Wolves slaughter 19 elk in 'sport killing'
Source: CNN
In what appears to be a case of "sport killing," a pack of wolves slaughtered a herd of elk in one night, Wyoming wildlife officials said Friday.
Nineteen elk, mostly calves, were found dead several days ago at a feeding ground near Bondurant, a town southeast of Jackson, said John Lund of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department. A contractor delivering feed to the herd discovered the dead animals.
Lund said wildlife officials are concerned because wolves usually eat what they kill or come back later to feed.
There are about 1,100 elk in the area, he said, and about 7% of the population has been lost to wolves this winter.
Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/25/us/wyoming-wolf-pack-elk-slaughter/index.html
Had no idea this kind of thing happened.
valerief
(53,235 posts)Yo_Mama
(8,303 posts)It's sad, but natural, if you know what I mean.
Wolves will come through and kill a herd of sheep - more than they can possibly eat. So will a pack of wild dogs. The predation instinct is the predation instinct.
I also read somewhere that wolves were reintroduced in some areas with the hope of thinning elk herds, which were overgrazing in some areas.
pscot
(21,024 posts)the elk congregated along stream beds and hung out there, stripping vegetation and trampling the banks. They can't afford to do that now because of the wolves.
Yo_Mama
(8,303 posts)It also said that maybe it worked too well, and that the herd was threatened.
I know I read that the major losses the ranchers see are calves, but if a high proportion of calves get killed each year that could wreak havoc on a population.
pscot
(21,024 posts)Culling the herd? Establishing a feeding site that pulls in many elk is just setting the table for the predators.
fasttense
(17,301 posts)Dogs get in with a herd of small sheep and kill them all for fun. Cats get in with a flock of chickens and kill them all. I never knew wild animals would do this. It's definitely not a survival mechanism. In fact, it is anti-survival because killing for sport and leaving your prey will wipe out your herds very, very quickly (as man has discovered). Are they sure the wolves did it or is there a pack of stray dogs on the lose? This really sounds more like domesticated animal behavior.
When we first moved to the country, there were packs of wild dogs killing livestock left and right. Now that the coyotes have moved in, the former domesticated wild dogs and cats have gone and the mass slaughters have stopped. We still lose one or two lambs or chickens a year but not 5 to 20 at a time anymore.
The more I read about this the more I'm convinced that the wild wolf did NOT do this. Most wolves eat 90% of the carcass. Something happened here. Here's a link that goes in-depth about wolf kills and eating http://isleroyalewolf.org/node/42
Bad Dog
(2,025 posts)A fox will go crazy in a chicken coop. They're animals though, shooting elephants for sport by humans is inexcusable.
yourpaljoey
(2,166 posts)I have never encountered a pack of wild dogs.
What do you do when you encounter them?
awoke_in_2003
(34,582 posts)unless you enjoy being attacked.
greymouse
(872 posts)Dogs can't climb trees, can they?
signed,
cat parent
snooper2
(30,151 posts)LOL
Old Vet
(2,001 posts)Broke my heart for both residents and pets, I was assigned to the 9th ward (Martin Luther King Projects) Where police were killing packs of dogs on sight. Not to mention all the pets I saw still chained to leashes where they all drowned to death. I ran into several wild packs who had the taste for people, I have several pictures of these packs I will follow this post with, After the water level became manageable these packs of dogs were going house to house looking for the dead, Where I guess they very quickly got the taste foe decaying meat. Finding people and pets usually stuck in street drains.
yourpaljoey
(2,166 posts)fasttense
(17,301 posts)Usually I saw them on the road going somewhere. I once saw them attacking another dog and I yelled at them through the window of my car. They almost casually moved away from my car and the poor dog the pack was attacking had a chance to get away. We would discover their attacks the next morning. The wild dogs around here were not so aggressive towards people, just towards livestock.
The coyotes on the other hand are less afraid of humans and you can sometimes suddenly come upon them on your front porch.
Change has come
(2,372 posts)(warning, graphic picture at link)
http://county10.com/162711069255532544/wyoming-wolves-kill-19-elk-near-bondurant-in-suspected-surplus-killing
Most likely by tracks left in the snow.
