Wolf Populations

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

Wolves have always been a symbol of the wild, free in spirit and roamers of the land. These animals are considered majestic and protectors of the wilderness. They have always roamed the western United States, although their population has fluctuated over time. Over the past 10 years wolf reintroduction into Yellowstone National Park has been a controversial topic to those of the United States. As of 1995, wolves have been reintroduced into the park. This has come with some strong opposition and yet has prevailed. The future of the wolf in Yellowstone park is now looking bright, although not certain since there still are those who want them banished again.

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.

The biggest impact the reintroduction of wolves would make is that they control the population of large mammals such as elk. Without wolves in an ecosystem coyotes step into the role of the biggest predator. However coyotes are almost 2.5 times smaller than an average wolf so they are not big enough to kill much of the elk. The elk population then increases rapidly and hurts the ecosystem. Wolves also help reduce the spreading of disease by hunting on the elk that have been injured or have diseases. It gives the wolves a better chance of taking down the large animal and prevents

On May 3, 1995 female wolf number nine gave birth to eight puppies, the first wolves to be born in the park in nearly 70 years. The mother and pups were recaptured and taken back to the acclimation pen, until the pups were weaned (Sanders par. 15). The reason for this recapture was because at this time, this wolf and her eight pups counted for almost 50% of the park’s wolf population. Since this time there have been no other human interventions preferring to let nature take its course on the population.

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.

The purpose of writing the article Wolf Wars was to inform the reader about new situations in the west. The reason is to inform the reader of what problems wolves have been causing. In the article, the Author explains of how wolves became endangered and then flourished once more.

The red wolves are an endangered species. Right now they are only 45-60 left the wild. If people don't do something soon they might become completely extinct.

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

Wolves live, travel and hunt in packs of 7 to 8 wolves normally. wolves may howl to assemble their pack, to claim territory, to warn intruders away from a home site or kill, or to identify other wolves

According to source #1 farmers believe that the wolf being reintroduced to the wild is bad news, why, because wolf eat and harass cattle. According to source #4 in 2010 wolves killed 8,100 head of cattle equaling a total of $3,646,000 and that is not so great. But looking at source #4 we can also see that wolves are the second to lowest with the only animal who kills less cattle than they do are bears. At the top of the list is the coyote in 2010 coyotes killed 116,700 head of cattle causing, get ready, $48,185,000 in lost cattle profits, that is over 13 times more money is lost to coyotes than wolves. And If you remember source #2 mentions that the gray wolf keeps coyotes under control. And if farmers are mad about this and let's be honest they do, they should be against the coyotes which are the ones taking most of the cattle money. So it makes no sense to stop protecting wolves so uneducated people with guns do not take the lives of the animals that are helping

The wolf was once a much slandered animal. In the western world, people feared and hated wolves, and this legacy is reflected in stories such as Little Red Riding Hood and The Boy Who Cried Wolf. In these popular children's tales the wolf is made out to be a prowler and a killer of livestock and people. There is some basis for The Boy Who Cried Wolf, for wolves have killed cattle and sheep. But what of Little Red Riding Hood? There are no records of wolves killing humans in Canada or the United States. Yet, when wolves were spotted near rural communities, fear used to grip the populace, but over time this has become less prevalent.

“Never Cry Wolf”, by Farley Mowat, uses a lot of anthropomorphism. We see wolves as bloodthirsty savages that prey on the weak, cause havoc, and kill just to attack or to start a fight. Quite the opposite, the wolves only kill for food or when under attack. Their actions are based on their needs. Contrary to the wolves, humans hunt for food but they also do so for pleasure. In reality, the wolves just do what is needed to survive. The author studied the wolves to further document the truths about the lives of wolves and his use of anthropomorphism bring this book to life. It is ironic at times as the similarities between the wolves and humans are few yet the contrasts are many.

After years of selective breeding and taming, the hunters finally came across some wolves that were able to listen to commands and do what they were ordered to do. These wolves did not look like the first ones with which humans came into contact. Their size, coloring, senses and even the length of their coat or swimming ability reflected the environment in which they lived. These environments could have ranged from anything since hunters do not stay in one place for very long. These wolves probably did not reflect their gray ancestors much anymore. The color of their coat could have become brown, black, or even yellow depending on where they were taken. Their size could have been affected, too, depending on how the hunters had used them- they could have shrunken to the size

Pat Shipman has a different focus in her book: The Invaders. She sees homo sapiens as an invasive species. An invasive species is one that rapidly takes over an ecosystem and completely alters the make up as a whole. The ability of humans to control their environment is what separates us above all other species. She points to the domestication of wolves in Europe as the factor that ultimately allowed us to dominate the food chain and possibly push other species, including Neanderthals, toward extinction. Many of these animals included other predators, such as lions, rhinos, saber tooth tigers and cave bears to name a few. These animal populations saw dramatic declines after the arrival of homo sapiens. The domestication of wolves allowed humans to strategically hunt larger and faster game than previously possible. Wolves (or wolf-dogs that have been domesticated)