ANTI-WOLF: Counted elk numbers lately?
Skulls on the left are of the Northern Rocky Mountain Wolf, while those on the right are of the McKenzie Valley Wolf.
A total of 41 Mackenzie Valley Wolves were implanted into Yellowstone National Park in the years 1995-1997.
The wolves were put into Yellowstone due to the lack of native wolves in the area. The wolf that is native to the area is the Northern Rocky Mountain Wolf but Mackenzie Valley wolves from Canada were implanted.
Northern Rocky Mountain Wolves are a subspecies of the Gray Wolf; the Gray wolf is a broad family of wolf. The Northern Rocky Mountain Wolf, the species that naturally lived in Yellowstone, grows between 70-150 lbs and 26-30 inches tall at shoulder height. The Mackenzie Valley wolf grows to 100-175 lbs. and 32-36 inches.
The difference is small, but imagine being a deer and being hunted by Northern Rocky Mountain Wolves and then the Mackenzie Valley wolves show up. The once barely manageable predator is now six inches taller and has 25 pounds of weight added to them. These wolves are able to dominate the deer, moose and elk.
The wolf population was estimated at 1,802 wolves, 313 packs and 98 breeding pairs by the state of Wyoming in 2015.
Recently wolves in Wyoming have been removed from the endangered species list on April, 25 2017. Licenses were being sold at $18 apiece when the season opened and were available until the quota was met (view quotas at https://wgfd.wyo.gov/WGFD/media/content/PDF/Hunting/WOLF_SUMMARY.pdf ). The wolf population was estimated at 1,802 wolves, 313 packs and 98 breeding pairs by the state of Wyoming in 2015.
The population has since grown and is now close to reaching the carrying capacity. Since this spike in wolf population the moose population has come close to disappearing. According to www.tsln.com,“The moose herd is estimated to be in even more dire straits, with a population of only 400 against an objective of 3,600.” The herds of elk and deer have also seen immense declines in population.
“We needed to bring them back,” PHS Biology teacher Mrs. Wendy Smith said. ”They needed to regulate them tougher especially after they left the park.”
The issue of the elk herds being massacred would not be relevant if it were not for the wolves killing for sport.
According to www.cnn.com, “Wolves Slaughter 19 Elk in wyoming.” The elk were killed and not consumed by the wolves. They were killed for sport.
Another issue is the killing of livestock. “We lost 50-75 sheep,” Mrs. Smith said. “We also lost two guard dogs.”
The killing of livestock is bound to happen in an area with predators; however, when this many sheep were killed it shows that the wolves returned to the area and used the livestock as a primary source of food. This relates to why they needed to be regulated.
If the population is not regulated then the number of livestock and pets that are killed will rise as the habitat will no longer be able to sustain the population alone. This is due to the diminishing deer, moose and elk populations.
