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Offline Dand

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McKinley Park wolves
« on: April 26, 2006, 09:21:03 PM »
For all the concern some folks express about McKinley Park wolves this should be of interest.  


From the KTUU web site.
http://www.ktuu.com/cms/anmviewer.asp?a=4581&z=1

Survey shows wolf population grew in Denali
Wednesday, April 26, 2006 - by Steve Mac Donald
Anchorage, Alaska -

It appears the winter was kind to the wolves of Denali National Park and Preserve.


According to a recent aerial survey, the wolf population in the park climbed dramatically from 80 animals last year to 116 now. The National Park Service says it counted the wolves last month using six airplanes and a helicopter. Biologists were also able to radio collar three of the animals.


A spokeswoman for the Park Service says it appears no wolves were caught in traps outside the park boundaries this winter. Trapping is legal outside of Denali.


The Park Service says 18 different wolf packs roam Denali.
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Offline Sourdough

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McKinley Park wolves
« Reply #1 on: April 27, 2006, 07:08:34 AM »
I was talking to a biologist last winter about the growth of the wolf packs in the Park.  The Grizzly population has been on the increase also.  He is predicting the Wolves and Bears will kill everything within the park boundries within the next three to five years.  When this has been accomplished they will move to other areas, leaving a park barren of almost all wildlife.  It will then take twenty to thirty years before Caribou, Moose, and Sheep populations make a comeback, since the park will not do anything to change the balance.  Mother Nature takes them out fast, but replaces them slowly.
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Offline Dand

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wonder what is fueling the growth?
« Reply #2 on: April 28, 2006, 07:52:58 PM »
I wonder why the wolves are increasing so many places.  We have lots of complaints out here in Bristol Bay.  In the last 2 weeks a friend has nailed 6.  Shot 3 from one pack of 7-8 and snared 3 from another pack that he figured had about 10.  I have another trapper friend who has caught 3 last I heard, and I know of several others shot all around the Dillingham area.  Quite a few hunters and trappers and pilots around here agree we have more wolves while our caribou herd is dropping dramatically and doesn't come down our way near as much as it used to.

People on the Alaska Peninsula are convinced the wolves are increasing there even though there are very few caribou left to feed them and the moose population isn't real big.
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liberal Justice Hugo Black said, and I quote: "There are 'absolutes' in our Bill of Rights, and they were put there on purpose by men who knew what words meant and meant their prohibitions to be 'absolutes.'" End quote. From a recent article by Wayne LaPierre NRA

Offline Winter Hawk

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McKinley Park wolves
« Reply #3 on: April 30, 2006, 06:51:45 PM »
So how is the rabbit population doing?  I saw the hares peak in the Fairbanks area 30+ years ago, and the following winter the wolves were coming into town to eat pets.  Could they be subsisting off of bunnies?

-WH-
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Offline Sourdough

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McKinley Park wolves
« Reply #4 on: May 01, 2006, 06:15:23 AM »
The Snowshoe hare population is on the increase.  But I think it is more a matter of education.  The wolves are learning to be better at killing Dall Sheep, Moose, and Caribou.  With no trapping or preditor control in the park their numbers will increase as long as they can feed the young well.
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A 'Veteran' -- whether active duty, discharged, retired, or reserve -- is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable to 'The United States of America,' for an amount of 'up to, and including his life.' That is honor, and there are way too many people in this country today who no longer understand that fact.

Offline Dand

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Not that many rabbits in Bristol Bay
« Reply #5 on: May 02, 2006, 05:50:45 PM »
While we have pockets of rabbits throughout Bristol Bay I've never seen or heard of big populations like I've seen in the interior.  One thing I recall now though is a friend said rabies swept through Bristol Bay in the late 80s and he commented that for a while there were few foxes or wolves.  If that was a problem they have bounced back. Though we did have a bit of rabies all around in about 1998.  Several rabid foxes, a coyote and at least one wolf were found about that time  - but it wasn't a big epizootic [think that's the word].  

I talked to one trapper early in the winter before we had much snow and he said the wolves were taking moose at will.  Maybe the easy winters are allowing the young wolves to survive better with more time to learn to catch food and less snow to plow through.
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liberal Justice Hugo Black said, and I quote: "There are 'absolutes' in our Bill of Rights, and they were put there on purpose by men who knew what words meant and meant their prohibitions to be 'absolutes.'" End quote. From a recent article by Wayne LaPierre NRA

Offline creekfreak

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McKinley Park wolves
« Reply #6 on: May 22, 2006, 06:59:48 PM »
I must call BS on the statement that the wolves and griz will kill all the animals in the park...the prey and preditor had a fine balance long before yall were up there to help with "population control".

no offense ment, just stating simple fact.
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Offline Dusty Miller

