MYTH: Wolves are "vicious killing machines" with no purpose.
REALITY: Like any top predator, wolves play an enormously important role in their ecosystems.
DETAILS: Wolves play a key role in their ecosystem by culling weak and old elk and deer (Smith, Peterson and Houston 2003) and reducing the long-term concentration of elk herds on sensitive meadows and wetlands (Ripple and Beshta 2004). In what is known as the cascade effect, the presence of wolves affects a multitude of species within the ecosystem. Elk, wary of the new top predator, have altered their grazing behaviour. With less grazing pressure from elk, streambed vegetation such as willow and aspen are regenerating after decades of over-browsing. As the trees are restored, they create better habitat for native birds and fish, beaver and other species. In addition, wolves have reduced the Park's coyote population by as much as 50 percent in some areas, which led to increased populations of pronghorn antelope and red fox (Crabtree and Sheldon 1999). In short, wolves play an important role in nature and their presence enhances native biodiversity and healthy ecosystems. Source: Smith, D.W., R.O. Petersen, and D.B. Houston. 2003. Yellowstone after Wolves. Bioscience 53 (4): 330 340. Ripple, W.J., and R.L. Beschta. 2004. Wolves, elk, willows, and trophic cascades in the upper Gallatin range of southwestern Montana, USA. Forest Ecology and Management 200: 161181. Crabtree R.L., and J.W. Sheldon. 1999. Coyotes and canid coexistence. Pp 127163 in Clark TW, Curlee AP, Minta SC, Kareiva PM, eds. Carnivores in Ecosystems: The Yellowstone Experience. New Haven (CT): Yale University Press.
MYTH: Wolves devastate elk herds leaving hunters with fewer elk to kill.
REALITY: Elk and deer populations have been relatively unaffected by wolves.
DETAILS: Wolves prey upon deer and elk as do other predators, but what has been the impact to our game herds? Despite rumors that wolves are depleting elk and deer for game hunting, data from Idaho Department of Fish and Game shows that as the wolf population has steadily increased since 2003, so has the hunter harvest success rate. According to IDFG statistics, hunter harvest numbers for elk go up and down from year to year, but the overall success rate has remained relatively consistent since before wolves were reintroduced. For example, data shows that in 2005, the most recent year we have statistics for, hunter harvest numbers are higher than they were in 1993, two years before the wolves were ever reintroduced. Most importantly, IDFG statistics verify that elk and deer populations are at ecologically sustainable numbers, and wolves account for less than 10 percent of all elk and deer deaths in Idaho. Source: Idaho Fish and Game PDF File.
"At the time wolves were released into Idaho, the elk herd in the Salmon Region numbered approximately 28,000 animals. The current estimate gained by aerial surveys and hunter harvest information is approximately 25,000. While this estimate is lower, it is important to note several facts: the estimate still exceeds the Elk Plan objective by about 1,000 animals; all elk zones in the Region have generally been meeting plan objectives; and some high population units have deliberately been reduced through cow harvest to reach objectives. In addition, data gathered from a new radio collaring study initiated in 2005 shows 85 percent deer survival and 82 percent elk survival in the Salmon Region and Units 50 and 60A in the Upper Snake Region. Biologists consider 80 percent doe survival and 85 percent cow elk survival normal and sustainable. Elk mortality factors included hunter harvest (52 percent), mountain lions (30 percent), wolves (7 percent), malnutrition (7percent), and unknown predation (4percent). Deer mortality resulted from lions (32 percent), hunter harvest (18 percent), accidents (14 percent), unknown causes (14 percent), wolves (9 percent), roadkill (9 percent), and malnutrition (4 percent). In addition, deer numbers are limited in the region by habitat condition and weather both of which can significantly impact deer populations." Source: Lukens, Jim. "Idaho, eleven years with wolves what we've learned." News release, Idaho Department of Fish and Game, April 25, 2006.
Researchers have documented that wolves tend to prey on the most vulnerable elk and deer, which includes weak, diseased, injured, very young calves (that appears to be largely compensatory as overall elk calf survival has remained steady), and older adult cow elk that are beyond their reproductive prime. Hunters, on the other hand, tend to kill prime reproductive age elk when harvest includes adult cow elk.
Source: Wright, Peterson, Smith and Lemke. August 2006. The Journal of Wildlife Management 70 (4).
