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Cattledog

(5,897 posts)
Mon Jun 3, 2019, 04:34 PM Jun 2019

The relentless slaughter of wolves paved the way for a predator that refuses to die.



By Darryl Fears
June 3 at 6:00 AM

On a cold, miserable morning in May, Stan Gehrt trod across an open field as wind and rain blew in his face. He was leading a team of wildlife biologists on a mission to find an animal with a gift for not being seen.

The team didn’t have to travel far from its headquarters for the search. A female coyote had made a den within sight of Chicago’s skyline. They were only “about five kilometers” from America’s busiest airport, O’Hare International, Gehrt said as he advanced toward the den, wind howling through his cellphone microphone during an interview.

Like every state east of the Mississippi, Illinois is worried about its growing population of city-slicker coyotes. The animals surged from their original habitat in the West after what many now consider a colossal mistake — government-sanctioned predator removal programs that virtually wiped out red and gray wolves.

Coyotes have been taking over the territory of wolves, their mortal enemies, ever since. It is a textbook example of what the recent United Nations biodiversity report said: Humans are creating chaos for wildlife, placing a million species in danger of extinction.

The report warned that mismanaging nature would come back to haunt humans in a variety of ways, including food and water shortages, and disruptions by invasive species.

As the Trump administration seeks to strip away legal protections for the last remaining wolves, state officials are contending with the consequences of a massacre carried out without regard to science.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2019/06/03/killing-wolves-was-supposed-solve-problem-created-one-that-will-last-forever/?fbclid=IwAR2BUl1K1k-_8Z8UdbMzcuai6cNUr7DiX_3-iCLjJB7RwIjkzFhABk4YpQg&utm_term=.a4ec8d46fd9a
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The relentless slaughter of wolves paved the way for a predator that refuses to die. (Original Post) Cattledog Jun 2019 OP
Out here they want to wipe out prairie dogs, which provide food for coyotes, red tailed hawks and hlthe2b Jun 2019 #1
too many humans are arrogant AND stupid... dhill926 Jun 2019 #2
I saw a wolf in Yellowstone, not 5 feet from my car window MasonDreams Jun 2019 #3
The Eastern coyote is a mix of coyote, wolf and dog. Kaleva Jun 2019 #4

hlthe2b

(101,730 posts)
1. Out here they want to wipe out prairie dogs, which provide food for coyotes, red tailed hawks and
Mon Jun 3, 2019, 04:38 PM
Jun 2019

are an absolutely NECESSARY coinhabitant to ensure the survival of the endangered black-footed ferret.

Yet homeowners from outside the region believe they are like gophers and are going to move into their backyards (something territorial prairie dogs will rarely do unless they BUILT on top of existent colonies to begin with).

Wipe out the food source and see what happens when coyotes rove your neighborhoods--which they will.

I am a big believer in coexisting. To do so, you have to maintain the chain. Wiping out one species affects every other link in the chain.

MasonDreams

(756 posts)
3. I saw a wolf in Yellowstone, not 5 feet from my car window
Mon Jun 3, 2019, 06:42 PM
Jun 2019

It was magnificent!!. On the other hand, I eat steak and I wear wool. Good thing I have an education and believe in science, otherwise, i would have a dilemma..
Spread the word, predators create herds. The grazers herd up for protection. The grazers living all bunched up is necessary to stop desertification, which in turn, is necessary to combat climate catastrophe. Check out Alan Savory on TED talks. How to green the world's desserts and reverse climate change.
His life's work shows us the way.

Kaleva

(36,147 posts)
4. The Eastern coyote is a mix of coyote, wolf and dog.
Mon Jun 3, 2019, 09:03 PM
Jun 2019

This subspecies is larger and more adaptable then the Western coyote.

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