There is a world somewhere between reality and fiction. Although ignored by many, it is very real and so are those living in it. This forum is about the natural world. Here, wild animals will be heard and respected. The forum offers a glimpse into an unknown world as well as a room with a view on the present and the future. Anyone able to speak on behalf of those living in the emerald forest and the deep blue sea is invited to join.
"They upped the number of guardian dogs, deployed electrified “turbo-fladry” and put on “wolf discos” complete with flashing lights and music. Critically, they hired Spanish-speaking field technicians to work with the Peruvian sheepherders, giving them intel about wolf locations and movements and recommending specific strategies. Ranchers were skeptical at first, but as time passed and the methods proved successful, more joined in on the project. The original project area consisted of 147,770 acres; in 2011, it was expanded to 282,600 acres. In the first seven years of the project, livestock losses were 90 percent lower than in the rest of the state. Only 46 sheep have been killed by wolves since the project launched. (One wolf has also been killed within the project area.) In contrast, between 2008 and 2014, the state of Idaho killed 576 wolves that had attacked livestock."
On Sunday, Dec. 29, Steamboat Pilot & Today ran a piece by Rachel Gabel entitled “The price of ballot box biology: Forced wolf reintroduction in Colorado.” As the debate begins in earnest about whether to restore gray wolves to Colorado, misconceptions keep creeping in, and we wanted to take this opportunity to lay out the facts.
For hundreds of years, stories like “Little Red Riding Hood” have led the myth of the wolf to gain a strong foothold in human culture and imagination. Fortunately, science has produced a more accurate portrait of the wolf, made possible through more than two decades of observation in the Northern Rockies.
The case is overwhelming that wolves need to be restored to Colorado’s public lands.
Importantly, we know from research in Yellowstone National Park that the restoration of wolves leads to a more balanced and healthier ecosystem. For example, the presence of wolves can change elk behavior, keeping them from grazing stream-side vegetation out in the open. By allowing aspen and willows to recover along those stream banks, songbirds return, and beavers recolonize these areas, building dams and improving water storage and trout habitat. Wolves are not a panacea, but restoring wolves to their natural habitat in Colorado undoubtedly will, in the long term, send positive ripples through our mountain ecosystems.
By targeting diseased prey, wolves will help control Colorado’s serious and growing chronic wasting disease problem that we are now struggling to contain. According to Colorado Parks and Wildlife, 57% of Colorado’s deer herds, 37% of its elk herds and 22% of its moose herds are infected with CWD, an always-fatal disease.
CPW notes in its CWD plan: “Not only are the number of infected herds increasing, the past 15 years of disease trends generally show an increase in the proportion of infected animals within herds as well. Of most concern, greater than a 10-fold increase in CWD prevalence has been estimated in some mule deer herds since the early 2000s; CWD is now adversely affecting the performance of these herds.”
A 2011 study by researchers at the National Park Service, Colorado Division of Wildlife and Colorado State University in the “Journal of Wildlife Diseases,” noted that “as CWD distribution and wolf range overlap in the future, wolf predation may suppress disease emergence or limit prevalence.” In fact, today in the Rocky Mountains, where there are large concentrations of wolves — in places like Yellowstone, Idaho and western Montana — we find relatively little or no CWD.
Wolves will have a minimal impact on livestock. In the Northern Rockies, the roughly 1,800 wolves that live there have taken less than 1/10 of 1% of the livestock that they share range with. Initiative 107 mandates fair compensation for those rare cases where Colorado livestock could be lost to wolves.
As to the oft-heard charge that wolves will “devastate” Colorado’s elk population, science speaks clearly. In the Northern Rockies, there are more elk today than there were in 1995 when wolves were first reintroduced to the region.
In fact, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming all officially report more abundant elk and mule deer herds and larger hunter harvests than 30 years ago. Also, during that time, there have been no wolf attacks on people in the Northern Rockies, despite over 100 million people visiting and camping in Yellowstone National Park among its wolves.
Finally, as to the charge of “ballot box biology,” all wildlife management is based on human values. And there is no better way to discern those values than through American-style direct democracy at the ballot box, which will supplant the unfortunate past decisions of a handful of politically appointed CPW commissioners.
We can restore and manage wolves in a manner that is respectful of the needs and concerns of all Coloradans. We owe it to future generations to restore Colorado’s natural balance by making room, once again, for wolves. Eric Washburn, a fifth generation Coloradan and big game hunter, lives in Steamboat Springs. James Pribyl, former member and chair of the Colorado Park and Wildlife Commission, lives in Summit County.
