We didn't learn from the Dodo...

[draggar]

So now the US government as part of the "debt plan" they took wolves off of the endangered species list. I have no idea why this was done nor do I see the relevance.

Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming plan on selling licenses for wolf hunting.

Idaho hopes to kill 800 (out of an estimated 1000 wolves), Montana plans to do the same (even though there are far fewer estimated wolves) and Wyoming is enacting a "kill on sight" policy.

http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http..._MtWWZhS98UWSg

The sad thing is that most of their reasoning is complete bull. Wolf attacks on humans are very rate. How rare? According to Yellowstone, between 1900 and 2000 they estimate between 20-30 wolf on human attacks happened - that's one every 3.3-5 years. Out of all those attacks only 3 were fatal and all 3 were fatal because of rabies. There have been *NO" wolf attacks in the past 10 years.

To give a comparison, there were 32 bear attacks in Yellowstone between 1980 and 2002 (about 1.4 per year). How come we don't see people having mass hunts because of bears? I can't find the statistics on mountain lion attacks nor coyote attacks (I'm sure coyote attacks are about as frequent as wolf attacks, though).

[vital]

I can't figure out, what is the real point of killing wolves. Is it a kind of fun, or what?

[draggar]

I have no idea. Some say wolf attacks on humans are too common.

Some say wolves kill of their livestock in large numbers.

Some just don't like wolves and think they are aggressive and dangerous.

[Gerry]

The crux seems to be from farmers saying the wolves are killing their livestock, lambs, goats, etc.

I have a suspicion that the coyote is responsible for a great portion blamed on wolves.

There is a far greater problem with coyotes than wolves. We are developing quite a coyote population here in North Carolina and I constantly hear them referred to as wolves. So I do think there is quite a misunderstanding by most people. The Carolina Red Wolf was almost hunted into extinction. Fortunately there was an effort underway to protect them and breed from different stock. They have since been reintroduced into the wild. Even the great and noble Grey Wolf was close to extinction and was saved by serious conservation and breeding in captivity programs.

Here's the irony to such programs...certain species are nearly hunted to extinction. In some areas, breeds that once roamed a certain area are extinct. That is why they are re-introducing Elk into the Great Smokey Mountains. Elk once roamed those areas in large heards. Elk had also been re-introduced in West Virginia. So many native species to the West Virginia mountains were eradicated through careless hunting, random killing, or fencing off of areas. Additionally, the Grey Wolf was also recently re-introduced into West Virginia. Of great controversy was the US Forestry Department and West Virginia Wildlife Department releasing the Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake back into the mountains.

For the most part, I do not think the US has a great track record protecting native species. Even the gator was on the endangered list. We hunt species to the edge of extinction and then we pump billions of dollars into saving them, rescuing them, breeding them, and re-releasing them. Then the cycle repeats...release, hunt, protect, save...release, hunt, protect, save...

[south]

What a bunch of bullshit. Sounds like it's just an easy buck for the states (no hunting puns intended).

[draggar]

Coyotes may be a problem in the next 20-30 years. They are one of the best adaptive species on the planet - they live from the arctic to here in south Florida. They live in cities (New York, Chicago, Philly, etc.), they live in the woods, they live everywhere and are very intelligent.

Luckily, coyotes are very skittish, too, and coyote attacks are very rare.

[Poker]

Nature balances and takes care of itself, humans need to learn to just stay out of the way.

[Gerry]

This was just posted on the local news:

Coyote Shot Dead In Winston-Salem
http://www.wxii12.com/r/28870711/detail.html

The area mentioned is very upscale and expensive neighborhoods. It is also very close to Wake Forest University (fronts on both Polo and Reynolda roads).


In regards to wolves, I saw a CNN piece on this. Estimates are 1000 wolves in Idaho (a relatively smaller state) 400 in Montana and 300 in Wyoming. Honestly, I do not see this as a problem. Farmers can blame the wolves and in many cases may be correct. But unquestionably, coyotes are also going to be the culprit.

I have serious issues with putting money and effort into protecting a species then allowing a hunt on that same species putting it once again on the verge of extinction.

We have wolves in NC. But we also have black bears. And black bears have been very prevalent in neighborhoods and communities lately looking for food. The bears are not killed. They are tranquilized and relocated. The same should go with the gray wolf.

[Raider]

Never hunted in my life, I don't think I want too either... I will never understand the thrill hunters get from firing at an animal that cant fire back. If it's the challenge of shooting at a moving target, then why do most killings occur when the animal is standing still?

[H2FC]

I will never understand the thrill hunters get from firing at an animal that cant fire back. If it's the challenge of shooting at a moving target, then why do most killings occur when the animal is standing still?

I feel the same way. This would be a good question for Sarah Palin....don't you think?

[draggar]

Never hunted in my life, I don't think I want too either... I will never understand the thrill hunters get from firing at an animal that cant fire back. If it's the challenge of shooting at a moving target, then why do most killings occur when the animal is standing still?

My father in law is an avid hunter. He loves it. But, he rarely shoots anything and so do his hunting friends (we joked that the one time he did kill a deer that it must have tripped over him). But - when he did kill a deer he had as much of it used as possible. The meat, the skin, the hooves, you name it, it was used. Even the head and bones were donated to a university (or other school) for study.

I don't have a problem with this but I do have a problem with those who just go out and kill whatever they can for whatever reason.

[Gerry]

I used to be an avid hunter but lost interest after a friend killed in a hunting accident.

[Raider]

I don't have a problem with this but I do have a problem with those who just go out and kill whatever they can for whatever reason.

And theirs plenty of those kind of hunters out there.. Idiots who kill a defenseless animal, decapitate the head and leave the remains to rot. I remember watching a true story on TV about a harmless Moose that was killed just this way, I believe it was at Yellowstone, Most everyone in the park knew the Moose, they even gave him/her a name. I wish I could find the story. Anyway, this group of teens spot the Moose, kill it, decapitate it and take the head to a Taxidermist, The Moose was so large and so well known the Taxidermist recognized it immediately, he called the park service or the Police and they were arrested. IDIOTS.

I feel the same way. This would be a good question for Sarah Palin....don't you think?

It would be a good question for ALL hunters... You ask as though Palin is the only hunter in the world.