Aerial killing of wolves in Alaska/Alaskan comment - Page 3

I know first hand that wolves can have NO FEAR.  I'm a native Montanan, in early childhood lived on a ranch in the mid seventies.  And yes, there were wolves even then that would occasionally encroach the property.  My father is a hunting outfitter in what once was prime elk hunting country outside of Yellowstone, and with him I have seen first hand the wolves take one newborn elk calf after another, decimating the herds and not simply taking "only what they eat".  The mountain lion presents similar problems in states where it is protected, and has no fear of humans, and attack incidences are much higher in those particular states.  Mountain lions will never have the strength in numbers and control the vast territories that wolves will.  A predator who is prey to none and multiplies as successfully  as wolves NEEDS management.

omg! Im such a tard! i swear i knew that, dont know why i was thinking he meant african lions..............i guess im just use to hearing them called cougars........

Sounds like the morons in charge are the problem. Shoot from the air but don't shoot if they are on your property harassing your animals. You can shoot your neighbors loose dog but not a wolf? Makes real sense! Managing the wolves that hang too close to civilization might help more than shooting the ones in the middle of nowhere.

4pack , exactly. I am really not for that arial shooting as I said, it made me sick. Kind of chicken sh_t, if you ask me, but Alaska is vast so maybe no other way... I think there should be another way. If the shot was a definate kill and quick, but I don't think thats the case.The original wolves that were "introduced" to our area wore/wear radio collars that are monitored. They can tell if one is not moving it is dead and will follow up on it.

Its why uglydog said the 3 s's shoot, shovel, shut up, are what works best. I think they belong out there but when they start pushing the envelope we need to push back some. It is stupid to not be able to protect yourself. And yes there are lion and bear behind my home but they don't bother me in the least with a few dogs they would (bear have) run. Lion are wiley you rarely see them.

I had the opportunity to see a wolf this spring that was killed on I-90 about 5 miles from my home. Hubby works for DOT so he called me when they picked it up in case I wanted to see her, the game warden was coming to get the body. I didn't see a radio collar on her. She was a beautiful animal. Huge. Really,really thick bone, paws/pads, and skull. Her coat also was super thick coming out of winter. Rigormortis (sp) had set in somewhat as her legs were stiff but I measured her and tried to adjust for that. She was 31" at the shoulder.

any documentary i've seen or study i've read has shown that the reintroduction of wolves into yellowstone or elsewhere has resulted in herds (deer or elk) being thinned. often, the herds had gotten too large for their territories and disease and/or starvation became common. coyotes would become the top predators instead of wolves. its a whole chain thats all intertwined. the wolves take the old, sick and sometimes the young; the most vulnerable. this is to the benefit of the herd. man takes the biggest and the best - this is to the detriment of the herd. every sport animal or fish that i've read about is substantially smaller than they were 40 and more years ago because man takes the best genetic material out of the breeding stock. as usual we are the greater threat to wolves (etc) and not the other way around. that being said, if i were threatened, i'd do what i could to survive - we're animals too and its instinctual. anyway, everything i've ever seen or heard about wolves being reintroduced has been to the benefit of the environment as a working whole. nature isn't static and if any one group gets too large, it will be reduced one way or another (predation, starvation, disease). living close to wildlife is gonna be dangerous at times. thats the price anyone pays to live in their idea of paradise. animals dont have the choices we have; learn to live with them or find a "safer" place. i live in a southern cal suburb and we have coyotes, skunks, racoons, possums, rabbits (mostly cottentail), mule deer, bobcats, supposedly mountain lions, foxes, etc. in the foothills, people have black bear and mountain lions; if you dont like them, move somewhere else. i'd certainly do what i could to survive or protect myself, my family (including my dogs) or other people, but lets face it, we take their "food" away, they've got to switch to something else. i think aerial "hunting" is absolute cowardice, much like the "manly" men who shoot drugged ancient tigers or lions sitting in a crate on a "hunting ranch". no guts, no style and no heart.

Wolves dont just take the old, sick, young. They can & do take healthy animals all of the time from Moose to bison to elk. Packs can get as large as 20, thats alot of prey to consume. 

Elk numbers in Yellowstone arent just thinned, they are low.   From a high of 30,000, and averaging about 20,000 but  now down to about 8,000.   Getting lower every year, and as it does...sheep, cattle, dogs etc will become the prey.

Elk in Yellowstone made a comeback,but not so much as to be detrimental-there were stil predators-bears. cougars, coyotes.

As a human, ill be damned if I move because of an animal reintroduction. 

Angus mom-Hunters often manage the game-deer gun season in Every state is AFTER the Rut, or mating season.  This is true for most species. Game management is paramount to every state DNR.

Loss of habitat is the chief reason for a population decline, NOT Hunting.

f you propose a Better way to manage the State of Alaska's Wolf Population, rather than aerial hunting, Im sure the DNR would love to hear from you. Its Not a Sporting Hunt, but a CULLING hunt.

Humans are Not an invasive species.

We, according to the bible, have Dominion over the animals.

Ugly, the christian bible is not a manual for the natural world. It is a text written by men to benefit men. It's the height of human arrogance for us to assume that the Natural world needs us to contain, control or otherwise manipulate it., just another version of "Manifest Destiny".

Human's are an invasive species, and they really serve no natural purpose on this planet. They consume without restraint, over populate without constraint, they kill without restraint and they flood the world with their waste, without restraint, these are all the characteristics of an invasive species...or a virus.

i didn't say pop decline was due to human hunting. i said man takes the best (trophy) resulting in loss of best genetic material for the herd. stags are smaller, just as game fish as smaller in general than in years before.  the aerial hunts i've seen have not been for "culling"; they were "sport". if they're calling them "culling hunts" now, its sounds like an attempt at pr. ugly, you're probably damned anyway, but if you dont want to move, don't, just don't cry cuz they ate fluffy. as i said, i'd do what i needed to protect myself, etc, but i sure wouldn't go up in a chopper and shoot animals for fun and call it "culling".