Good news for wolves
http://www.startribune.com/local/286428621.html
I must say, I was rather shocked to learn that David Mech is evidently an outspoken advocate of wolf hunting. (He's a world-renowned biologist who has studied wild wolves for over half a century.) I would think Mech more than anyone would know that wolf populations are not defined by mere statistical numbers, like waterfowl. Pack structure can be severely disrupted by targeting specific individuals, which is what today's wolf hunters strive for: to identify and kill the alphas, which then imperils the survival of the whole group. And, Mech should know damned well that, if they were allowed to, wolf hunters would happily kill every last one and extirpate the whole species. Then what would be left for him to study? No. Wolf hunting is NOT sport - it's killing simply for the sake of killing - and as a former wildlife biologist myself, that kind of archaic practice shouldn't have any place in 21st century game management policy.
I must say, I was rather shocked to learn that David Mech is evidently an outspoken advocate of wolf hunting. (He's a world-renowned biologist who has studied wild wolves for over half a century.) I would think Mech more than anyone would know that wolf populations are not defined by mere statistical numbers, like waterfowl. Pack structure can be severely disrupted by targeting specific individuals, which is what today's wolf hunters strive for: to identify and kill the alphas, which then imperils the survival of the whole group. And, Mech should know damned well that, if they were allowed to, wolf hunters would happily kill every last one and extirpate the whole species. Then what would be left for him to study? No. Wolf hunting is NOT sport - it's killing simply for the sake of killing - and as a former wildlife biologist myself, that kind of archaic practice shouldn't have any place in 21st century game management policy.