Re: Wolves Wiping Out Caribou
[Re: Yes sir]
#6120075
01/09/18 11:48 PM
01/09/18 11:48 PM
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Joined: Aug 2013
Posts: 135 AK, Northwest Arctic Borough
Caribou
trapper
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trapper
Joined: Aug 2013
Posts: 135
AK, Northwest Arctic Borough
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Do the wolves up there not get to a high enough population that they can directly reduce the numbers of a healthy caribou herd? No. Theres alot of Caribou, alot of Wolves and alot of room. Wolves will finish what a mid winter rain started, and a ''healthy'' Caribou herd last week is now slow, hungry weak and on the move. Thats when Wolves can make dents in a Caribou population......and if its an already struggling population, Im sure they could decimate and scatter those.....so the Wolf predation isnt on a 'healthy' herd, itself . Just the lack or fences and roads, citys or farms, diverted rivers means its natural state is nearly undisturbed and no ''Man'agment has knocked it out of balance. The migrations are intact and the habitat is intact. This is kind of unique in the world now, as human populations have changed most things. When mid winters rains come and destroy the habitat, the Wolves eat alot at the time, but its effects are short lived, except the loss in population. 4-5 times in 10 years can wipe out any growth a herd may experience. Also, Caribou 'remember', and avoid the areas, which makes predicting any migration unpredictable. This fall we were above freezing until almost November when late September used to be our ''Freeze up'', and our Caribou stopped their southern migration and rutted out in the Brooks range to our north, and didnt come south at all until our month long freeky warm up/late fall cooled enough that they resumed the walk. Old timers here will say ''If there lots of Wolves, hunt them.....if theres lots of Caribou, hunt them, they go together.'' Meaning that one or the other, if not both, can be found in the same areas, and are symbiotic.
Last edited by Caribou; 01/09/18 11:56 PM.
What would the Founding Fathers do?
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Re: Wolves Wiping Out Caribou
[Re: Tweed]
#6120130
01/10/18 01:41 AM
01/10/18 01:41 AM
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Joined: May 2013
Posts: 5,113 Northern Michigan
J.Morse
trapper
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trapper
Joined: May 2013
Posts: 5,113
Northern Michigan
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The Boreal Woodland Caribou is, compared to the arctic and sub-arctic "Barren Ground Caribou", nearly a sedentary beast, and even though they move more than most deer and moose, they are pikers when it comes to long distance shifts when stacked up to the more northerly Caribou. Studies in Ontario show that the Caribou purposely spend most of their time singly or in small herds in areas where they are less likely to run across a wolf. How they know those areas is beyond me. Wolf predation in Woodland Caribou is apparently only a big problem when the Big Bad Wolf has a captive audience......such as when they are stuck on an island out away from other islands where they can't swim to escape the wolves.......sorta like Michipicoten!
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Re: Wolves Wiping Out Caribou
[Re: Tweed]
#6120142
01/10/18 02:32 AM
01/10/18 02:32 AM
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Joined: Aug 2013
Posts: 135 AK, Northwest Arctic Borough
Caribou
trapper
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trapper
Joined: Aug 2013
Posts: 135
AK, Northwest Arctic Borough
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Brown Bears wreak havoc on WACH newborn calves and the Caribou respond with mass birthing, basicly glutting the available food for the bears. They ambush adult Caribou in the river side willows at river crossings. Eagles also swoop down and attack with puncture wounds killing calfs in some pretty high numbers. Wolves get the slow ones,Men usually pick out the best to catch. Lean times for cows means small babys or none at all. A few years of such and numbers dip noticeably Then theres habitat loss, sickness and accidents......
Theres alot of constant ecological and hunting pressure on these animals.
Last edited by Caribou; 01/10/18 02:48 AM.
What would the Founding Fathers do?
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Re: Wolves Wiping Out Caribou
[Re: swedeole]
#6120414
01/10/18 01:19 PM
01/10/18 01:19 PM
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Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 15,744 MN, Land of 10,000 Lakes
Trapper7
trapper
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trapper
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 15,744
MN, Land of 10,000 Lakes
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Well said White.
Managing both would be the best idea.
Myself, I like wolves, and I like to see high numbers. The more the better to get rid of all these stupid deer. When the dam white-tail deer eat my alfalfa fields down to the dirt all fall, browse my apples and raspberries to nubs, eat every terminal bud off every white, red and jackpine I plant, dig up all my carrots and spread deer ticks all over the country, I wish we had a lot more wolves!
And when my between my wife and I we've had 18 or 19 vehicle-deer collisions that have cost me many thousands of dollars too!
Deer are a menace and a detriment to our forest. Tell that to the farmer who lost 17 sheep to wolves or the one who has lost new born calves to wolves. There has been so many depredation claims in MN, they ran out of money. I owned 120 acres north of Floodwood. A family down the road from my place had to stop raising sheep because of the wolf population explosion. Most of the farmers in that area quit trying to raise livestock because of this.
The difference between animals and humans is that animals would never let the dumbest ones lead the pack.
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Re: Wolves Wiping Out Caribou
[Re: Tweed]
#6120436
01/10/18 01:47 PM
01/10/18 01:47 PM
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Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 11,207 Armpit, ak
Dirt
trapper
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trapper
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 11,207
Armpit, ak
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Speaking of B.S. Can anybody interpret this?
"The ministry takes an adaptive management approach and is actively assessing management actions including the potential need for and feasibility of wildlife community management methods."
Who is John Galt?
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Re: Wolves Wiping Out Caribou
[Re: Tweed]
#6120439
01/10/18 01:50 PM
01/10/18 01:50 PM
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Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 6,311 Wisconsin
RdFx
trapper
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trapper
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 6,311
Wisconsin
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A very interesting book called ALASKAS WOLF MAN, Frank Glazer. The natives were awed by this man. Read the stories of his exploits with wolves, hunting, trapping. I believe his experiences told about wolves in this book are true.. white17 correct me if im wrong.
RdFx
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Re: Wolves Wiping Out Caribou
[Re: Tweed]
#6120442
01/10/18 01:58 PM
01/10/18 01:58 PM
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Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 35,176 McGrath, AK
white17
"General (Mr.Sunshine) Washington"
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"General (Mr.Sunshine) Washington"
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 35,176
McGrath, AK
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I have to admit that I never knew Frank but have read the book several times. It's a good read and, in my opinion, illustrates just how tough and motivated people were during that time. I think there is a lot of validity in Frank's stories but I don't think I'd buy all of it. Rearden, the author, may have used a bit of license in writing the book. The ONE person on this forum who can shed the best information on this subject, is Gulo. Hopefully he will weigh in on the subject. Do wolves have a detrimental affect on some people and individual critters ?? Absolutely. Is there a beneficial aspect to their presence ? I think so. Do we need to manage them ? Absolutely, IMO
Mean As Nails
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Re: Wolves Wiping Out Caribou
[Re: Tweed]
#6120448
01/10/18 02:04 PM
01/10/18 02:04 PM
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Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 6,311 Wisconsin
RdFx
trapper
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trapper
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 6,311
Wisconsin
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Thanks white17 , agree on Gulo
RdFx
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Re: Wolves Wiping Out Caribou
[Re: Tweed]
#6120459
01/10/18 02:24 PM
01/10/18 02:24 PM
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Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 2,568 western alaska
Malukchuk
trapper
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trapper
Joined: Dec 2011
Posts: 2,568
western alaska
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The WACH population is up from a year ago, latest survey shows the population over 250K
Water is good for two things, Floating Ships and making Beer.
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