What will 150 wolves eat?

[Brianshounds]

A wolf needs 11 pounds of meat every day to sustain body weight.

washington has well over 150 wolves now.

150 wolves x 11 pounds of meat every day = 1650 pounds every day
1650 pounds per day x 365 days in a year = 602,250 pounds of meat every year for 150 wolves

602,250 pounds per year / 450 pounds ( an average ELK ) = 1338.333 Elk per year

[boonerboy]

SCARY AS HELL isnt it?? 

[Bob33]

That estimate is most likely low.  An average wolf kills 15 to 20 elk per year.  They kill for sport as well as meat, and would not consume 450 pounds of meat from every elk.  However, their diet also includes deer and other animals.

[ICEMAN]

SCARY AS HELL isnt it?? 

 

[Brianshounds]

The wolves killed this deer one night last week and never returned to finish it. i watched it for three days. they never came back. Birds cleaned it up by the end of three days.

[JimmyHoffa]

those numbers were for MINIMUM amount needed....I thought I read that a wolf can eat up to 20 lbs at each feeding and can feed a couple times a day.

[duckmen1]

i think some of these Seattle people should see these style pictures to see what wolves are all about.
after looking over a state survey these people seem more afraid of having coyotes around than wolves.
doesn't make since to me. they need to do a story on the news about this to spread the word of what wolves are really like. that might change some opinions.

[NWBREW]

I believe your estimates are low. The Bio-mass for wolves is around 24 elk. That means to sustain a wolf population every wolf (on avaerage) would need to consume that number per year to survive. That is one of the reasons for the dramatic elk reduction in Lolo (which was once over 16,000 elk and now below 4,000). It will not take that long to happen here.

[ghosthunter]

It is simple math Deer and elk have one calf or fawn per year maybe.

Wolves have 4-6 pups a year and can have two litters a year. And not only the Alpha breed some other females in a pack may give birth.

Some sites say they will have can have up to 11 pups.

How much they eat is all over the map from 5lbs per wolf everyday to 22.5 lbs.

[Brianshounds]

A wolf needs 11 pounds of meat every day to (sustain body weight) thats not figuring that they are getting fat.

The pack of five i was hunting killed a cow elk the night before i hunted, i found it that morning they where on it for two nights and then the same pack killed a differnt cow elk, they cleaned it up in two nights and then they killed the mule deer. thats at least 1000 pounds of meat in five nights.

[fethrduster]

i think some of these Seattle people should see these style pictures to see what wolves are all about.
after looking over a state survey these people seem more afraid of having coyotes around than wolves.
doesn't make since to me. they need to do a story on the news about this to spread the word of what wolves are really like. that might change some opinions.

You can't make blanket statements like that.  I live in Tacoma, and I know that wolves kill a lot of game, viciously.  So what, that's not exactly a newsflash.  They are part of the ecosystem and always have been.  So are we.  We need to just man up and deal with it intelligenty instead of irrationally viewing wolves as evil and trying to exterminate every one we see.   I just don't understand all the over-reaction, especially by hunters.  We should know better and keep our cool.  Sensational and stupid movies like "The Grey" don't help, either.

[buckfvr]

Where it really starts downhill fast is when you factor in calf/fawn recruitment.....

[Brianshounds]

The Grey... Finally a movie that shows how wolves truly are..  I can tell you have never spent a night out on the mountain with wolves circling you all night trying to kill your dogs or live stock as you try to sleep. I think its about time that someone makes a movie that is not a Walt Disney production.

[sebek556]

You can't make blanket statements like that.  I live in Tacoma, and I know that wolves kill a lot of game, viciously.  So what, that's not exactly a newsflash.  They are part of the ecosystem and always have been.  So are we.  We need to just man up and deal with it intelligenty instead of irrationally viewing wolves as evil and trying to exterminate every one we see.   I just don't understand all the over-reaction, especially by hunters.  We should know better and keep our cool.  Sensational and stupid movies like "The Grey" don't help, either.

Whats you problem with a movie showing wolves exactly the way wolf heaven and biologist claim they are? Only killing sick or injured prey. These guys were in a plane crash, so to me they fit that category.  and newsflash they have not always been a part of the ecosystem, they have been absent for 100 years and the ecosystem was doing just fine with out them.

[high country]

You give an elk credit for #450 of meat.....you are close on live weight, but edible tissue is closer to #200