Gray Wolf Back Into The Park example essay topic

The Gray Wolf Should We Continue To Fund the Re introduction Program? Do you remember the story of "The Big, Bad Wolf"? Or how Little Red Riding Hood barely escapes the cunning clutches of the wolf playing her grandma in disguise? How about the horror you felt as you saw the mild mannered man transformed before your eyes into the bloodthirsty werewolf during a full moon? These are the myths and legends that have been portrayed about the wolf and how they are a threat to human existence. They have been feared as clever, cold-blooded killers of babies, men and livestock.

They have been hated and persecuted. In a battle of what seems to be good versus evil, they were shot and killed, tortured, doused with gasoline and set on fire. Their dens have been flushed out, their pups hit over the head and their food supply poisoned. Because of the human compulsion to control nature and its environment, wolves became nearly extinct in the lower 48 states in the early 20th century. Today, many people believe that the elimination of the gray wolf was a grave mistake to the environment and the ecosystem. Subsequently, the American people have tried to make up for our ancestor's mistakes.

Programs like the re introduction of the gray wolf to Yellowstone National Park, which is designed for the protection and restoration of endangered wildlife should be used for the preservation of the natural order of wildlife rather than domination over nature. We should scale back on the re introduction program and allow nature to replenish the species. We should scale back on the re introduction program and allow nature to replenish the species In the early 19th century, the settlers that moved west severely depleted the population of deer, elk and bison. These animals were important prey for the wolves.

Consequently, the wolves turned to the settler's sheep and cattle. In order to protect their livestock, ranchers, with the help of government agencies, began a campaign to eliminate the wolves. According to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, "Bounty programs initiated in the 19th century continued as late as 1965, offering $20 to $50 per wolf". (pg. 2) By the early part of the 20th century, wolves became nearly extinct in the United States. It was obvious that fear and hatred fueled the elimination of the gray wolf. It stemmed from a gross misunderstanding of wolves and their behavior. The myth that wolves are aggressive beasts, plotting to pounce on innocent victims is simply not the truth.

In reality, wolves are illusive animals that keep to themselves. The wolf's social structure is much like that of humans. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reports that "They live in family units called packs consisting of a set of parents, (the alpha pair) young pups and older offspring. Wolves begin mating when they are 2 to 3 years old, and in most cases they mate for life. They live in dens that are used year after year, only moving if danger is imemant.

Their pups, usually up to 5 per litter, are born in early spring and are weaned after the first month then fed regurgitated meat brought by other pack members. The pups will reach maturity at 1 or 2 years of age". (pg. 2) It is through the close relationship with older members of the pack that the young wolves learn how to live as adult wolves. As the environmentalist Charles Bergman points out, "Wolves are intensely social animals, living in packs that are structured in rigid hierarchies. In the chain of power each wolf has a defined place on a ladder of dominance and submission". (31). Their parents and older brothers and sisters teach them not only how to hunt, but what to hunt as well.

They are taught at an early age to go after certain prey and leave other prey alone. "The wolf's territory ranges in size from 50 to 1,000 square miles depending on the availability and seasonal movement of their prey. Packs use traditional areas and defend it from strange wolves. Their ability to travel over large areas to seek out vulnerable prey makes wolves good hunters". (U.S.F. &W. 2) The wolf's distinctive howl is a form of communication. Biologists don't know all of the reasons why wolves howl, but they do know that they do so before and after hunting, in the early morning and during the evening. It is believed that howling is one way that the pack warns other wolves to stay out of their territory.

Because the elimination of the gray wolf caused wide-spread overpopulation of deer, elk and bison and because of the increased awareness of the importance of their presence in the wild as the top predator in this region, the U.S. Congress passed the Endangered Species Act in 1973, giving full protection to the gray wolf. In Section 1531 of the Act, it is stated that " the United States has pledged itself as a sovereign state in the international community to conserve to the extent practicable the various species of fish and wildlife and plants facing extinction". (1-2) In Yellowstone National Park, the overpopulation of deer, elk, and bison had a dramatic effect on the ecosystem of the park during the 1990's. According to Ed Bangs, Wolf Recovery Coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, "Every five or ten years, you'd have these big winter die-outs. You'd have elk herds with very high numbers that contained a lot of old decrepit, sick animals. So when you got a bad winter, literally thousands of them would just die from starvation".

(Bangs, Nova Online, 4) With the elimination of the wolf, so came the death and disease of thousands of ungulates (hoofed animals). Consequently, in 1995 and 1996, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, (the same organization that headed the elimination of the gray wolf in 1930) reintroduced gray the wolves from Canada into Yellowstone National Park. In Canada, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service worked with local trappers and paid them $2,000 for each wolf that was captured and radio-collared. Subsequently, in January 1995, The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service released 14 wolves into Yellowstone after an acclimation period of 6 to 12 weeks. "This program is to reintroduce the gray wolf into the lower 48 states provides for more wolves to be relocated each year for the next three to five years". (Be gly 53) Critics of the program have raised a number of concerns.

