Wolves
Wolves
are an integral part of a functioning ecosystem. Society's impacts
on these top predators and
conservation
programs are highly controversial.
Wolves are seen as fascinating and unique members of
our
wildlife heritage and symbols
of wilderness. Wolves are also seen as competitors with human
interests
in
the areas of predation on other wildlife
species and domestic livestock.
Wolves
were feared and persecuted by European settlers. Human
encroachment into wolf habitat with
subsequent
wolf/human conflicts resulted in wolves being viewed as
competitors for game species and
a
hindrance to agricultural development. Public opinion about wolves
has changed in the last decades
due
to information that reveals their ecological role and an increased
appreciation for the intrinsic value
of
these predators. More recently, there has been increasing public
concern about the status of the gray
and
eastern wolves across
North America
. This concern manifests itself in a range of viewpoints.
One
view
expresses concern that wolf populations are in imminent danger
from uncontrolled killing by humans
and
need immediate and complete protection to prevent their
extinction. The other view is that increased
numbers
of wolves are or could result in unacceptable levels of predation
on wildlife species and domestic
livestock.
Wolves, as predators, are perceived to be an integral part of
healthy ecosystems and do affect ecosystems
through
multiple interacting ecological processes which science does not
fully understand. Wolves are a top
predator
of large mammals and affect these species directly, but their
actions also influence other ecosystem
components
and processes in either less direct or less easily recognized
ways.
Primary
recognized direct ecosystem effects of wolves are
(1)
Culling of inferior prey animals.
(2)
Control or limitation of prey numbers.
(3)
Stimulation of prey productivity.
(4)
Increasing food for scavengers.
(5)
Predation on non-prey species.
Although
there is a tendency of viewing these ecological effects as mainly
positive, wolf researchers caution against
doing
so, as science does not really understand enough about the many
cascading effects of wolves on other
elements
of the ecosystem and concepts of positive and negative effects are
human value judgments and differ
among
those who make them. Indirect effects of wolves which have also
been recognized are the effect of wolves
on
reducing coyote numbers and the resulting effects from wolf
predation on ungulate species (e.g., change in prey
behaviour,
increase in prey fitness and productivity, and effect on
vegetation).
Physical
Description
Wolves
are typified by long legs, a narrow chest, and thick fur. The
wolf’s physical stature, long legs, blocky feet,
and
powerful muscles allow it to travel tirelessly at ~8 km/ hour for
many hours each day in all types of climatic
conditions
Wolves are predators, equipped with necessary strength and senses
to pursue prey. With few exceptions
they
are considered obligate predators of ungulates. That is to say
that they rarely exist anywhere without ungulate
(hoofed)
prey. A grizzled coat is more common in the gray wolf but also
seen in eastern wolves during winter.
Pelage
color can be highly variable for both gray and eastern wolves, but
tends to be grayish or tawny with black
frosting
from the upper side of the neck and over the back. In summer the
guard hair is very short and under
fur
almost absent from the ventral
areas. In eastern wolves this sparse hair accentuates a darker,
grizzled
red
appearance in summer. Whereas gray wolves can be entirely black in
Eastern forested regions, and entirely
white
in Arctic regions, neither color phase has been documented for an
eastern wolf. Like the red wolf (C. rufus),
both
eastern wolves and the closely related eastern coyote typically
have reddish hair behind the ears.
Wolf
Habitat Requirements
Wolves
are not generally restricted to specific habitat types, but rather
their presence on the landscape
is
the landscape is more often
based on the habitat needs of their prey and
the degree of harvest
by
humans . As such, landscape level habitat planning that operates
under the premise of providing for
the
spatially explicit habitat needs of resident ungulate and beaver
populations and considers road densities,
should
provide an adequate supply of quality wolf habitat. There is
however, some evidence that a fine filter
approach
may be warranted around active wolf den and rendezvous sites.
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Repellents
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Application |
Pest Solution |
|
Repels woodchucks, gophers,
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Repels skunks, groundhogs,
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Repels Skunks, Groundhogs,
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birdfeeders, garbage cans,
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