naturerecordists
[Top] [All Lists]

Re: Yellowstone wolves and elk

Subject: Re: Yellowstone wolves and elk
From: tony baylis <>
Date: Sat, 20 Dec 2003 15:14:47 -0800 (PST)
Loved the wolves, coudnt tell the red one though.
Tony Baylis
--- Rich Peet <> wrote:
> Our Wolves in MN have hit carrying capacity about 3
> years ago.  I am 
> sure even that is in dispute.  Many of the
> Yellowstone wolves I 
> recall comming from here.
> 
> When land capacity was hit my concern was that we
> would start to see 
> attacks against children.  It did not happen.  What
> we saw was a 
> rapid migration and expansion of range.  They now
> stretch all the way 
> across the state of WI west to east and are adapting
> to suburban 
> life. One wolf even made it from WI to IN which can
> not be done 
> without going through the dense pack of Chicago. 
> 
> Have faith, your Yellowstone wolves will adapt
> better than any of the 
> birds as long as you don't shoot them.  Don't expect
> your coyote 
> population to be maintained.  If you need more
> replacements we got 
> plenty and maybe with time the state will stop
> putting transmitters 
> on them and let them be free.
> 
> Now the Red Wolf of the south is a differnt problem.
> I know of no 
> good news for them. Trying to keep the gene pool
> alive appears to be 
> a struggle.
> 
> If you want to hear.
> Hot summer wolves and if you are paying attention
> there is a Red Wolf 
> in there as well.
> 500kb download.
> http://home.comcast.net/~richpeet/wolvesWSC.mp3
> 
> Rich
> 
> --- In  Wild
> Sanctuary <> 
> wrote:
> > Indeed, wolves have increased, John. Except for
> mad-men with high 
> > powered rifles firing at the canids from airplanes
> (a policy 
> recently 
> > reinstated by Gov. Murkowski in Alaska, one of the
> principal 
> > environmental policy-makers in the current
> administration), wolves 
> > are among predators at the top of the proverbial
> food chain.
> > 
> > Like elk and many other critters who have survived
> the long arc of 
> > geological time, wolves haven't quite learned the
> kinds of 
> effective 
> > aversion behavior(s) necessary to respond to
> certain types of 
> > recently introduced human noises such as aircraft
> and snowmobiles, 
> > which have just emerged from the drawing-boards in
> the last century 
> > century. Many critters tend to do nothing. So from
> the 
> > traditionally-trained field biologists' point of
> view, those who 
> > determine biological truths primarily from what
> they see and can 
> > count visually, there tends to be no reaction to
> our noise because 
> > the critters are observed to do nothing and their
> live body-counts 
> > keep increasing. One recent study (Creel, et al)
> concluded that 
> even 
> > though there was a drastic change in the
> glucocorticoid enzyme 
> > (stress) levels in elk and wolves, this was
> unimportant because the 
> > academic model for success for wild populations is
> based primarily 
> on 
> > reproduction and observed behavior. Hmmmm...
> > 
> > So much for the natural soundscape, eh?
> > 
> > Bernie
> > 
> > >Bernie mentionned the Yellowstone wolves and elk.
> > >  In a recent Canadian Geographic article about
> the wolves, they 
> have 
> > >successfully increased to about two hundred and
> fiftyat 
> Yellowstone. 
> > >Elk, already in decline, have been reduced from
> 19,000 to about 
> > >12,000. Coyotes have also declined in numbers.
> Smaller predators 
> > >like the raven and the fox, have increased in
> numbers.The reduced 
> > >browse of willows by the elk has caused some
> dramatic changes 
> along 
> > >river banks. There are more willows, more
> songbirds like yellow 
> > >warblers and more beaver enjoying the willows.
> The increased shade 
> > >over the water has also increased the fish
> population.
> > >Not bad for the wolf eh!
> > >
> > >John Neville
> > >
> > >[Non-text portions of this message have been
> removed]
> > >
> > >
> > >To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >Yahoo! Groups Links
> > >
> > >To visit your group on the web, go to:
> > >  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/naturerecordists/
> > >
> > >To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
> > >  
> > >
> > >Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
> > >  http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
> > 
> > 
> > -- 
> > Wild Sanctuary
> > P. O. Box 536
> > Glen Ellen, CA 95442
> > 707-996-6677
> > 707-996-0280 (FAX)
> > http://www.wildsanctuary.com
> 
> 


__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
New Yahoo! Photos - easier uploading and sharing.
http://photos.yahoo.com/


________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

<Prev in Thread] Current Thread [Next in Thread>
Admin

The University of NSW School of Computer and Engineering takes no responsibility for the contents of this archive. It is purely a compilation of material sent by many people to the naturerecordists mailing list. It has not been checked for accuracy nor its content verified in any way. If you wish to get material removed from the archive or have other queries about the archive e-mail Andrew Taylor at this address: andrewt@cse.unsw.EDU.AU