An intriguing aspect of social foraging behaviour is that large groups are often no better at capturing prey than are small groups, a pattern that has been attributed to diminished cooperation (i.e., free riding) in large groups. Although this suggests the formation of large groups is unrelated to prey capture, little is known about cooperation in large groups that hunt hard-to-catch prey. Here, we used direct observations of Yellowstone wolves (Canis lupus) hunting their most formidable prey, bison (Bison bison), to test the hypothesis that large groups are more cooperative when hunting difficult prey. We quantified the relationship between capture success and wolf group size, and compared it to previously reported results for Yellowstone wolves hunting elk (Cervus elaphus), a prey that was, on average, 3 times easier to capture than bison. Whereas improvement in elk capture success levelled off at 2–6 wolves, bison capture success levelled off at 9–13 wolves with evidence that it continued to increase beyond 13 wolves. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that hunters in large groups are more cooperative when hunting more formidable prey. Improved ability to capture formidable prey could therefore promote the formation and maintenance of large predator groups, particularly among predators that specialize on such prey.
Beavers (Castor canadensis) can be a significant prey item for wolves (Canis lupus) in boreal ecosystems due to their abundance and vulnerability on land. How wolves hunt beavers in these systems is largely unknown, however, because observing predation is challenging. We inferred how wolves hunt beavers by identifying kill sites using clusters of locations from GPS-collared wolves in Voyageurs National Park, Minnesota. We identified 22 sites where wolves from 4 different packs killed beavers. We classified these kill sites into 8 categories based on the beaver-habitat type near which each kill occurred. Seasonal variation existed in types of kill sites as 7 of 12 (58%) kills in the spring occurred at sites below dams and on shorelines, and 8 of 10 (80%) kills in the fall occurred near feeding trails and canals. From these kill sites we deduced that the typical hunting strategy has 3 components: 1) waiting near areas of high beaver use (e.g., feeding trails) until a beaver comes near shore or ashore, 2) using vegetation, the dam, or other habitat features for concealment, and 3) immediately attacking the beaver, or ambushing the beaver by cutting off access to water. By identifying kill sites and inferring hunting behavior we have provided the most complete description available of how and where wolves hunt and kill beavers.
Note: This situation is senseless. The bear hounders during their barbaric, inhumane and cruel practice have set dogs running in attack mode through the wilderness. This is pupping season and all wolf packs as well as bears are protecting their young. Of course, the dogs will be attacked! Idaho is well known for their overwhelmingly and excessive barbaric, inhumane and cruel treatment of wildlife, especially wolves. The remark by Losinski about taking out 10 wolves at a snap of the finger is the exact blood thirst that is seen throughout the state within hunting communities.
It is unconscionable to hunt bear during this season as the orphaned young are too young to survive on their own, in addition endangering ones hounds. This is no less than legalized dog fighting, as is baiting wolves to attack so that you can kill them, at the same time fatally jeopardizing your own hounds. Idaho continuously proves to be a true barbaric state from hell for wildlife and animal abuse. ~Robin Chriss, Wildlife Biologist
Please read this article keeping the above in mind:
Wolves killed four hound dogs valued at several thousand dollars near Moody Bench earlier this month. Idaho Fish and Game official Gregg Losinski reported that wolves killed the dogs while they were hunting for black bears. The owner had allowed the dogs to run off in search of the bears. “These were not dogs in a person’s yard or with an individual on a trail. These were dogs that were let loose to track down a black bear and to tree a black bear,” he said.
Wolves prove notoriously territorial and will kill hunting dogs thinking they’re part of a rival pack, Losinski said. “Wolves don’t see hound dogs as dogs but as other wolves. In their world, they kill the other pack that’s there. It’s not about emotions. It’s about survival. They’re programmed to do that,” he said. Fish and Game believes the wolves responsible for killing the dogs are part of a wolf group called the White Owl Pack. There’s not much that Fish and Game officials can do about the attacks other than to warn dog owners that there is a wolf population. “All we can do is alert people that Idaho is a wild place. When you go out there, things happen. Hopefully you’re in control,” he said. “If you know there’s wolves in the area, we encourage hunters not to release their dogs in the area.”
If a dog owner caught a wolf attacking his pet, the owner is within his rights to shoot the wolf. But you can’t just shoot a wolf unless it is hunting season. The state gives residents the chance to do that by summer’s end. It’s allowed wolf hunting for the past five years. “Depending on where you’re at, you can harvest five wolves through hunting and five through trapping,” Losinski said. The wolves’ hide is often highly sought after, he said. “The pelt of the wolf is in its prime during the winter and is a desirable pelt on people’s walls,” Losinski said. It’s often difficult to successfully hunt and kill a wolf, but that’s what often motivates sportsmen, he said. “Hunting is oftentimes not about food but for the sport of it,” he said.