OneCrazyDiamond
(2,032 posts)If you haven't seen this documentary, I highly recommend it.
bemildred
(90,061 posts)Thor_MN
(11,843 posts)They haven't slaughtered anyone for years...
awoke_in_2003
(34,582 posts)Socal31
(2,484 posts)Wibly
(613 posts)This was not a wolf kill unless something very toxic was fed to those wolves ahead of time.
This is propaganda against wolves.
There is not history of wolves ever doing such a thing.
Codeine
(25,586 posts)Last edited Sat Mar 26, 2016, 05:35 PM - Edit history (1)
The predation instinct is strong and isn't by necessity hunger-driven. A large number of prey animals gathered together can trigger a killing frenzy in any predator, wolves included.
The natural world of killers and the killed isn't always as Farley Mowat/Walt Disney as we would like to believe.
Wibly
(613 posts)And have lived in the bush much of my life, in wolf country. I have never heard of wolves, or any other land mammal doing anything like this.
Would you please provide me with a link or a source that demonstrates this is commonplace behavior?
Sunlei
(22,651 posts)will die from drought.
They shouldn't be "contractor feeding" wildlife or any 'livestock' and leave the animals, especially a group of calves? unprotected from town dogs or coyotes or 'wolves'.
Doremus
(7,261 posts)swilton
(5,069 posts)To sum up not in any particular order of precedence:
1. Could be propaganda against wolves - the fact that the story is so blatant, I'm suspicious
2. Not unusual for wolves or for domestic animals -both have predator instincts: have known of dogs to exhibit this behavior and why I would keep dogs in the house and not allowed outside to their own devices (sheepherding dogs come to mind).
hatrack
(59,602 posts)They're wolves. It's part of what they are.
Spitfire of ATJ
(32,723 posts)senz
(11,945 posts)It sounds plausible, and I hope it's true.
senz
(11,945 posts)People have done this sort of thing throughout history, not always in the form of physical killing, but similar dynamics are at play.
NickB79
(19,297 posts)I've spoken to other hobby farmers who have lost 10-20 chickens in one night due to a single, excited weasel or ferret getting into the coop.
And I've personally seen what a pack of free-ranging dogs can do when they get into a cattle pen. Nothing short of a bullet will get a determined dog off your cow's throat when it gets the blood lust going.
NickB79
(19,297 posts)Odin2005
(53,521 posts)greymouse
(872 posts)things being those squishy balls I toss for him. His reflexes are amazing. He picks balls right out of the air.
As to the wolves, I don't know what they're doing, but they are after all, wolves. They aren't living on Purina Wolf Chow, and I can't imagine why anyone would think they wouldn't be going after prey. Nature aims for balance. It's humans who have screwed the planet up.
Odin2005
(53,521 posts)Life itself has caused catastrophe numerous times in earth's history.
Drahthaardogs
(6,843 posts)It happens in Alaska. Problem in the lower 48 is fractured habitats which mean wolves need to be managed as well
KittyWampus
(55,894 posts)in one spot seems like creating an attractive nuisance.
PeoViejo
(2,178 posts)How many babies died in Iraq from Rabid NeoCons?
Brickbat
(19,339 posts)C Moon
(12,226 posts)validates that sport hunting is pointless, and selfish.
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/2009/11/do_wolves_kill_for_sport.html
I would guess, someone(s) is itching to start killing wolves for sport again.
Sunlei
(22,651 posts)Have asked the DOI/BLM for over 10 years to use 24/7 cameras and let cameras run live on their website for the public to watch over our wildlife.
People love those live cams- someone from the general public would have noticed.
TexasBushwhacker
(20,249 posts)Well my no so dear departed boss had someone feed the dear on his land so that he and his buddies could shoot them.
snooper2
(30,151 posts)Sunlei
(22,651 posts)there should be 24/7 cameras anyway because fenced in yearlings-wild or domestic aren't ever safe alone.
snooper2
(30,151 posts)I'm pretty sure they know what they are doing
Sunlei
(22,651 posts)They're very similar to why our Police hate cameras.
DiverDave
(4,892 posts)an interpretation of what is not human or personal in terms of human or personal characteristics
So "sport killing" is just sensationalism.
Animals do what animals do.