Doug Smith on Wolves

[Nameless Range]

Yellowstone National Park put this up on their FB page. It is a question and answer with Doug Smith who monitors wolves for YNP. I wouldn't say he is totally unbiased, but I found it to be pretty informative, and addresses a fair amount of Toby Bridges greatest fears, excluding why Chevy discontinued producing the model of his favorite van.





Addressed are questions like:

Why were wolves reintroduced in Yellowstone?
What are the advantages of having wolves in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem?
How have wolves affected the elk population?
Did Yellowstone introduce the wrong wolf?
Do wolves kill for sport, or kill more than they can eat?
Should people be afraid of wolves?
What are some challenges of managing a predator species that crosses park boundaries?
Do wolf hunts outside Yellowstone affect packs living primarily inside the park?
Has the reintroduction of wolves changed our knowledge of this animal?

Here is the video.

 

[RobG]

I haven't had time to sit through the video, but the Montana pioneer had an interview that is a quick read.
http://westernwildlife.org/chris-smith-yellowstone-wolf-lead-project-biologist-laying-facts/

One answer people here might appreciate since it shows he just isn't a mindless wolf advocate:

MP: What are the primary benefits and disadvantages of having wild ranging wolf packs in the Northern Rockies?

DS: The simplest way to answer that is that there is no question that wolves made people’s lives more complicated, and that’s a good reason not to have them. Some people love them, some people hate them, and wolves are a polarizing animal. People have to spend a lot of time dealing with the controversy that comes with wolves. Life is simpler without wolves. I admit that if you are a rancher, having wolves around is worrisome. I understand that it’s not just the cows they kill; it’s the sleepless nights. I think that’s the best argument to not have them.
What’s the ecological value of wolves? I don’t know. It’s a human dominated world. We control everything. So why do we need wolves? Landscapes look the way they do because of agriculture, forestry, hunting, mining, development—all those things trump things like wolves. So you really don’t get huge ecological benefits of wolves outside of National Parks. In National Parks you do.

 

[Nameless Range]

That's a good link RobG, and a lot of the questions from the 25 minute video are answered in the Montana Pioneer Article.

Perhaps the best part of the video, is where Mr. Smith is addressing the notorious "non-native wolves question". Throughout the entire video he is stoic, scientific, and matter-of-fact. When it comes time to address that question though, he laughs.

 

[tjones]

and addresses a fair amount of Toby Bridges greatest fears, excluding why Chevy discontinued producing the model of his favorite van.

]

Classic!

 

[Big Fin]

I wouldn't say he is totally unbiased, but I found it to be pretty informative, and addresses a fair amount of Toby Bridges greatest fears, excluding why Chevy discontinued producing the model of his favorite van.

Got this in an email the other day and I had to laugh.

 

[Nameless Range]

View attachment 45648

Hahaha. That is great.

 

[shoots-straight]

Fin, that is hilarious. Thanks for posting. Someone spent some time on that.