On December 28, 2014, a hunter killed what he thought was a coyote near Beaver, Utah. Upon closer inspection, he determined that it was a female wolf with a tracking collar. Due to the location, there has been much speculation and many sensationalist articles written, assuming that this wolf is the female who was recently documented to be near the Grand Canyon. As you may recall, a ten-year-old boy won a naming contest and since then, the Grand Canyon wolf has been known as Echo. DNA tests will prove if the dead wolf is, indeed, Echo. Samples of her scat were analyzed for DNA proof verifying that she was a gray wolf. The DNA of the dead wolf will be compared to that from Echos scat. Unfortunately, it appears that this type of testing does not occur as quickly in real life as it does on television shows and in the movies! I have not yet posted about this because of the sensationalism and speculation around the incident. In fact, I was hoping to wait until the DNA tests were completed. But I havent been able to stop thinking about the she-wolf who happened to be in the wrong place at the very wrong time. Wolves are rare and endangered in the state of Utah and it is illegal to kill one. However, coyotes, also called song dogs, are considered common vermin and there is a $50.00 bounty on them in the state. Even if this was not our beloved Echo, it was a tragic waste of a lovely life. Is it more tragic that this was a wolf instead of a coyote? Only because wolves are more rare than coyotes. Song dogs are also lovely wild canids who have their place in the ecosystem. They are expert rodent hunters and, for that reason alone, should be encouraged by farmers and ranchers. There have been many articles written, criticizing the hunter for making the mistake. The wolf he killed weighed just 70 pounds, small for a gray wolf, but much bigger than a coyote. There are also many physical differences between the two species. Maybe the hunter should have been able to tell the difference, or maybe he should have seen that she was wearing a collar. Or perhaps the tragedy was NOT that the hunter mistook a wolf for a coyote, but that there is a bounty on coyotes at all, causing hunters to seek them out in the first place. Unfortunately, humanity has caused a great imbalance in the natural world. This imbalance has forced many species to become rare or die out entirely. Other species, including the coyote, have learned to live in close proximity to humans. This has been made especially true since the apex predators such as wolves, bears and cougars have been removed from the scene. Perhaps we need to learn from our previous success: After the wolves were eliminated from Yellowstone National Park, coyote numbers increased considerably. However, when the wolves were reintroduced to the park, song dog numbers decreased. Having the apex predator on the landscape allowed for a balancing of the numbers of many animals in the park. It seems to me, in this and so many other situations, that the answer is simple: return apex predators to the landscape, stop over-hunting and allow nature to take its course. I realize that it is not as easy as just typing that statement on my keyboard, but I feel that it is a goal to work toward. We CAN coexist with predators. ~Laughing Wolf
Posted on: Tue, 06 Jan 2015 18:44:36 +0000
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