6 moose killed for wolves--Isle Royale
Moose
Not sure how many knew this but thought I'd share. My jaw dropped when I read this. Makes it clear they dont want hunters to do the work. Unless it's for feeding the wolves. SMH
What in the world is up with this dumb obsession with wolves? Transplanting them again. What a genius idea.
Isle Royal is a National Park; human hunting within the parks is never gonna happen, so predators are required to protect the landscape.
And predators OUTSIDE of the parks need to be managed responsibly.
We just need to hold our ground where we have rights and play nice with other stakeholders where it is in the best interests of the resources. People who want to hear wolves howl have as much right to their enjoyment as those who want to trash-talk a bull, but neither party has any right to be able to do that without getting more than 50 yards off of a paved road.
They should have snared the wolves for transplant. :-)
Isle Royale was supposed to be an experiment in predator/ prey cohabitation, without human manipulation. Guess that didn't work out too well...proves that nature can't be left to its own devices.
This whole thing is ridiculous.
As Jeff said X2..... left "on an island" nature can tip off the edge very easy without proper management, "Mother Nature" (you do know there's no such thing, right?) really doesn't care one way or the other..... and many if not most areas in the US are essentially "islands" as well, like it or not.....
I have end-to-end hiked Isle Royale 3 times; I was there during the tragedy of Sept. 11th. What has been happening there over the past few years with this reintroduction "idea" has been frustrating to read about. After seeing the above article, I just shake my head. Total farse.
X3 Jeff. Balance only happens with gymnasts. The so called balance swings like a pendulum. A fella I know worked his entire career in game management. He has said time and again that “ALL predators have to be managed”. We humans are part of this so called nature whether some of these enviro Nazis want to admit it or not.
Moose are overpopulated on the island. Wolves should help. On the other hand, it would be a good place to have a moose hunt.
Total waste of out tax dollars. The previous studies are fairly conclusive. Stupid to spend money to bring wolves back to the island where they basically can not naturally maintain their population. It will lead to another boom-bust cycle with the same results I’ve about the same timeframe unless the wolve population gets to the point where they kill all the moose and die. Then no moose or wolves.
Why is it that the same people who are outraged and horrified by me killing and eating an animal are full of fascinated admiration for a wolf doing the same thing?!?!
Why not use the island as a breeding ground for moose transplants?
If it didn't work the first time why do they think it will work this time. Its too small of a island to support a healthy wolf pack no matter how many moose they have. And its our hunting license dollars not our tax dollars.
"Why not use the island as a breeding ground for moose transplants?"
I like that idea. I'd much rather transplant these moose for places that want to start populating a area or to boost numbers elsewhere.
The island is 571,790 acres so it's big enough for some wolves. The problem is that of genetic variability. They'll end up bringing out a few wolves every year to keep the inbreeding in check.
John Q Public want some wolves out there, not human hunters. It's just a fact.
It was in our local news here in Dryden. They are / were relocated from NW Ontario. Once moose are gone from the island they will go to main land. Heard about this a month ago.
didn't biologist just say the Isle Royal isn't big enough to support a wolf pack
I always thought wolves were pretty good hunters themselves, why would they have to shoot moose for them to eat? Am I missing something?
This is what happens when the GREENS use junk science to promote there agenda.
The study has run it's course a long time ago. It has now reached the point of a conclusion looking for a new experiment. It should be time to sue the NPS, USFW and any other govt dept involved in this waste of taxpayer dollars.
Ambush, it's the same people who condone abortion as birth control. Animal lives are more precious than human lives to them. You can't think like these assholes, only react.
That island is a mess and has been for many years.
Does anyone know for sure where these wolves were relocated from? If truly from NW Ontario, it seems odd that the U.S. got wolves from Canada when there are plenty available right here in the lower 48.
I wouldn't mind if they took half of the wolves is Wisconsin and put them there!
Those wolves must be Democrats, they can’t fend for themselves.....have to rely on the government to feed them!
The only good thing here is some park agent had a good time killing an 8 year old bull moose. Wonder if he/she took trophy photos?
"Those wolves must be Democrats, they can’t fend for themselves.....have to rely on the government to feed them!"
X2
Exactly what I was gonna say, they can kill their own animals? What the hey? If they can't feed themselves, they should starve. Survival of the fittest. This country is turning its wildlife resources into a ZOO!!!
"Moose are overpopulated on the island." Not for long now...
Wrong=yes , but nothing New by any measure...
I need to correct my post above...
The park has 571,000 acres but the island itself is only 134,000 acres. Sorry about the bad info.
"Why is it that the same people who are outraged and horrified by me killing and eating an animal are full of fascinated admiration for a wolf doing the same thing?!?!"
Seriously???
Because you aim to slip a scalpel-share blade through the vitals of an unsuspecting animal that will be down and out in under a minute, while Wolves do it the Hard Way - by running a panicked animal to exhaustion, dragging it down by the hamstrings and starting to feed from the bung-hole forward as soon as the hind legs are too weakened to strike a crippling blow.
If you're looking for a rational answer, you're crazier than they are ignorant.
WRT range size....
USFWS website says wolf packs normally have a range of 50-100 square miles; 134,000 acres is 210 mi sq, so the island itself should be more than capable of sustaining a pack or two, or maybe as many as 4.
(https://www.fws.gov/midwest/wolf/aboutwolves/biologue.htm )
And also interesting, a study in Ontario debunks the notion that packs moderate their size to what the territory can sustain, instead expanding their range to encompass enough territory to meet their energy requirements.
(https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1365-2656.12366 )
MN - that’s walking distance for wolves. I’ve paddled that in a kayak and it hardly took all day.
Our local news ( CKDR NEWS Dryden), Oct 31, says that the wolves are to be airlifted by helicopter from Thunder Bay area to manage the moose population on Iles Royale. Will be a 2 hour flight or 50 KMs to the island. Michigan asked the Minister Of Natural Resources Jeff Yurek for the wolves... Jeff will be happy to fulfill Michigans request!! I guess they picked Ontario to supply the wolves as they are not protected here as they are in Most states.
The news source says here that the wolves were still to be airlifted in as of Oct 31....so you are correct Pig Doc!! Ontario wolves are still to be delivered. I read it wrong.
How could they have come from MN, I thought a federal judge said they were protected there due to lack of numbers? Is there a double standard here, or is this just evidence that not delisting had some other ulterior motive? Surely they wouldn't take wolves from an area struggling to restore its numbers back to historic levels.
Why wouldn't they just have a hunting season to manage the moose population? This could raise money to put back into and help the environment.
This is a wolf issue. Common sense has no place in this discussion. :^)
Let's bring back the sabre tooth tiger so we can have some real predators out there.
How about screw re-inventing the wolf study that has already been done and let hunters keep the moose in check!
Shooting moose for a wolf pack? What's the world coming to? I'm surprised they don't do a gofundme page and ship in some Yellow Stone elk too. Nothing but the best for the poor wolves.
I would rather see Michigan give Ontario those moose in trade for a bunch of Ontario wolves. Sounds fair to me!!
The estimated cost for the wolf transplant is $660,000. That's $22,000 per wolf!
Like I said...we're so screwed! People starving and we spend $22k/wolfie. What's the world coming to??
