Yet our ancestors did their very best to eradicate them. Perhaps they knew something we have forgotten?
......and our ancestors tried to eradicate the native American population too. What did they know and we forgot about that? They also introduced numerous invasive species to "enhance" their hunting experience and we have been paying for it ever since. It was not that they knew anything better than we do now, just the opposite. They knew nothing of game management, ecosystems or ecology. At least some of us do now.
After the wolf was gone, "sport hunters" replaced them. Now we are learning there's no room for both .
Of course there is room for both. There was sport hunting long before the wolves were gone and so called sport hunting has made many more species extinct in the world than wolves. It's the selfish greed of sport hunters that make for so called "no room". Hunters need to get real, need to get informed and need to understand they are not the only ones that enjoy and support the outdoors. We hunters have to realize we are a minority in most of the lower 48 and need to share the outdoor experience with folks that understand the environment.
Anyone who actually knows wolves, and has lived with them know that wolves will wipe out deer and elk populations, and then move on to a new area. They don't find a balance and stop killing and eating. They don't "balance" anything. Being able to hunt them will help, but really reintroduction was an insane idea. It was also shrouded in lies and misinformation, and secrecy. Why? I'm just wondering how the game departments will be funded when most people don't bother to buy the very expensive hunting licenses, due to lack of game. ? They certainly can't tax the wolves. Why would/do we give our game and wildlife management over to one species? If I were into conspiracy I might think there's a anti-hunting agenda being played out, but alas, I shall not go there!
I have lived with wolves from before they were ever reintroduced out west. They never were reintroduced here in the Midwest, they repopulated themselves. Still, in my state of Wisconsin, while many unsuccessful deer hunters want to blame the wolves for their failure, we have too many deer per square mile for the habitat to support. Supposedly, that's why our game managers introduced deer ticks and CWD to our deer herd.
Yep, more ridiculous tin foil hat conspiracy theories.
As I said before, wolf populations need to be controlled. To protect their prey species from over depredation, and to reduce negative wolf/human interactions. The easiest way to do this is by hunting them. Hunting them instills a fear of man that makes them more remote from normal human habitation. But the same goes for deer. Ain't no one starving in the lower 48 that can afford a deer rifle and all the other expense that goes with it. The whole idea of hunting large game is for the sport, not out of sustenance. Yet many "sport" hunters seem to not want a challenge in the sport, they just want to kill something, quickly and easily. Kinda why baiting, long range weapons and high fences have become so popular. Funny how folks that want deer and other large game in artificially inflated numbers so they can shoot one easily, can't seem to get over a wolf having one once in a while. Maybe they need to take a lesson from the wolves and learn to hunt.
