Everyone knows of the apocryphal evil that is wolves, hunting our children, killing our livestock, taking the best deer. Having a wolf hunting season seems like a no brainer, right? But what if that’s not how wolves are, what if they are innocent, so to say. Should they be hunted? The short answer is no. There should not be a wolf hunting season because many of the thoughts on wolves are incorrect; hunting would compromise wolf studies, and the population is already suffering. We have all heard of the Big Bad Wolf, stalking children and spreading fear and chaos. It commits heinous crimes and deserves to be destroyed. This is a misdemeanor. Wolves hunt deer, rabbits, moose, and other animals (“Wolf”). Because most of the animals they hunt …show more content…
This happens because baying dogs appear as an attacker to wolves, causing them to go on the defense. The best solution would be not to use hunting dogs, but this option is exceedingly undesirable. Multiple decades and thousands of dollars have been invested into the research of wolves and their behavior. One of the most successful ongoing studies takes place every winter on Isle Royale. They collar and track the wolves, studying their hunting habits and interactions with other packs. While visiting Isle Royale this summer, one of the Park Rangers said to me, “Wolves make great family members, but awful neighbors. Kind of like the Mafia.” While this may seem strange, what she meant was this; wolves are especially munificent towards their pack mates. They are loyal and some of the best parents, especially the fathers. However, they have been known to assassinate neighboring pack members at times (“All About Wolves”). Isle Royale is a prime example of this; limited space and resources cause constant fighting between the packs.
While on the mainland wolves don’t fight over territory as much due to more space. Researchers can use this to their advantage. How? By creating a fake wolf pack. How it works is if a pack is attacking livestock, they can usually eliminate the one or two problem wolves and not have to worry. This doesn't always work, which then results in exterminating the pack. There is another solution they are trying. Instead,
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 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
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.
During 70 years of absence from the Rockies, the Grey Wolf had been protected under the Endangered Species Act that was passed in 1973. Since the wolf is under the protection of Endangered Species Act a person could be punished with up to a $100,000 fine and up to 1 year in jail for killing a wolf. Back in the
Around the world, there are thousands of wildlife animals. Gray Wolves are one type of them; their small domestic animals that are very fast, move in packs, and hunt deer and other animals for food. Despite the fact that Gray Wolves hunt deer, they are helpful animals to the ecosystem. Gray Wolves keep the ecosystem’s movement in check. They actually help the environment more than hurt it. They can be as friendly like dogs if raised from pups. They’re very interesting animals and it should be illegal to hunt them because they are almost extinct, they keep the prey population in check, and are unique animals trying to survive.
Over the past several years, the gray wolf, native to the Wisconsin area, has been listed federally as an endangered species due to the graphic and horrific treatment they had received during the industrialization periods of America, when they were frowned upon and hated because they are predatory creatures and did, on occasion, attack livestock and pets. Because the government was encouraging the hunting, including bounties for the animals, the wolves were hunted to near extinction. However, now Wisconsin faces a new problem. With the reintroduction of the wolves to the state, and their continued endangered status federally, the population has increased well beyond expectations, reaching what could be considered a problematic state. A
Since the introduction of the wolves, 300 sheep, 66 cattle, 1 horse, and 20 dogs have been killed by these predators, and to call them anything else would be wrong.
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 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.
Without the proper knowledge needed to understand how the wolf works, the creature is inaccurately shown as a wild, vicious killer. As Mowat progresses through his research he learns about the wolves hunting abilities and begins to acquire new information and states,” I could hardly believe that the all-powerful and intelligent wolf would limit his predation on the caribou herds to culling the sick and infirm when he could presumably, take his choice of the fattest and most succulent individuals” (Mowat 126). The way the government and people portray wolves as mindless killers is not only false, but it is far from the truth. Wolves are instead intelligent creatures that have the ability to choose and pick the right kill. Also, as Mowat researches their eating habits he finds that “the wolves of Wolf House Bay, and, by inference at least, all the Barren Land wolves who were raising families outside the summer caribou range, were living largely, on mice” (Mowat 107). During the summer the wolves weren’t even that cause of the deaths of caribou. Instead they found new resources to live off of when the caribou leave so they can continue to survive. This information is an exact contrast to the
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
Today, many people know that scientists studying wolves have lived very close to dens where there
Just like cars are dependant on the road wolves on isle royale are dependant on food. Lately the wolf population has been declining rapidly and this is a problem for the ecosystem of the island. It was found that 1 of 3 wolves have spine deformities. Of the wolves left there are only 2 females. If these females were to
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