Ranchers had great apprehension regarding the possible loss of their livestock. On an average between 1995 and 1998, 6 cattle, 80 sheep, and 4 dogs fell prey to the gray wolf in Yellowstone. (National Agricultural Statistics Service) There are other fears that concerned ranchers too. By ensuring the wolf's survival, thousands of acres of land would be fenced off that is currently being used for grazing by their livestock. If a wolf breaks through the fence, there is limited recourse that the rancher's may legally use if a wolf is caught killing a sheep or cow. Under the law, the rancher is allowed to kill a wolf if the act is witnessed.

This rarely happens. However, there is also a plan in place by the U.S.D.F. &W that if a wolf has attacked livestock, it is moved one time. If it attacks again it is killed. Additionally, private organizations like Defenders of Wildlife, pledge to compensate ranchers for any livestock killed by wolves. According to a recent article written on behalf of the Defenders of Wildlife, their goal is to "shift the responsibility of wolf recovery away from the individual ranchers and toward the millions of people who want to see wolf populations restored". (pg. 1) Since its inception in 1987, the Defenders of Wildlife have compensated ranchers for the loss of livestock by wolves in excess of $210,000.00. It is their belief that when ranchers alone are forced to bear the cost of the loss of livestock due to the recovery effort of the wolf, it causes animosity and ill will which can lead to the illegal killing of the wolf.

In a recent lawsuit that was filed on behalf of the Ranchers by the American Farm Bureau, the U.S. District Court ruled that William Babbit, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director, "exceeded the authority of the Endangered Species Act when he launched the wolf re introduction program". The Farm Bureau tried to tell Babbit that, "bringing the gray wolves into the Yellowstone area posed a threat to area ranchers and their livestock". Rick Krause, assistant counsel for the American Farm Bureau explains, "This is a major decision, in a sense tells the government and other people that you cannot do whatever you want to do under the Endangered Species Act". The gray wolf is not threatened by extinction. What is threatened, however, is the livestock of western ranchers". (V.O. Agriculture pg. 1) Another problem is the exorbitant cost of implementing the re introduction program. According to the Fish and Wildlife Service, the estimated cost of the program to date is roughly $12,000,700.

In a time of economic instability and budget cuts affecting medical care, housing and food, it is difficult to justify these expenses. If assurances could be made that this program would be successful, perhaps the cost could be more easily justified. The difficulties in capturing and relocating wolves is challenging because of the wolves natural tendencies to try to go back to their natural origin. The solution was to pen up the relocated wolves until they got used to their surroundings. Ed Bangs, the Wolf Recovery Coordinator explains, "We flew over the wolf pack or a radio collared wolf, then darted the wolves with an immobilizing drug. We put them in dog kennels that we'd established in a provincial park in Canada, fed them road kills and gave them water.

We then flew them down to Yellowstone and kept them for about two months and then turned them loose as a family group. This is called "soft release". This program has lead to the successful release of the gray wolf back into the park. Because of the wolf's elusive nature and strong ties that bind them to their own packs, all of these measures seem invasive and extreme. Today, the gray wolf is in no peril of extinction even though the number of wolves in the United States is dwarfed in comparison to the number of wolves in Canada and Alaska. In a Congressional hearing, Renee Askins, Executive Director of the Wolf Fund testified in favor of the re introduction program.

She said that "the restoration of wolves would not rescue us from our economic or ecological troubles, but neither will their presence contribute to them". (pg. 16-17) She states that the significance in returning the wolf to Yellowstone resided in its power as a "deeply and profoundly symbolic act". (17) She was quoted as saying to the House Committee on Resources: The story of this conflict is the story of how we view ourselves in relation to animals, whether we can replace the assumption of "dominion" that has been so destructive to us and the natural world with a world view that recognized that we live in a state of reciprocity with the birds and the beasts - that we are not only the product of nature but also part of it. Our attitudes toward wolves and our treatment of them cut to the very marrow of how we view our relationship to the natural world. (17) If it is only our intention to "pat ourselves on the back" for realizing that our values had to change regarding the ecological stability of one of our National Parks, then the recourse doesn't fit the protocol. Relocation denies the wolf's natural tendency to seek out new territory when it's own is overpopulated. Isn't this perhaps a form of domination over the animal kingdom rather than reciprocity with it?

The majestic gray wolf, skillful predator at the top of the food chain, nurturing and kind family member, has been misunderstood and persecuted to the point of endangerment. Fear, hatred and the need to control this beautiful animal's home created an environment in which slaughter was not only acceptable, but also advocated. It goes without say that we should bear the responsibility for the protection of these magnificent animals. However, awe and admiration that has replaced fear and hatred should not be replaced with the human characteristic of trying to control a species with invasive intervention. Human interference will only diminish the "wild" that the environmentalists strive to preserve. Federal funding will continue to encourage unnecessary intervention thereby inhibiting nature's ability to heal herself.

Federal funding should now be used for education and public awareness. We have attempted to put back the top of the food chain predator to the land from which we have eliminated them. We have done our part by reintroducing the gray wolves back to their natural habitat. Their future now looks promising.

But we must step back and allow nature to do the rest.

Bibliography

Askins, Renee. Releasing "Wolves from Symbolism" Harpers April 1995: 15-17 -- - Director of The Wolf Fund Bangs, Ed. "Bringing Wolves Home" NOVA Online, Wild wolves.