Save the Wolves

Living with Wolves
In the North Country,

Photos courtesy of Wolf Park

Now, in Wisconsin,Minnesota and elsewhere in the lower 48 states, the wolf is back, and man is struggling to live with him again.
It has been a remarkable comeback for a species that once numbered 3,000 to 5,000 in Wisconsin alone but which, by 1930, had been pushed by human settlement to a few areas in the north of the state. By 1957 the last wolf packs had disappeared from Wisconsin. But in 1973 the wolf won U.S. government protection under the Endangered Species Act, reversing a decades-old policy of eradication based on livestock protection and more generalized fear of the animals that feature in so many campfire tales. With migration and a state-sponsored recovery program, the wolf returned to Wisconsin. Last winter naturalists counted 178 to 185 wolves living in 47 packs in the state.
The gray or timber wolf also roams parts of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, Minnesota, Montana, Idaho and Yellowstone National Park, in addition to long-established habitats in Alaska and Canada.Others are believed to live in the Dakotas and Washington state. And the federal government this year reintroduced a subspecies, the Mexican gray wolf, into national forests along the Arizona-New Mexico border.

SUCCESSFUL RETURN OF THE WOLF SEEN AS THREAT

In northern Wisconsin this spring wolves killed four rabbit-hunting beagles and at meetings in Minnesota and Wisconsin, farmers expressed fear for their livestock and townsfolk say they are not sure what to think.
In a poll in February by Minnesota Public Radio, 47 percent of those questioned said they would be afraid if they lived near wolves while 43 percent said they would not be afraid. The survey also found more people favoring controls on the wolf population rather than letting them spread through the state.
"Wolves aren't good neighbors," said Mark Liebaert, an Angus beef cattleman from South Range, Wisconsin. Under a plan to allow the wolf population to swell to 500 before limited hunting might be allowed, he said, "we're basically going to have more wolves per square mile than Minnesota."

DEFENDERS OF THE WOLF

These fears about wolves are based on superstitions that came from Europe along with the early settlers, experts say, and are not based on fact.
Even the four beagles who lost their lives in the line of duty were caught in "isolated, unusual circumstances," according to Adrian Wydeven, a wolf biologist for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources in Park Falls. "It could be a new pack trying to set up a territory. The dogs just stumbled into the new territory," he said. "They must establish their place in the Wolf neighborhood." In addition, Wydeven said, female wolves at the time were close to whelping, which makes them more aggressive and protective of their food sources.

IGNORANCE BREEDS FALSE CLAIMS

But living with the animals remains an uncomfortable thoughtfor many."We're just not a wilderness anymore," said Dale Johnson of Dairyland, adding that he had seen fewer coyotes in his area since the wolf population grew.

"I'm just concerned we're losing biodiversity if we get a lot of wolves."
Roger Hansen of South Range claimed that hunters also fear the wolves will decimate the deer population, a trend he claims is already noticeable. "Most of the hunters I've talked to all say if they see a wolf they're going to shoot it," Hansen said. "You see a lot more wolf tracks than deer tracks."

EDUCATION THE ANSWER

But the wolf has its defenders among those who have known it the longest. Tom Doolittle, a wildlife biologist for the Bad River Band of Chippewa, said Wisconsin's management plans do not adequately address cultural concerns. Claiming freedom of religion is violated he claimed that for some Chippewas, the wolf is considered a special, religious animal and people should not be allowed to ignore "other people's religion and hunt it down and kill it," he said. "Wolf management on the reservation has to be different because wolf reverence is a spiritual right."

While the wolf's return has been successful in many places it should not be be taken off the endangered list. Its presence, even if evident in far more than an occasional nighttime howl from the deep woods, is valued by more than just a few Americans.

Wolf pups

"Give a dog a bone!"
By the time they are seven months old, they want to go along with the pack. Just like their human counterparts,they copy Mom and Dad. As they develop they begin to show the traits of their parents.

"Back Off"

The Alpha male is the most important member of the pack. It is he that has sole mating rights with females. He has the right to make decisions and to eat first.This dominant or Alpha male asserts his position as first feeder by snarling at his subordinates. This relatively harmless way of communicating is sometimes looked upon as a vicious nature.

Family Portrait

Wolves are beginning to adapt to conditions valued by human beings.This family of wolves is living on land grazed by cattle.

A better understanding of the wolf is needed by Farmers and Ranchers to help continuance of America's wolf population. It is much better to learn to live with our wolf population than try to exterminate a beautiful creature.

Wolf Mom

Wolves stand a poor chance of survival and have a natural fear of man.Look at the concern in this mother's eyes as she looks over her babies. The fear she has is of man and his gun. She will defend her young,to the death just as you or I would guard our own children from murderers.
Canis Lupus horibilis is the Latin name for the wolf, to which mans best friend the dog, is related(Canis Lupus domestica)Our country is free but not free to kill and wipe out our friend, the Wolf.

Wolf Kill,1994

Not all politicians are bad. Some voted to approve conservation projects. Unfortunately, man's lifespan is short and unless a continuing education process is invoked, these projects will die too. Renowed wolf expert David Mech is pictured here with the remains of two wolves, Killed illegally by hunters in Ely, Minnesota. Environmentalists charged then that wolves transplanted to Yellowstone Park and Central Idaho would meet the same fate, except that those killings would be legalized. They were right!

Political Wolf?

Note the wolf's method of asserting dominance..Mouth wide open, just like our politicians! Does a wide mouth make a politician or is it that a politician has a wide mouth?

Whatever, if our Senators wanted to know the truth about Wolves, they would use their loud voices to over come the objections of the hunters, ranchers and farmers.

Music now playing: "Dances with Wolves"

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