Grey Wolf Research Papers

For the first time in 70 years, the howl of the Grey Wolf is being heard throughout Yellowstone Park (Sanders, 2000). In January of 1995, 14 wolves from separate packs in Canada were trapped and transported to Yellowstone. Once in the park the wolves were placed in one acre acclimation pens. In total there were three pens scattered across the northern portion of Yellowstone: one a Crystal Creek, another at Rose Creek, and the last at Soda Butte. During the wolves time spent in these pens they were fed winter kill, or road kill. The packs that were formed in these pens were released in the winters of 1995-1996 and also again in 1996-1997 for a second release period (Sanders, 2000). In 1995 fourteen wolves were released and in 1996 seventeen were released. In 1997 there were 64 pups born and since 1995, 33 wolves have died in the Yellowstone area.

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).

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

Many people tend to be afraid of wolves because of how big they are and their strength. However, we don’t see how important they are until there are drastic changes. For almost 70 years Yellowstone did not have a night where a wolves howl could be heard. In that time the deer population grew fast; because of the increase in their

The thesis of this article is that wolves, once endangered, have come back and started to flourish causing mixed feelings for locals and biologists. Wolves were once hunted because one, to protect livestock, and two, they were seen as pests and/or vermin. The government then put wolves under the endangered list to try to save them. Since then, wolf populations have multiplied.

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.

While researching the gray wolf, I found out that it is actually a very touchy subject in Michigan. The hunting of Gray Wolves has been a very controversial topic. Gray wolves are native to Michigan but were nearly wiped out in the 19th and early 20th centuries by hunting and state-sanctioned bounties. In 1973, when Congress created the federal endangered species list, only six wolves were known to still exist in the Michigan wild, and gray wolves were considered an endangered species. By 2007, the wolf population in the Upper Peninsula topped 500 -- far exceeding the recovery benchmark of 100 set by the federal government, making the Great Lakes gray wolf one of the most successful recovery stories in the history of the endangered species list. The gray wolf actually came off the endangered species list in 2012, but as of December 2014, has been relisted.

The gray wolf packs continue to be rarely seen in North Dakota. We can’t count how many packs there is today because there is only an exiguous amount left. Gray wolves remain threatened in North Dakota in addition to some of endangered in other areas of the United States of America. Clearly, ranchers are one of the primary reasons that gray wolves stay threatened. They are killing gray wolves for the reason that the wolves are killing off their livestock. Another reason why the gray wolves remain vulnerable is because the poachers set traps to kill the gray wolves. Gray wolves keep the ecosystem healthy by keeping the elk and deer population intact. However, some hunters could see this as not helping them so they would want to kill wolves.

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,

The United States Fish and Wildlife Service are considering removing the gray wolf from the endangered species list once Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming have enough wolves to be deemed sufficient to continue to expand the wolf population, requiring only that each of these three states have a management plan in effect to prevent the gray wolf from becoming endangered again. With the current attitude of the governments in these states, the wolf should not lose their federal support under the Endangered Species Act as it would merely serve to cause the wolves to become endangered once again, or at best, held to the absolute minimum population that the states can pass off as “viable, self-sustaining populations”

Long before the settlers started to make the United States their home, “American Indians lived long beside the Gray Wolf before settlers started to come here.” (Rowe, Mark) The wolf is native to the North American continent and has been inhabiting its land for centuries. It is a canid species, or member of the canine family and is a cunning, smart, fast, and sly animal. Gray wolves range in color from black, brown, gray, and white and also look like a grown German Shepherd. They are well known for traveling in family sizes from 7-9 wolves, led by the alpha male and have a mate. They are a fierce animal that has been researched extensively because of their unique qualities and that they are near extinction.

Throughout the 1970’s, the US Fish and Wildlife Service developed a criteria to help identify the red wolf from the other the canids in order to protect them. Between 1974 and 1980, the US Fish and Wildlife service used this to identify and discovered that there only 17 red wolves remaining in the

Before the 1970s the gray wolf population was constantly declining to a number that was nearing extinction. To help their population, the Department of Fish and Wildlife decided that they should protect the gray wolves by placing them on the endangered species list. After many years of being on the list, the federal government conducted research to determine if the population had increased enough to be removed from the endangered species list. After the government hired scientists to conduct the research they decided that the gray wolf had, in fact, increased to a level that was not be in danger

The Mexican gray wolf is a large prey that, in the past, preyed on livestock which contributed to their near extinction by humans. However, the decline in the Mexican wolf lead to an overabundance in plant life which had a direct effect on other wildlife. There are many challenges involved with re-introducing wolves to other stakeholders such as to academics, mangers, ranchers, or landowners. It is not as simple as taking the Mexican wolf from where they are now and placing them in different areas in Arizona, New Mexico, the US, and across the border in Sonora, Mexico. This is a very large area of land that policies would have to cover. The best ways to illustrate that this concept is not as easy as it may seem are best described by nature culture dichotomy, social-ecological systems involving ecosystems with people, and the Anthropocene comprised with the idea of humans as agents of change.

            For years, wolves have been falsely accused for crimes in stories, myths, and life. In Never Cry Wolf, author Farley Mowat demonstrates how even though wolves are mistakenly stereotyped as evil; people don’t know anything without evidence. Farley Mowat takes a trip to Churchill, Canada, to study Arctic wolves for the Canadian Wildlife Service. He is studying the Arctic wolves because he needs to prove that the wolves are killing all the migrating caribou. During the entire book, he witnesses and experiences, new journeys about wolves and Eskimos, throughout his time in the tundra. Mowat learns over time, how wolves are mischaracterized from who they