There is probably no greater comeback story in American animal conservation than the thriving population of wolves in the United States. Wolves were among the first species added to the list of endangered species, starting with the red wolf (Canis rufus) and subspecies of the gray wolf (Canis lupus) in 1967 and 1973 under precursors to the ESA – the Endangered Species Preservation Act of 1966 and the Endangered Species Act of 1969.
Wolves were once found across the northern hemisphere of the planet, including most of North America. When Europeans began to colonize America in the 1600s, wolves could be found in each of what are now the lower 48 states. As human populations grew so did fears of wolves and other predators and the perceived risks they posed to personal safety, livestock, pets, and game species. Extensive predator control programs, magnified using bounties, trapping, poisoning, and combined with habitat degradation and a declining prey base, the complete destruction of the population of wolves from most of the lower 48 states early in the 20th century, with only a few hundred remaining.
In recent years the Gray wolf population is thriving in Washington state, Oregon, California, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Alaska. Individual dispersing wolves have also been documented in Utah, Colorado, North Dakota, Iowa, South Dakota, Missouri, Indiana, Illinois, Maine, Kentucky, Nebraska, and New York. In recent years, the Wolf was delisted from the Endangered Species Act (ESA). This served as a huge win for The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Wolves are recovered, according to biological standards, with a population of at least 6,100 in many areas of the contiguous 48 U.S. where there is enough wild prey, good habitat, and minimum road- and human-density. Their population has been stable or increasing for several years and is contiguous with the Canadian population of about 60,000 and Alaska’s 8,000-10,000.
Pros vs. Cons
Pro: Huge win for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and all the hard work by biologist that used years and years of research and observing wolf population and its growth.
Con: With Wolves being an apex predator and not having any real threat wolves are wreaking havoc on cattle, deer, sheep, and elk. Wolves average about 3 lbs. of meat per day. With reproducing wolves needing about 3 times that. In Minnesota, for example, each wolf eats an average of 15-20 adult-sized deer or their equivalent per year to meet their nutritional requirements. Based on this average, and the estimate of 2,400 wolves in Minnesota, wolves kill the equivalent of about 36,000 to 48,000 adult-sized deer per year. In comparison, Minnesota hunters take around 52,500 deer per year in wolf range.
Over a year, an average wolf will kill — mostly with other pack members — and consume 16 to 22 elk a year, Yellowstone wolves may kill up to 2,156 elk in the park each year and as many as 11,600 in the Greater Yellowstone region, figures derived from 20 years of wolf study in the park indicate. For the past 12 years, elk numbers in the park's largest herd have leveled off between about 6,000 and 8,000, instead of extreme boom-and-bust cycles due to climate fluctuations. This is about half of what the herd was 10 years ago.
Solution: With any predator whether its roaming free or reintroduced certain management must be put in place to control a healthy population so that they do not kill off certain prey and make a negative impact on the ecosystem. By abiding by game laws and federal guidelines some states have opened trapping and hunting for wolves in the United States. These numbers are set by state and federal officials that monitor the population.
At Loomacres Wildlife Management we are on top of all state and federal regulations and can apply for the appropriate required permit for trapping and depredating nuisance wolves. Our staff of seasoned wildlife biologist are more than qualified to help solve your problem.
Ethical: We set the standard for ethics used in the Wildlife Management industry. We constantly review and update our practices to make sure we are holding ourselves to the highest standards in all things Wildlife Management covers.
Professionalism: Our staff has the experience and credentials to exceed the industry standards. Loomacres Wildlife Management efficiently serves our clients with safe, humane, and innovative solutions that work.
Reliable: Conditions in the Wildlife Management industry are constantly changing. Loomacres prides itself on being able to not only react to unforeseen situations but being able to adapt and overcome whatever is thrown our way. It is imperative that Loomacres Wildlife Management remains flexible, proactive as well as reactive in an industry that can be unpredictable.
Wolves were once found across the northern hemisphere of the planet, including most of North America. When Europeans began to colonize America in the 1600s, wolves could be found in each of what are now the lower 48 states. As human populations grew so did fears of wolves and other predators and the perceived risks they posed to personal safety, livestock, pets, and game species. Extensive predator control programs, magnified using bounties, trapping, poisoning, and combined with habitat degradation and a declining prey base, the complete destruction of the population of wolves from most of the lower 48 states early in the 20th century, with only a few hundred remaining.
In recent years the Gray wolf population is thriving in Washington state, Oregon, California, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Alaska. Individual dispersing wolves have also been documented in Utah, Colorado, North Dakota, Iowa, South Dakota, Missouri, Indiana, Illinois, Maine, Kentucky, Nebraska, and New York. In recent years, the Wolf was delisted from the Endangered Species Act (ESA). This served as a huge win for The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Wolves are recovered, according to biological standards, with a population of at least 6,100 in many areas of the contiguous 48 U.S. where there is enough wild prey, good habitat, and minimum road- and human-density. Their population has been stable or increasing for several years and is contiguous with the Canadian population of about 60,000 and Alaska’s 8,000-10,000.
Pros vs. Cons
Pro: Huge win for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and all the hard work by biologist that used years and years of research and observing wolf population and its growth.
Con: With Wolves being an apex predator and not having any real threat wolves are wreaking havoc on cattle, deer, sheep, and elk. Wolves average about 3 lbs. of meat per day. With reproducing wolves needing about 3 times that. In Minnesota, for example, each wolf eats an average of 15-20 adult-sized deer or their equivalent per year to meet their nutritional requirements. Based on this average, and the estimate of 2,400 wolves in Minnesota, wolves kill the equivalent of about 36,000 to 48,000 adult-sized deer per year. In comparison, Minnesota hunters take around 52,500 deer per year in wolf range.
Over a year, an average wolf will kill — mostly with other pack members — and consume 16 to 22 elk a year, Yellowstone wolves may kill up to 2,156 elk in the park each year and as many as 11,600 in the Greater Yellowstone region, figures derived from 20 years of wolf study in the park indicate. For the past 12 years, elk numbers in the park's largest herd have leveled off between about 6,000 and 8,000, instead of extreme boom-and-bust cycles due to climate fluctuations. This is about half of what the herd was 10 years ago.
Solution: With any predator whether its roaming free or reintroduced certain management must be put in place to control a healthy population so that they do not kill off certain prey and make a negative impact on the ecosystem. By abiding by game laws and federal guidelines some states have opened trapping and hunting for wolves in the United States. These numbers are set by state and federal officials that monitor the population.
At Loomacres Wildlife Management we are on top of all state and federal regulations and can apply for the appropriate required permit for trapping and depredating nuisance wolves. Our staff of seasoned wildlife biologist are more than qualified to help solve your problem.
Ethical: We set the standard for ethics used in the Wildlife Management industry. We constantly review and update our practices to make sure we are holding ourselves to the highest standards in all things Wildlife Management covers.
Professionalism: Our staff has the experience and credentials to exceed the industry standards. Loomacres Wildlife Management efficiently serves our clients with safe, humane, and innovative solutions that work.
Reliable: Conditions in the Wildlife Management industry are constantly changing. Loomacres prides itself on being able to not only react to unforeseen situations but being able to adapt and overcome whatever is thrown our way. It is imperative that Loomacres Wildlife Management remains flexible, proactive as well as reactive in an industry that can be unpredictable.