Photo: Running Wolf Nature Photography
*This image is copyright of its original author
These wolves are 832F (Left) (alpha female) and Brothers 754M and 755M (The alpha male at the time)
Nice post !
What is sad about these 3 wolves is that two of those got shot : 832F and 754M
Wolf 755. He had lost his brother, his mate, and his territory as a brutal winter was setting in. But he surprised everyone with his resilience…and luck. Photo: Alan Oliver.
*This image is copyright of its original author
Eight years is a very long time to be a Yellowstone wolf; average life expectancy is only about 4. To avoid fatal injury while hunting elk, to endure gang-like fights with rival packs, to evade the human enemies who ring the park, to cope with the loss of your family—to do all this and survive eight years is exceptional.
Meet an exceptional wolf known as “755.” (His research collar number is his name.) He’d lost essentially everything a wolf can lose—except his life. Yet he’s put his pieces back together.
I would have bet against him. His survival seems a near miracle. But wolves don’t get miracles. They get luck. He’s had a lot of luck—most of it bad. Yet he’s thriving.
I chronicled the tumult of his early life in my book “Beyond Words,” in which the true stories of real wolves, elephants, orcas and others reveal them as individuals whose lives matter deeply to them. Dedicated wolf watchers Laurie Lyman and Doug McLaughlin have helped update me on recent events in the life one particularly amazing wolf. Here’s his story.
Years ago, as clumsy and hapless young two-year-old wolves, 755 and his brother got their big break in life. They met an extraordinary she-wolf born in 2006, whom wolf-watchers knew as ’06. Before she met 755 and his brother, she’d already turned down more talented and accomplished suitors. But over seemingly better competition (and, as often in human attraction, even she probably didn’t quite understand why), she chose 755 and his brother. And together they founded the Lamar Valley Pack.
The wolves 755, his brother, and his mate ’06 established the Lamar Valley pack. Photo: AP/Wolves of the Rockies.
*This image is copyright of its original author
The she-wolf, ’06, earned a reputation as both a super-hunter and master tactician. As matriarch of Yellowstone’s Lamar Valley Pack she became the world’s most famous wolf—so famous that The New York Times would eventually publish her obituary.
Yellowstone Park is really too small for its bigger animals. Its straight-edge boundaries were delineated for the tourist appeal of geysers and peaks. Animals weren’t much considered. The area needed by the park’s larger creatures, the “Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem,” is eight times larger than the park. For deer, elk, and bison, the park is mainly high summer pasture, not year-round range. Winter at 7,000 feet is just too brutal.
Come autumn, the whole high interior plateau empties. Six of Yellowstone’s seven elk populations migrate out. Most deer and many bison drain into lower valleys and surrounding plains, for the food to sustain them through winter. But when they get there, they have walked into a place of bullets.
In 2012, a tougher-than-average winter began to lock down the park in November. Elk and deer migrated directly down to lower elevations seeking better food outside the park.
Seven Fifty-five, his brother, ’06, and their offspring ventured to their territorial borders. But they no longer found the resistance of other packs. They traveled unopposed to lower elevations, miles outside the park’s borders. It was all new terrain; they had never before in their lives been there. It was more profitable territory—a lot more elk.
The Lamars could not have known the reason they found no resistance from other wolves at the eastern borders of their usual territory: Congress had recently deleted the word “wolf” from the Endangered Species List. The Lamars had just gone from being protected by a national park to targets in a new open-season on wolves. The wolves hadn’t changed. Human promises had.
Wolf 755 (left) with his then mate, the superstar she-wolf 832AF (known as ’06, because she was born in 2006). Photo: Doug McLaughlin.
*This image is copyright of its original author
Because they’d lived in Yellowstone, the Lamars were used to seeing people, and weren’t particularly cautious to remain unseen.
On November 13, hunters thirteen miles outside the park, in Shoshone National Forest, shot a large male wolf weighing perhaps 130 pounds. He was 755’s brother.
The pack retreated to the park. But only briefly. The brothers had been together every day of their lives; his absence was obvious to the whole pack. The Lamars ventured out again—right near the place where 755’s brother was last alive.
On December 6th, someone killed ’06.
In the span of two bullets, Seven Fifty-five had lost his brother and his mate. Everything would now unravel.
Without their mother, the Lamar daughters descended into violent sibling rivalry. In seeming jealously they ejected their most precocious sister. Seven fifty-five’s daughters had attracted two prime males who would not tolerate 755 in his own territory.
