June 14, Pennywise – Trail, Beaver Valley, Rossland

The Big Bad Wolf: How Big and How Bad? Written by Ken Sumanik
How big? As big as a big German Sheppard
dog, although males can exceed 100 pounds
(45.5 kilos) but they are generally about 70 or
80 pounds (31.2 to 36.3 kilos), How bad? Their
evil is legendary, based on historical accounts
of killing humans, and ravaging their livestock,
and therefore reason enough to use whatever
means to cull them. Wolves and Brown bears
were eradicated centuries ago in the British
Isles and other western Old-World countries.
The absence of both species enabled livestock
and deer production that continues to this day
in the British Isles. However, European Union
member countries have to comply with an
obligation in 1995 to reinstate their wolf and
bear populations. Ecosystem restoration to
maintain biodiversity was the rationale for this
change in game management policy that is
failing to achieve expectations. Wolves have
dispersed across Europe preying on livestock,
wild ungulates and even family pets, but more
ominously are hybridizing which is sure to result
in a different wolf.
Wolves were eradicated by the mid 1950s in the
New World, USA except for Alaska and most of
Canada. A reversal began when wolves were
legally protected in the USA by the Endangered
Species Act (ESA) in1973. The results are equally
devastating on people whose livelihoods are
dependent on wild and domestic ungulates.
Ecosystem restoration to maintain biodiversity
was the same rationale used by the USF&WS
in 1995 to transplant Canadian wolves into Yellowstone
National Park (YNP) that subsequently
decimated ungulate populations, particularly
and elk. Wolves dispersed beyond the park
boundary onto private lands to prey on livestock
and game animals, mainly elk, deer and
moose impacting the livelihoods of ranchers,
farmers and outfitters.
That it has taken four decades to realize the
profoundly negative impact of wolf predation
based on centuries of experience is astounding.
The following are examples of where deer and
moose abundance is maintained in an absence
of wolves, by effective management of black
bears and coyotes that are the only predators.
Anticosti Island , Quebec
The island is a very sparsely inhabited situated in
the Gulf of St. Lawrence. It is about 7,892 square
kms or 3047 Services square miles that is physiographically
similar to the rest of the region. Indigenous
wildlife were eradicated by 1890 but upon acquisition
in 1895 by Henri Menier, a keen hunter
who stocked it with 220 white-tailed deer. Presently
there are approximately 120,000, whitetails,
20 per sq. Km, down from a high about
160,000, and 1000 moose. Hunting is managed
by Sépaq, a Quebec government agency.
Newfoundland (Island)
The island was a British Colony until 1949 when
it joined the Canadian Confederation. It is
108,860 sq. Kms, typically boreal forest with a
human population of about 550,000. Its moose
population of about 110,000 animals is estimated
at 1.1 per sq. Km, down from a previous high
of about 140,000, thirty years ago. Moose were
introduced to the island in the early 1900s, from
a source in New Brunswick to establish guided
hunting as an industry that succeeded but also
became a significant sustenance resource. The
government boasts, “A license for every two
moose”! Approximately 70,000 licenses are sold,
and 19,000 moose harvested annually. Heavy
browsing by moose has impacted the forests
in Gros Morne and Bonavista National Parks so
forest restoration is being done by reducing
their numbers in both parks. A woodland caribou
population of approximately 16,000 is also
hunted. Black bears exist and prey on caribou
and moose but the threat to both species is
reduced as bears are also hunted. Wolves don’t
exist on the island but a fear of them crossing a
possible frozen Strait of Belle Isle from Labrador
to the island is a concern.
Cape Breton Island (CBI, Nova Scotia)
The island is 10,311 sq. Kms situated at the
northeastern tip of Nova Scotia. It is connected
to the province by a causeway that crosses
the Canso Strait. Indigenous wolf and moose
populations were eradicated in the late 1890s.
An introduction of 18 moose from Elk Island National
Park, Alberta in 1947- 48 established a viable
population. A spruce budworm infestation
during the 1970s was beneficial to the moose
population, and as predation was minimal, it increased
to approximately 5000 animals by 2010.
Over browsing the forest of Cape Breton Island
National Park (CBINP) required reducing moose
numbers, as in NL National Parks. A moose
population survey by Parks Canada in 2015
recorded 1800 animals, approximately two per
sq. Km. A repeat survey in 2019 recorded only
481 animals. 2019. The survey data confirms that
a serious decrease in the CBI moose population
has occurred over the five year period.
