Northernlightswolf’s Weblog

This March, National Geographic printed their latest magazine. The cover shows a proud wolf howling into a light snowfall. The title reads, in big bold letters, “Wolf Wars.” The article never choses a side but makes compelling arguments for both the pros and cons. But what they failed to bring to light was the plight that Canadian wolves are facing. National Geographic chose to focus on how hunters and farmers feel as well as the important role that wolves play in the ecosystem, using Yellowstone National Park as an example. But what about the conservationists? You would think that they would all be happy, but some people still believe the wolf is the main cause in the decline of Mountain Caribou. Biologists, hired by the government, are claiming that wolves are killing the Mountain Caribou before they have a chance to grow to a healthy and sustainable population and humans have no direct link to their decline. With this information, the British Columbia government is proposing that they destroy two wolf packs in the name of the Caribou in the Monishee area of the Columbia Mountain range. But will this help or hinder Mother Nature in the long term? Lets look at the evidence.

As it stands at the present time, wolves are being blamed for the drop in population, but here is the truth. The human race is making it far to easy for wolves to pray on the caribou. It is true that wolves hunt these highly endangered animals, but for a countless number of years those large antler bearing creatures have learned to hide or avoid wolf encounters all together. Caribou depend on old-growth forests for food as well as to avoid predators. One predator avoidance strategy requires living in the deep interior of the forest. In the winter months the snow is often too deep for predators, especially at higher elevations, but caribou use their large hooves to travel in areas where wolves would have a very difficult time keeping up. It is here, deep in the forest, where caribou are safest and have the greatest opportunity to repopulate. However, mankind has once again interfered with natures master plan. After disrupting the natural habitat of the Mountain Caribou, the following could and most frequently does happen:

1. Tree lichen, their primary food source found in old-growth forests, grows extremely slow and will be lost when cut blocks are made.
2. Herds become fragmented so individuals cannot get back and forth to breed. Caribou will not move into open areas because it exposes them to predation and they are very vulnerable without cover to hide in.
3. Shrubs and small plants begin to grow after an area is clear-cut or burned. This is known as early seral growth, witch attracts moose, elk, and deer. Predators follow these other animals into the area and feed on all the ungulates, including caribou.
4. Wolves do not hunt on caribou frequently. The caribou tend to spend most of their time at higher altitudes where a traveling wolf would have extreme difficulties tracking, catching, and killing caribou in the very deep snow. With the help of local snowmobilers, wolves are able to move easily along the packed down snow that once kept them away from the endangered caribou.

But wolves are not entirely to blame. For the most part they do not even take part in the declining numbers. For thousands of years, traveling animals, like the caribou, have learned about the well-worn migration routes from the generations before them. But what happens when those ancient pathways meet modern human development? Many of these migration routes have now been blocked by fences, subdivisions and highways. Scientists are concerned that the animals, confronted by such blockages, will not seek alternative routes but will, instead, stop migrating. This issue, known as the pooling effect, will in turn cause overgrazing and eventually may lead to the disappearance of these beloved creatures.

So here is the truth. We have a greater connection to the decline of the Mountain Caribou then wolves do. It is true that wolves do prey on the caribou, but the numbers taken down by the feared wolf pack are far less then the number of caribou indirectly killed by human involvement. So really the “Wolf Wars” are wars against ourselves. Culling wolf populations are actually hurting the wildlife in the long run. Looking back at Yellowstone’s example, we need wolves to keep the greater picture intact. Without ‘the big bad wolf’ we run the risk of losing all wildlife instead of the believed one or two. Until we can change ourselves, all of our actions are contradictory. We are a race of resource consumers. When we stop relying on old-growth forests for paper and oil for power we can finally leave nature to itself. When we become self sustainable, as nature intended, we can coexist with our so-called enemy. Maybe we need to take a lesson from Mother Nature instead of stomping it into the ground. (Is saving the Caribou even Necessary? Does Mother Nature intend to wipe out the Caribou herself? What would the forest be like without the Caribou? Does the forest really need another ungulate species? Were they meant to go extinct just like the dinosaur or the Dodo?)