is impacted by hunting. Both of these make some valid points on why more conservation efforts should be made; however, I believe Ed Yong made the stronger case.

But what us humans fail to realize is that gray wolves mostly prey on small things like rabbit and beavers. The gray wolf can actually live in many different biomes as long as the climate is mostly cold. Most of the gray wolves habitat is located in the northern hemisphere where there is long and cold winters and very short summers. The gray wolf is a big part of our environment they help keep the primary number of consumer down, scavengers feed on the wolveś leftovers, and the soil also benefits from the wolveś kills. Wolf interactions with other carnivores such as coyotes can shift some species populations probably not significantly.

The state legislature has favored the ranching industry above ecology and continues to do so. Public polls “conducted by Boise State indicate that the overwhelming majority of Idahoans (nearly 70 percent) support wolf restoration” (Laverty, par. 4) and the legislature is seeking to remedy this by re-educating the public with “a balanced view of the impact of wolves on big game species, those sectors of the economy dependent upon sport hunting, livestock, domestic animals, and humans” (State, 3). Furthermore, the “cost of wolf reintroduction will be presented as a part of any public education program including direct and indirect costs” (State, 3).

The declining wolf population has turned around and is now increasing at a steady pace. The National Park Service says “During the 1980s, wolves began to reestablish breeding packs in Northwestern Montana; 50-60 wolves inhabited Montana in 1994.”(NPS) We are very fortunate for the quick acts of transferring the wolves from Canada down to the Yellowstone National Park and to the intense research that has been done

Red wolves have become endangered because of many reasons. One of these reasons are predator control programs. Some people believed that the red wolves were killing cattle and causing cattle loss in a large area, this led to people killing them for money because the misunderstood the red wolves. Their population was also affected by the clearing of land and other projects such as, mining, and the construction of roads. As a result, the area where red wolves are found has been drastically decreased.

A single pack may contain animals that are black, shades of gray-brown, and white. Wolves in the heavily forested areas of eastern North America are more uniform in color. They are often a grizzled gray-brown like some German shepherd dogs. This color variation is a good example of natural selection, which enables those animals best suited to a particular environment to survive. On the arctic islands, where much of the ground is snow-covered for at least nine months of the year, being white is a distinct advantage, so wolves in the Arctic may be nearly white. In the mottled grey, green, and brown world of the eastern forests the normal coat of the wolf is an effective camouflage. As a wolf moves stealthily, or rests, it blends into the background and is hardly seen. Wolves in the Arctic have extremely dense under-fur, which insulates them against rigorous winters. Another adaptation to environment is their habit of hunting in packs, or groups, which enables them to kill large animals.

They are herbivores and because of this if fewer plants were to grow they would start to starve. Moose don't enjoy the heat and actually makes them react as if they were depressed. They will stop eating as much and stop moving as much. This can cause starvation and makes them easier prey for the wolves. Tics have been attacking the moose population also declining the population even more these tic’s can carry diseases that can be spread from animal to animal every time it eats. These damages to the moose population correlate to the decline of the wolf population.

I think that wolves being reintroduced is not a bad thing. It’s their natural habitat they should have the right to live freely just as we do in a sense. Wolves are natural to the environment. Why should something natural be taken from its home just to allow something to live in its place that is unnatural to the area? I do not think this is fair. Yes, the wolves may eat everything in site but its life, get over it. If you are worried about the Wolves eating your farm animals, the wolves should not have to move, you should have to. I understand that over population could become a concern, but in Iowa we have hunting season for deer for that reasoning. I do not care for hunting to keep the population of animals down. So with that thought crossing