Summary
Residents of these three widely separated
islands in Eastern Canada continue to benefit
from abundant moose
and deer populations, the
result of introductions
attempted during the
early Services 1900s. Their purpose
was to produce game
populations as a source of
sustenance and revenue.
The species adapted and
thrived. Foxes, black bears
and coyotes also exist on
several of the islands and
are not considered serious
threats to ungulate survival
for they are also hunted
and trapped. Hunting
is the primary source of
Services
ungulate mortality, regulated
by governments
intent on maintaining
high levels of game production expected of a
discerning hunting public, density independent
factors notwithstanding. Should game
populations decline to unsatisfactory levels,
governments and their regulators will be held
to account, not foxes, coyotes and black bears.
The remarkable success of the deer and moose
introductions to these islands coincident with
an absence of wolves, has exceed expectations.
Habitat was not a limiting factor.
Impacts of Wolf Predation on Prey and People
Wolves were eradicated from the US lower forty-eight
by 1955 to enable livestock and game
production to sustain our unique western way
of life. The impact of the other major predators,
cougars, grizzly and black bears and coyotes
was managed by a combination of regulated
hunting, trapping and bounties as required
to produce abundant game populations as a
source of food, and to maintain our hunting
heritage. The use of fur, fish and game species
in perpetuity required controlling predators
for that purpose. This NAGM model was used
successfully for five decades but is seriously
threatened as human needs are increasingly
subordinated to ecosystem related interests.
State game managers had to comply with the
wolf protection policy under the ESA. This was
a serious impediment to game management
practices that resulted in severe decimations
caused by wolf predation. Provincial agencies
accommodated similar wolf predation policy
constraints that resulted in significant decreases
in moose, elk and deer populations, and the
near demise of caribou populations nationwide,
except for NL (Island).
Efforts to restore game populations are just
beginning in several States where wolves have
been delisted; ID, MT, WY and WI. Recently the
Government of Idaho proclaimed a cull of 90
per cent of the wolves based on factual information
of severe wolf predation. The following
link records Idaho elk population collapse that
compares with elk in the East Kootenay in BC
and adjoining US States. (see link #1)
Services
Link 1: https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=eqpr0xoTp9E
Similarly, Montana and Wyoming state governments
recently committed to reducing their
wolf populations. (See link #2 as Montana steps
up)
Link #2: https://www.boisestatepublicradio.
org/post/montana-governor-given-written-warning-after-trapping-killing-yellowstone-wolf#stream/0
Wolves are hunted and trapped in BC, but
recently subjected to culling by government in
specific areas under a Primary Predator Reduction
Program as a woodland caribou population
recovery measure. Objectors to the culling were
anticipated. (See link #3)
Link #3: https://www.nationalobserver.
com/2021/05/03/news/bc-kills-237-wolveswhile-court-case-pending
The North West Territory government is also
considering a wolf cull program to restore caribou
populations.
Wolves are also a major factor in the drastic decrease
in BC moose populations that was finally
acknowledged by the government. Recommendations
for restoration were provided by a
consultant on July 5, 2016. (See link #4)
Link #4: www.env.gov.bc.ca/fw/wildlife/management-issues/docs/Restoring-and-Enhancing-Moose-Populations-in-BC-July-8-2016.pdf
Deteriorations of the NAGM model are available
on government and hunter-maintained websites,
as reports and commentaries. (See link #5)
Link #5: https://idahoforwildlife.com/files/pdf/
georgeDovel/The%20Outdoorsman%20No%20
30%20Aug-Sept%202008%20The%20Truth%20
about%20Our%20Wildlife%20Managers.pdf
Ponderations?
Can a wolf be bad…or good? This is a rhetorical
question because a wolf cannot be held to
any moral standard for pursuing and killing its
prey. The logical answer must be, neither good
nor bad, even if the prey is a human. However,
outcomes of wolf behaviors that are harmful to
humans must be addressed empirically.
Services
Submitted by Carmen C. Purdy
President KWHF
Director Emeritus The Nature Trust
Past President the BC Wildlife Federation
Past Chair the BC Conservation Foundation
Founding director The Habitat Conservation Fund
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