Wolves in Yellowstone

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Wolves in Yellowstone

• by Vadim Galperin and
  Jeff Strauch

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Wolf no more

• Grey wolves were heavily hunted to near
  extinction by the 1930s
• Endangered Species Act passed in 1973
• Wolves began to recolonize Montana in the 1980s
• In 1991, 31 wolves were introduced into
  Yellowstone from Canada

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Canada
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The gray wolf

• The gray wolf (canus lupus) is the largest member
  of the canine family
• It preys on deer, moose, and bison
• In 1984, it occupied only 1 of former range in
  Continental US

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Call of the wild

• Excellent sense of vision, smell, and hearing
  can spot deer over a mile away
• Prey mostly on large hoofed animals, such as
  caribou, deer, elk, and moose. And rarely on
  humans.
• Has 42 teeth, 4 fangs in front of mouth .. Large
  stomach ..
• Contain 20 lb of food at a time or go hungry for
  2 weeks

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Packt like

• Wolves travel in packs
• Alpha male and female territories
• Opportunist
• Mark territories

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Ancient lore

• Natives revered wolves close to uncivilized,
  animal nature
• Symbol of fertility, raised by wolves
• The Jungle Book
• Medicine man

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Wolf blitzing

• Aesops tales
• Little Red Riding Hood
• Werewolves

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Its darkness, everyone!
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History of Wolves in Yellowstone
Prior to the westward expansion of Europeans,
wolves flourished in and around the Yellowstone
area
However
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The Hunter Becomes the Hunted

• With governments assistance, freelancers/wolfers
  are paid to hunt wolves.
• 1869-1880 five wolf sightings in Yellowstone
• 1914 1,000,000.00 (18 M today) in wolf
  bounties
• the value of their hides and their easy
  slaughter with strychnine-poisoned carcasses have
  nearly lead to their extermination."
• Yellowstone Superintendant Philetus
  Walter Norris in 1880

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Lacy Act of 1894

• Various animals all across the nation, such as
  the passenger pigeon, were on the brink of
  extinction.
• The Lacy Act of 1894 (passed in 1900) was created
  to protect wildlife from this threat. This
  cracked down on the killing, transporting, and
  selling of deceased animals.
• Wolves "a decided menace to the herds of elk,
  deer, mountain sheep and the pronghorn.every
  effort will be madeto exterminate the wolf.
• - Colonel Lloyd Brett, 1915 State
  of the Park Address

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Process of Elimination
Being shot by park rangers and freelance
wolfers Eating carcases that have been covered
with strychnine or cyanide poison Killed while
trying to rescue a captured pup
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Some Much Needed Comic Relief
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Where da Wolves???

• 1914-1926 136 Yellowstone wolves eliminated
• 1923 last Yellowstone wolf nest is destroyed
• 1926 two lone pups become the last intentionally
  killed wolves in Yellowstone.
• 1926 last confirmed wolf sighting at Yellowstone
  until reintroduction

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YellowstoneWe Have a Problem

• Around the 1930s, many people realized that
  eradicating wolves from the Yellowstone area may
  have been a mistake.

1. Morality issues playing God, murder. 2.
Negative impact on the ecosystem. Ex Elk
populations of the northern elk winter range
doubled from 1914 1932. Larger
Population - overgrazing - damage to vegetation
erosion Starting in 1935, the park began
controlling the number of elk, pronghorn, and
even bison via shooting and trapping.
Survival of the Fittest
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Improvements w/ Room for Improvement

• Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act of 1934.
  Congress demanded that federal agencies ponder
  the effects of their actions on wildlife
  populations and develop a wildlife conservation
  program.

1933 end of predator control in Yellowstone
1960s Natural/Self-Management
http//www.windowsintowonderland.org/wolves/part
_two/wh10.html
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Class Discussion

• Do you have a fear of wolves? If so, why?
• Do you believe that wolves should be reintroduced
  to Yellowstone National Park?
• Assuming reintroduction takes place, do you
  believe that nearby ranchers should be
  compensated for livestock lost due to wolves?
• Would your answers to the previous questions
  remain the same even if you lived right next to
  Yellowstone and possibly owned livestock?

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Layin the Law
1960s Natural/Self Management
I am not awolf-hater.- Richard M.
Nixon,Former President of the United States of
America (Note this is not an actual
quoteprobably)
Endangered Species Act of 1973 HOR 355-4
Senate 92-0 Creation of Endangered Species
list Return of threatened and endangered
populations to self-sustainable levels
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Reintroduction Introduction

• 1944 Wolf reintroduction to Yellowstone becomes
  a dream for biologist Aldo Leopold.
• 1975 Search for remaining wolves in Yellowstone
  ends in failure.
• 1987 Northern Rocky Mountain Wolf Recovery Team
  is created by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
• 1987-1989 Environmental Impact Statement for
  Yellowstone wolf reintroduction.
• over 130 meetings spanning the entire
  nation people from every single US state as
  well as 40 additional countries comment on the
  situation
• more than 160,000 comments shatter the EIS
  remark record

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Time for Some Action

• January 12, 1995. Eight wolves are brought down
  to Yellowstone from Canada. Six days later,
  eight more wolves follow.
• Before being released into the park, they are
  kept in one-acre enclosures to prevent them from
  trying to return to Canada.
• March 21 the wolves are released into the park.

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Time Time for Some Time for Some Action

• Population of wolves ranged from 9 months to five
  years of age. Breeders were specifically
  included.
• 1996 Seventeen additional wolves become the last
  imported Yellowstone wolves to date.
• Radio collars were attached to enable tracking.

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Responding to Ranchers

• Prediction 12 cows and 40-50 sheep per year
• Actual 139 sheep and 19 cattle for 1995-2000
• Defenders of Wildlife compensates ranchers who
  lose animals to wolves
• Big, bad wolves can legally be harassed and even
  shot under certain circumstances

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Success Story

• The 31 imported wolves were sufficient to produce
  a Yellowstone-size population.
• Even though more than 300 wolves populate
  Yellowstone today, less than 100 have died since
  the reintroduction. Of these deaths, more than
  half were due to illegal shootings.
• Various other benefits (survival of the fittest,
  supplier of food, biodiversity, healthier
  vegetation and earth).

Rank Rou!
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Sixty Years Later

• "I have watched the face of many a newly
  wolfless mountain, and seen the south- facing
  slopes wrinkle with a maze of new deer trails. I
  have seen every edible bush and seedling
  browsedI have seen every edible tree defoliated
  to the height of a saddlehorn... I now suspect
  that just as a deer herd lives in mortal fear of
  its wolves, so does a mountain live in mortal
  fear of its deer. And perhaps with better cause,
  for while a buck pulled down by wolves can be
  replaced in two or three years, a range pulled
  down by too many deer may fail of replacement in
  as many decades." - Aldo Leopold