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McKinley Park wolves
« Reply #7 on: May 22, 2006, 08:58:43 PM »
Wrong there CreekFreak.  The notion that there's such a thing as  "balance" in nature is a complete myth.  Animal and plant populations increase and decrease for a variety of reasons but there is never any "balance".  As a matter of fact, what happens most often is that populations of animals that get eaten will explode when food is plentiful and the preditors that eat them will quickly have a large population increase too.  Then the former group will over graze their food supply and their population will crash and the same thing will soon happen to the preditors.  
The intervention of man in the form of game management can prevent the extreme population swings but the presence of preditors that are not managed leads to the inevitable decline of their prey.
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Offline creekfreak

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McKinley Park wolves
« Reply #8 on: May 23, 2006, 05:31:32 PM »
youre absolutley right, but what you view as chaos is also a balance...yin/yang. one population explosion leads to another, which leads to decline in both and then rebound....
Not arguing but the statement i replied to is a gross exageration.
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Offline Sourdough

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McKinley Park wolves
« Reply #9 on: May 24, 2006, 04:01:59 PM »
Exageration?  Not hardly!  I've looked at population counts for over fifty years on Moose, Caribou, Bears, and Wolves.  When the wolves took out the 40 mile Caribou herd in the late 60s, it took 30 years for the Caribou to make a come back.  Then only with some intervention of man to keep the preditors down.  Without preditor control it would have taken much longer.  Want to really get an education on preditor and prey relations.  Keep a watch on the program at Yellowstone.  This is going to take another ten years to see the full results.  The animal lovers are ellated at how fast the wolves are increasing in numbers.  They are not concerned at the rapid decline in Elk populations.  Want till the Elk populations get down to almost nothing.  The wolves will then start on the Moose and when they are gone the rabbits.  Then the wolves will move out and start killing cattle and sheep on nearby ranches.  Then look out humans.  If anyone thinks wolves will not kill and eat a human, they need a brain transplant.  It has been documented that wolves will kill and eat humans, here in the US as well as Europe.  Just the animal rights activest refuse to admit it, just like Treadwell refused to admit Brown Bears would kill and eat him.
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Where is old Joe when we really need him?  Alaska Independence    Calling Illegal Immigrants "Undocumented Aliens" is like calling Drug Dealers "Unlicensed Pharmacists"
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A 'Veteran' -- whether active duty, discharged, retired, or reserve -- is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable to 'The United States of America,' for an amount of 'up to, and including his life.' That is honor, and there are way too many people in this country today who no longer understand that fact.

Offline Dusty Miller

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McKinley Park wolves
« Reply #10 on: May 24, 2006, 09:18:25 PM »
Right you are but you'll never persuade the TRUE BELIEVERS.
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Offline Sourdough

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McKinley Park wolves
« Reply #11 on: May 28, 2006, 07:41:29 PM »
Just had a visit from a real bleeding heart liberal.  Larry has always been against hunting.  He and I have butted heads since we were kids over this issue.  Well Larry lives in Ft Lauderdale, and knew one of the women that got killed by gators recently.  He also lost a pet cat from his back yard, and realised that the alligator would have taken his wife if she had gone out to get the cat away out of the gator's reach.  It took a large preditor in his back yard and the loss of a friend to realise nature's way is not always the best way.  Larry finally admitted there is need for preditor control.  He is now wanting to see a hunting season on gators.
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Where is old Joe when we really need him?  Alaska Independence    Calling Illegal Immigrants "Undocumented Aliens" is like calling Drug Dealers "Unlicensed Pharmacists"
What Is A Veteran?
A 'Veteran' -- whether active duty, discharged, retired, or reserve -- is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable to 'The United States of America,' for an amount of 'up to, and including his life.' That is honor, and there are way too many people in this country today who no longer understand that fact.

Offline Syncerus

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McKinley Park wolves
« Reply #12 on: June 13, 2006, 10:20:03 AM »
The residents of Southern California feel strongly that wolves should be reintroduced to their natural ranges in Idaho.

Of course, the people who actually live in Idaho feel strongly that grizzly bears should be reintroduced to their natural ranges in California; ideally in Los Angeles county ...

;)

Syncerus
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Offline Sourdough

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McKinley Park wolves
« Reply #13 on: June 13, 2006, 07:42:59 PM »
I'm sure the city of Anchorage could arrainge to give southern california a few Grizzly Bears to reintroduce them into their original home range.  They might even throw in a few Black Bears for good measure.
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Where is old Joe when we really need him?  Alaska Independence    Calling Illegal Immigrants "Undocumented Aliens" is like calling Drug Dealers "Unlicensed Pharmacists"
What Is A Veteran?
A 'Veteran' -- whether active duty, discharged, retired, or reserve -- is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable to 'The United States of America,' for an amount of 'up to, and including his life.' That is honor, and there are way too many people in this country today who no longer understand that fact.
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