Wednesday’s article reporting on the killing of wolves in Alaska made my blood boil.
The ostensible purpose is to decrease the killing of moose and caribou by wolves, thereby providing more game for hunters to shoot.
For 50 years there has been an on-going study of moose/wolf populations and interactions on Isle Royale in Lake Superior, the longest such study ever undertaken. It is an ideal laboratory for such a study because no hunting by humans is allowed and there are no other predators of moose on the island. (It’s a large laboratory — 405 square miles.)
The study shows conclusively that predation by wolves is a very minor factor in the level of moose populations. The prominent controlling factors are severe winters, heavy tick infestations and disease.
The wildlife biologists in Alaska must know this is true, but they have to bow to the politicians who are under the thumb of hunters and guides who believe, or say they believe, that wolves are responsible for low populations of moose and caribou.
It was interesting to see that Rolf Peterson was quoted in the article, noting that his studies on the Kenai Peninsula showed “that even if 40 percent of the wolves in a pack died over a winter, pack sizes could be rebuilt by the start of the next winter.”
He might also have been quoted mentioning that most wolves die young from starvation, disease or fighting over pack territories.
He must be rolling his eyes when he considers what is happening in Alaska. He is one of the chief researchers in the Isle Royale study.
Wolves kill moose and caribou because they have to live. Humans kill them for fun. Guess who wins out?