Wolves, a good thing?

[HUNTaHOLIC5]

The herds pre-settlement are not always described as being so bountiful.  The lewis and clark journals talk about being near starvation for parts of their journey.  The only animals they'd see for days were wolves and bears.  They would have to eat their horses and leather.

They also thought that salmon were poisonous! They thought the natives were trying to kill the Lewis and Clark party by feeding it to them! And if I was starving a wolf or a bear would be on my table!

If humans took over for wolves we haven't been targeting the same group, sick and old, we look for healthy and strong. What's the average life span of an elk, is a 6x6 considered over the hill or prime of its life?

The belief that predators only kill sick and old is wrong. I've found a 360 bull in the prime of his life killed by a cougar and plenty of animals that were healthy. Predators kill what's available at the time.

[trophyhunt]

Just saw this thread and I won't read it, just want to answer the OP question. F no wolves are not good for elk, not in the lower 48. 

[idaho guy]

Pretty much sums it up trophy 

[KFhunter]

Wolves are good for antelope

[wolfbait]

   Jmscon wrote:"These predators will target both the strong and weak animals but will have more success against the weak and diseased. Slowly but surely making the herds stronger.

I don't like the idea of having fewer animals, less tags, less area to hunt in or the damage to livestock that has and will occur. But I do like the thought of heathier herds!"

When the wolves kill off the weak and diseased and only the healthy stock is left, what will the wolves then eat? Will the wolves figure out that there are only "healthy elk" left, and just take a few here and there to hold them over until calving time rolls around?

[wolfbait]

They'll clean up the hoof rot so I guess the OP is correct there.



Otherwise the OP's post is so full of holes it's not really worthy of a reply so I suggest just reading up, there's some pretty good dialog and debate in the wolf forums going back 4+ years.   It'll keep you occupied for a while.

Don't run him off KF, he hasn't answered my question yet.   This is just like the old days of not enough habitat, even though 1/2 of the ungulates have been slaughtered.

[idaho guy]

Wolves are good for antelope
[m.                 In what way of?from your posts you seem like a great guy that I agree with not sure what you mean on this one, joke i don't get?

[idaho guy]

Free with proof of two dead Idaho wolves

[idaho guy]

The herds pre-settlement are not always described as being so bountiful.  The lewis and clark journals talk about being near starvation for parts of their journey.  The only animals they'd see for days were wolves and bears.  They would have to eat their horses and leather.

They also thought that salmon were poisonous! They thought the natives were trying to kill the Lewis and Clark party by feeding it to them! And if I was starving a wolf or a bear would be on my table!

If humans took over for wolves we haven't been targeting the same group, sick and old, we look for healthy and strong. What's the average life span of an elk, is a 6x6 considered over the hill or prime of its life?
6 point is in his prime I rarely kill such a bull so apparently I serve the purpose of wolves and normally only kill the sick and weak I never realized I was improving the herd good on me!

[KFhunter]

Wolves are good for antelope
[m.                 In what way of?from your posts you seem like a great guy that I agree with not sure what you mean on this one, joke i don't get?

No joke, speed goats do well in wolf country.  Wolves don't run down speed goats nor do they spread out and specifically hunt for fawns the way coyotes do. 

http://www.wyofile.com/yellowstone-pronghorn-find-sanctuary-in-the-shadow-of-the-wolf/

[idaho guy]

10-4 good stuff I did not know thanks!

[andrew_in_idaho]

I can kinda see the OP's logic here. It's like we were all taught in schools about the lynx and snowshoe hare populations. When lynx populations are low the hares flourish, the lynx begin to rebound and the hares go into a decline as lynx populations grow. They have a symbiotic relationship. Over time they will balance themselves out, there will be periods of highs and lows. For the most part wolves will begin with the sick and weak animals, of course they will also kill the strong but when they have a choice they will always take the easier prey, which will help to curtail diseases and strengthen the herd overall, so when the herds reach that lowest point and the wolves begin a period of decline the deer and elk can recover and possibly be stronger than they were 30,40 even 50 years ago. One need look no further than Idaho now to see that deer and elk are currently flourishing in most areas, there are areas where they aren't doing as well but limited habitat likely has as much to do with those areas as any other factor. It might be ugly for a few years, we have game populations faced with a predator that hasn't been present for many years, but as the strongest of the strong continue to reproduce we will see stronger animals that will begin to flourish


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[JimmyHoffa]

But in the way back past, when the game declined the wolves declined because no alternate food source.  So back in the settlement days, game declined and wolves came and ate the livestock.  Then humans were to be faced with the food shortage.  So they killed the wolves.  Now we've got a whole lot more people.

[andrew_in_idaho]

But in the way back past, when the game declined the wolves declined because no alternate food source.  So back in the settlement days, game declined and wolves came and ate the livestock.  Then humans were to be faced with the food shortage.  So they killed the wolves.  Now we've got a whole lot more people.

Legal to kill them in defense of livestock is it not. I also hope you guys over there will be able to hunt them someday but I know it's an uphill battle in Washington


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[carpsniperg2]

Man I could have a ton of fun around camp with that mount. I have a cousin that wont walk outside at night without a flash light. He walked around the corner of his camper and saw that he would be cleaning his shorts