Losing his mate and brother thus cost 755 his hunting support and his hunting territory. Seven Fifty-five had nothing left. An ironclad winter was about to deep-freeze the park. I’d have bet that he was doomed. I also would have bet that his precocious daughter would pick up her pieces. I was wrong. She left the park and was shot. He kept himself alive. (I wrote about watching him figuring out how to survive.)
Meanwhile: One of 755’s daughters, wolf 926, was a pup when her uncle and her famous mother got shot and her father 755 got banished by her older siblings’ new suitors. Now 926 is matriarch of her own Lamar Valley family. But as always for wolves—life ain’t easy.
In the spring of 2015, she and her mate, male 925, and their pups from 2014 were all, “strong and strappy,” according to veteran wolf watcher Laurie Lyman. They were awaiting birth of her second litter.
One day after they had traveled a bit outside their usual territory, Laurie says, “926 made a spectacular kill, driving an elk off of a high cliff.” The family feasted. Then they headed for home.
Sitting pretty: Wolf 755 in 2013. Three years later, he’s still beating the odds. Photo: Carl Safina.
*This image is copyright of its original author
Little did they know where their route home was taking them. But the wolf-watchers could see: the Lamars were heading right towards a rival pack, the Prospects.
They stumbled upon the Prospects. The Prospects might have thought this was an attack. They might have felt that they had to defend themselves. It might all have been a misunderstanding. It was bad timing and bad luck. Immediately several big Prospect males charged. Pregnant 926 ran for her life. Their year-old pups scattered in all directions.
The Prospect males caught 925. “I am not sure if 925 put himself at risk to protect his family, or if he was just the slowest, ” Laurie says. In seconds he was fighting furiously for his life.
The year-old pups rushed back to the fight, got the Prospect males to chase them, thus set their father free.
But poor 925 didn’t get far. The next day, he died of his wounds. Nine twenty-six visited her mate at the spot of his death. The following day she and her pups returned to their den area, their home.
“The grief was all over them,” Laurie wrote to me. “I have never seen such a thing in all my years watching wolves. The incredible sadness. All 926 could do was lie down. It was something. Her yearlings went off to the west and she was on her own. It was so sad watching her have to get food for herself. And it looked as if she would give birth alone.” If that happened, her pups would most likely not survive.
A week or so later, four males who had killed 925 showed up. But the dynamic was entirely different. A male called Twin, about six years old, had come courting. She became smitten and accepted him. They became a new pack. Her two female one-year-olds returned to her. But her year-old males either weren’t tolerated by the new males or just didn’t want to be around them. They headed north out of the park. There, they were killed by bullets.
These new males, especially Twin and one named Mottled, hunted and provided for 926. But then the mite-caused disease called mange ravaged the pack. All of them with the exception of Twin got mange. “It was horrible,” Laurie remembers. “Some lost almost all their fur.” Her pups disappeared.
That wasn’t all. Mottled got killed by the Junction Butte wolves, whose large territory abuts the Lamars’ west border. And then Twin disappeared. Laurie observes sympathetically, “Nine twenty-six’s life has been a nightmare since her mother was shot, and yet she trudges on.”
So you see, it really is amazing that 755 has survived. After nearly two years of false starts, 755 has found a new place in Yellowstone, and a new mate. His pack is called the Wapiti Lake pack. And for the second year in a row he again has pups.
His mate is a beautiful almost-white female who herself was born in the den she now uses. (Her grandmother was white and her mother is white. And 755 who was strikingly two-toned when I watched him cope in 2013, has turned white with age.) In each year 2015 and 2016 she gave birth to two black and two grey pups. Of the four 2015 pups only a grey female yearling is with the pack. The other three disappeared. They’re in a part of the park with tough winters, and luck did not favor those pups.
Despite his age and how difficult it is to be a Yellowstone wolf, 755 is still hard-charging. Recently he killed an elk solo, prompting Laurie to write that ’06 “would be proud. She taught him well.”
So that’s the way it is with wolves. They don’t’ get miracles; they get luck. Some of it is bad. But sometimes their luck is so good it seems miraculous.
There is a documentary about wolf 755M called the "Devil Dog of Yellowstone". It is a very good documentary. That wolf was and still is a legend in our heads.
First time I heard about sea wolves. Great photographs.
Brown bears involved in salmon are larger than everywhere else. Polar bears doing blubber also are very large. Sea wolves, on the other hand, are smaller than relatives involved in deer. Remarkable.
The Alexander Archipelago Wolf is the one feeding on salmon. This prey item make this species pups one of greatest in pup suvivorship (with 90% of the pups surviving their first year, amongst the leader in this domain among the grey wolf specie).
They weigh between 14 and 21 kg and stand about 0.61m tall at the shoulder.
Wolf (Canis lupus)
