AK4Dave

It's the hunters, the REAL CONSERVATIONISTS, that are behind predator control. I don't own cattle, but I sure have seen what the wolf and bear have done to my local moose population, because of the lack of sound management.....ie "the Feds"

JKCloak

In PA the game commission insists that coyotes will not kill deer, I find that funny because I consistantly find coyote crap full of deer hair and actually shot a coyote that was chasing deer when I shot it, not to mention it was a 48 lb male which could have easily taken down a deer

AK4Dave

This is what I mean about some of these biologists not knowing their ass from a hole in the ground......

Sharkey

Thanks AK, I appreciate you taking the time to answer my questions. I was, and am, in favor of the reintroduction of wolves in the lower 48. With that said, I am mindful of the fact that we have already tampered with the "natural" balance of things and we can't let predators (even reintroduced predators) populate at a rate that exceeds their prey. There is no way to turn back the clock to a time before we screwed up the balance. Because of that, we have to try to manage the best way we can. Those who think hunting is not a critically important means to that management (and also a critically important means of sustenance for many people) are, well, ignorant. Over the last decade, black bears have become an increasing issue in the Reno/Tahoe/Truckee region. Nevada just instituted legal bear hunts for the first time since I can remember. Although a small but vocal group protested, I think that most of us northern Nevadans know just how necessary hunting is to the effective management of wildlife. I would much rather see a legal hunt than see bears starving and/or breaking into homes for food (in which case they end up getting shot anyway).

AK4Dave

Indeed.....bears are also a huge threat up here as well.....both black and brown/grizzly. Much to the disbelief of many locals, we haven't had a regular brown bear season here on the Kenai Peninsula for years. Now the moose population is dwindling, and large bears are more frequently coming into busy cities in search of food. Maulings are up more than normal. Last summer a 10' brown bear wandered into town in the middle of the afternoon, near a school and hospital. It started getting into garbage cans and was shot and killed by a policeman when he was charged by the large boar. Luckily the kids were still at school. Had they been out playing there is no telling what kind of tragedy could have played out.

A fellow guide friend of mine was guiding a hunter on a brown bear hunt. It was early spring and the hunting was from snowshoes. Before they put down in the bush plane, they saw where a brown bear had came out of it's den and killed 9 moose. He would kill one, take a few bites and go kill another one. He was like a cat that just can't keep itself from killing mice. They went after that bear but never ended up killing it. Think.........if ONE bear in a few short days can do that to a moose population in one area, what are they doing statewide?

Yes.....man is the caretaker. If we throw off the balance of things, then it is our responsibility to make it right. At least TRY to do the best we can.

WCDAVE

As an aside, (since this has been answered), there are now limits on the ability of prey animals to migrate and flourish. Most are holed up in Parks and preserves. It's like fish in a barrel for wolves. There are a lot fewer prey animals in the Hayden and Lamar River valleys in Yellowstone than there were before the wolf was re-introduced. When these restrictions on movement didn't exist, the predator/prey ratio was self regulated. There were natural build-ups and collapses of both predator and prey animals. As AK pointed out, if Native Americans saw their game stock being depleted, they culled the wolves. If there were no humans in the equation though, the wolf population would die off if it's prey became to scarce until sufficient numbers returned to sustain a larger populations.

WCDAVE

So, got me looking around. When the wolve's prey dwindles so do they. From the Yellowstone NPS site:

At the end of 2010, at least 97 wolves (11 packs and 6 loners) occupied Yellowstone National Park (YNP). This is nearly the same size population as in 2009 (96 wolves) and represents a stable population. Breeding pairs increased from six in 2009 to eight in 2010. The wolf population declined 43% from 2007 to 2010, primarily because of a smaller elk population, the main food of northern range wolves. The interior wolf population declined less, probably because they augment their diet with bison. The severity of mange declined in 2010 and there was no evidence of distemper being a mortality factor as it was in 1999, 2005, and 2008. Pack size ranged from 3 (Grayling Creek) to 16 (Mollie's) and averaged 8.3, slightly higher than in 2009 (7.1), but lower than the long-term average of 10 wolves per pack. Eight of the 11 packs reproduced (73%). The average number of pups per pack in early winter for packs that had at least one pup was 4.8, compared to the 2009 average of 3.8. A total of 38 pups in YNP survived to year end.

kwovers

I think Dave and others are spot on; one other thing I think deserves mentioning in predator populations exploding is the HUMAN population growth and expansion of urban areas. Loss of natural habitat for wild game creates a funneling effect leading to greater predator efficiency; just another factor in the big picture, moreso in the lower 48 probably, but a factor none the less.

dgnr8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJ4T9CQA0UM

AK4Dave

okaaay......:rotflma o2: