Wolves and politics

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Tuesday, August 2. 2016

This is not about wolves and sheep farmers. Instead it is about how conservation extremists have injected themselves into wolf politics.

Apparently there are no wolf subspecies in the Americas. Those thought to be subspecies are just Wolf-Coyote hybrids, of which the Red Wolf is one. Nevertheless, your tax dollars are going towards not only protecting them, but actually breeding them as if they were a precious endangered species when they are just mutts.

Government tends to be an idiot.

Generally speaking, I am in favor of wolves getting back to their old haunts in the Northeast where there are no sheep herds anyway. They will kill the coyotes and coydogs and bring the deer and moose populations into balance. Wolves do not kill people unless you leave a baby alone in the woods. People kill people, mostly, so stay away from them at all times.

Posted by The Barrister in The Culture, "Culture," Pop Culture and Recreation at 14:12 | Comments (13) | Trackbacks (0)

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Wolves don't? I wouldn't take a chance on that.

#1 Sam L. on 2016-08-02 15:56 (Reply)

Nope. They avoid people.

#1.1 Bird Dog on 2016-08-02 16:14 (Reply)

If deer and moose populations are so out of balance, increase hunting. Plenty of people would LOVE to eat moose and deer rather than buy meat at the store.

Trust me, you don't want wolves roaming the neighborhoods of the northeast. Did no one read the Little House series when a wolf stalked Laura and her sister in the winter?

No thanks.

#2 MissT on 2016-08-02 17:34 (Reply)

I live in western NM, and wolves are busily being reintroduced here, mostly to the Gila Wilderness area. Wolves DO hunt, kill, and eat cattle and horses as well as sheep. And you're an idiot if you think an apex predator like the wolf is somehow incapable of hunting humans; historically, wolves have been more than happy to! Hikers in isolated areas-- which is what the Gila Wilderness is about -- will sooner or later be hunted.

#3 Maya on 2016-08-02 18:31 (Reply)

OK, keep the hiker population down too.

Wilderness hikers should be armed.

#3.1 BD on 2016-08-02 18:39 (Reply)

A hiker in Canada was killed by a wolf a few years ago and the incident ended up as a court case because the Canadian government refused to acknowledge that it was a wolf kill. The DNA and other evidence--such as everyone KNEW it was a wolf kill--proved that a wolf had killed the hiker. Wolf pimps have been insisting for years that wolves have never historically killed humans which is a lie.

#3.2 Kathryn of Wyoming on 2016-08-03 10:35 (Reply)

Saw a very large Eastern Coyote (coyote-wolf-dog) in the lot next to the city swimming pool on Monday. About 50 lb. Ppl may want to keep an eye on their pets, but I'm not sure wolf-coyotes are the answer to the mostly unnoticed coyote-wolf population growth.

#4 forest on 2016-08-03 06:51 (Reply)

The red wolf is also a coyote/wolf/dog hybrid. Taxonomists are arguing whether to split the eastern and red wolves off as distinct species or fold into a generic Gray wolf species.

#4.1 bob sykes on 2016-08-03 16:06 (Reply)

BD, this is the same sort of "wish it were so" reality denial that leftists engage in constantly. Wolves absolutely will attack humans.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_wolf_attacks_in_North_America

#5 LWS on 2016-08-03 09:42 (Reply)

Your list actually shows how rare wolf attacks are on humans.

#5.1 Zachriel on 2016-08-03 10:16 (Reply)

Bird Dog: Nope. They avoid people.

Usually. However, wolves are opportunistic hunters and can become desperate, so you shouldn't take chances. Wolves are part of nature: a healthy ecosystem requires apex hunters.

MissT: If deer and moose populations are so out of balance, increase hunting. Plenty of people would LOVE to eat moose and deer rather than buy meat at the store.

Human hunting doesn't result in a trophic cascade

#6 Zachriel on 2016-08-03 10:14 (Reply)

Why not? Human hunting -- er, hunting by, not of, humans -- had been banned in Yellowstone for the same length of time that wolves had been. I don't see anything in the mechanisms that led to trophic cascade that couldn't have instead been caused by issuing hunting permits to humans. Though they are not as photogenic.

#6.1 maya on 2016-08-03 11:57 (Reply)

maya: Why not?

Human hunting can cull a population, but it doesn't have the same effect on the behavior of deer, such as is associated with predation by wolves, because there is little defense against guns. Even deer can't outrace a bullet. This is borne out by observations in the wild.

#6.1.1 Zachriel on 2016-08-03 12:29 (Reply)

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Tuesday, August 2. 2016

Wolves and politics