Free: Contests & Raffles.
Quote from: twistiron on July 29, 2011, 08:58:45 PMThis is my , I think a properly managed wolf population could be good for washington hunting. You dont see wolf packs going into herds and killing the biggest trophy bulls, they will cull the weak sick ones from the herd, leaving it stronger future reprodution. i am sure none of us want to wast our hard erned bull tag on a sickly small one, i want a trophy. well unfortunatly that sickly boy is going to be around next year to knock a cow up and just like with humans weak parents make weak kids, and the cycle continues. Amazing that this line of thought still persist. This could NOT be further from the truth. Turn off the Animal Plant channel and check out what wolves do in the real world.
This is my , I think a properly managed wolf population could be good for washington hunting. You dont see wolf packs going into herds and killing the biggest trophy bulls, they will cull the weak sick ones from the herd, leaving it stronger future reprodution. i am sure none of us want to wast our hard erned bull tag on a sickly small one, i want a trophy. well unfortunatly that sickly boy is going to be around next year to knock a cow up and just like with humans weak parents make weak kids, and the cycle continues.
Boot hunting just won't get it done, the success percentage will never catch up to the kitten survival rate.
Quote from: Alan K on July 30, 2011, 10:49:59 AMBoot hunting just won't get it done, the success percentage will never catch up to the kitten survival rate.So out of curiosity what is the kitten survival rate in WA? (Provide documentation as well please, I would like to read it for myself)As far as wolves, and what they target, Run was spot on. It is hard though because the sick and dying will always be the first to go, and that is were the broad statement comes from I assume. I will get to experience first hand this October how much damage the wolves have done in Wyoming, I don' t think it will be near what it has in Idaho or Montana. I just hope in the end we can see some positive to the decision to let them reestablish in this state.Brandon
Quote from: luvtohnt on August 10, 2011, 08:46:32 PMQuote from: Alan K on July 30, 2011, 10:49:59 AMBoot hunting just won't get it done, the success percentage will never catch up to the kitten survival rate.So out of curiosity what is the kitten survival rate in WA? (Provide documentation as well please, I would like to read it for myself)As far as wolves, and what they target, Run was spot on. It is hard though because the sick and dying will always be the first to go, and that is were the broad statement comes from I assume. I will get to experience first hand this October how much damage the wolves have done in Wyoming, I don' t think it will be near what it has in Idaho or Montana. I just hope in the end we can see some positive to the decision to let them reestablish in this state.Brandon That's just a big fat negative there. Wolves have actually been witnessed AVOIDING sickly animals and going for the healthier. They are smart animals. A pack that is in a game rich area and well fed will kill even when not hungry just to lap blood. Kind of like when a bear first starts fishing he eats the whole fish. But as the season progressess and he's had his fill, he switches to eating just the skin or roe.
a little talk with a biologist and I learned that wolves make elk pack in larger herds. My immediate question was what about a disease that breaks out... say like hoof rot that is in Montana...
Quote from: huntinguy on August 10, 2011, 08:24:38 PMa little talk with a biologist and I learned that wolves make elk pack in larger herds. My immediate question was what about a disease that breaks out... say like hoof rot that is in Montana... This is another total bs assumption that many hunters have made. Elk and other deer (whitetail) have herded/yarded up for as long as they have been around. There again we end up with someone saying some that sounds "plausable" and before long it becomes "science". There is no real science that shows an increase in disease.... And yes, I know about the so called "studies" in some of the Universities... to call them "studies" is a stretch to say the least.I agree with the rest of your statement however. And, when it comes to farmers, ranchers, hunters and biologist, I'll take the knowledge/expertise/credentials of the later three over the "biologist" all day long.
Quote from: 300UltraMagShooter on August 11, 2011, 06:35:49 AMQuote from: huntinguy on August 10, 2011, 08:24:38 PMa little talk with a biologist and I learned that wolves make elk pack in larger herds. My immediate question was what about a disease that breaks out... say like hoof rot that is in Montana... This is another total bs assumption that many hunters have made. Elk and other deer (whitetail) have herded/yarded up for as long as they have been around. There again we end up with someone saying some that sounds "plausable" and before long it becomes "science". There is no real science that shows an increase in disease.... And yes, I know about the so called "studies" in some of the Universities... to call them "studies" is a stretch to say the least.I agree with the rest of your statement however. And, when it comes to farmers, ranchers, hunters and biologist, I'll take the knowledge/expertise/credentials of the later three over the "biologist" all day long. the key phrase was "Larger", what he said they saw in the study, it was several years long, was the smaller groups of less than 15 (or something close to that number) animals move into larger groups.As some diseases animals get are contagious, the question was, what does that do to the overall health of the herd. They don't know yet.... The other thing he said, that seemed odd to me, was the elk moved in to more remote areas when the wolves showed up... I don't understand that one....
We need to let the game biologists manage the animals scientifically. Cattlemen, timber companies, P.E.T.A., H.S.U.S., A.L.F. and all the other special interest groups have their agendas and get in the way of proper wildlife management. Predator/prey numbers will find equilibrium. So I am not misunderstood, I look forward to hunting wolves when their numbers are stable. Wolves are neither good nor are they bad, they are predators, like coyotes, cougars and us. Don't let doom and gloom scenarios carry the day.