Ever since the unfortunate killing
of Echo, the first wolf to been seen in the Grand Canyon, my inbox has been
bombarded with emails asking for my support to “save the wolves.” Don't get me
wrong, I would love to see wolves return to the US. They can be a driving force
of change within an ecosystem. But there needs to be a serious discussion about
the problems they cause.
It’s assumed that when reintroduced, wolves
will primarily hunt the other natural wildlife. I'm sure they would take rabbit
or deer if they got the chance, but there’s a reason that the wolves numbers
are the way they are.
Humans have worked long and hard to
ensure there are as few predators as possible that pose a significant threat to
livestock. Because of that quite a few people are left scratching their heads as to why we
should reintroduce wolves. Suppose we effectively eliminated mosquitoes, what
kind of resistance would their reintroduction face? It's really hard to see the
positive effects when the downsides are so immediately apparent.
Most issue surrounds
livestock. Wolves taking livestock is certainly the biggest hurdle anyways. Wolves do pose a threat to humans but in general they
avoid us as much as possible. I won’t claim that they are a non-issue, but
unless they are starving it’s unlikely they would attack an adult. But livestock are a different matter. They're the biggest reason why wolves were hunted to the numbers they are at now.
I can understand why most farmers
don't want an active wolf population in their backyards. To farmers,
reintroducing wolves means introducing a predator that could potentially kill
their livestock. Each animal in the herd represents a significant investment of
time and money. Losing one of those animals can be a massive loss. It's only
natural that farmers would want to protect their investment.
For a reintroduction to be
successful, wolf deterrent methods have to involve the farmers in a positive way. When over hunting threatened deer and other favored wildlife, hunters were the ones called upon to support the conservation efforts. Now the license fees they pay comprise the largest chunk of funds.
Electronic deterrent systems, such as lights and even sirens, can be effective. Some of
these can even activate when they detect a signal from a wolf's radio collar. If
it has a radio collar. Fencing can help stave off wolves, but that alone won't keep wolves from livestock.
The best methods are the ones
that have been in place for thousands of years. Shepherds used to watch over
their flocks night and day in order to protect them. Large dogs are also a good
deterrent. Using these with other deterrents increases the chances that wolves
will avoid livestock. These methods are highly effective for both livestock and wolves if defenders.org
is to be believed.
But I’m a realist when it comes to
getting farmers to agree. Each one of these methods requires an increase in a
farmer’s time, money, and effort against a predator that right now does not
exist in most places. If wolves are going to be reestablished in the US,
farmers will have to help. Or at least see some benefits.
So what good can wolves bring? They
would hunt weak and sick animals which creates a healthier ecosystem. With
wolves culling those animals there would be less of a risk of disease spreading
to livestock like sheep and cattle. And whether you believe that the benefits
in this video are
real or not,
wolves do have at least some effect on the grazing behaviors of deer and elk.
I would
like to see wolves return for all those reasons, but most of all because it
would be putting things right. There’s something alluring about that. It’s the same
kind of thinking that led to the creation of our national parks. But we have a
long way to go before the wolves’ future is certain.
