Hey extremists - this ain't no Kevin Costner movie but wolves aren't evil either
Posted by Jesse White on Tuesday, December 4, 2012 Under: Gray wolf
I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm really tired of hearing about the gray wolf from the extreme fringes of two particular groups: Gray wolf lovers and gray wolf haters.
Enough already: This ain't no Kevin Costner movie but wolves aren't on a mission to eradicate the whitetail population in Minnesota either.
As most of you reading this blog are aware, the state of Minnesota conducted a legalized wolf hunt this fall after the gray wolf was removed from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife's threatened and endangered species list late last year after many decades under the protection of the federal government.
Two seasons were created and harvest targets were set for various parts of the state.
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources officials, using a management plan that was created years ago through sound biological research and reference, determined wolf hunting/trapping seasons would be an acceptable way to help control a population in the state that has easily reached the 3,000 mark and, by all accounts, is considered extremely healthy.
The statewide harvest target was set at 400 wolves and the state was broken down into three zones: Northwest, northeast and north central.
The DNR issued 3,600 permits to early-season wolf hunters and 2,400 permits for late-season hunters and trappers. The second season started Nov. 24 and runs through Jan. 31. During the early season hunters bagged 147 wolves.
Before we go into them, however, perhaps we should clarify my stance on the whole thing: I've honestly never understood the obsession some people have with the gray wolf. I don't find the gray wolf majestic or spiritual and I don't place it any higher on the "prestige" list of animals wandering the forests of northern Minnesota than the deer, the fox, the moose, the bear or any other furry critters.
In my mind it's just another four-legged animal doing what animals do - eating, craping and sleeping.
But then again I'm not selling or collecting wolf related do-dads, trinkets, sweatshirts, posters, books or blankets. I guess what I'm saying is that if one thing can be deemed as an absolute truth about the gray wolf it is by far one of the most marketed wildlife images ever.
Ask Kevin Costner or a couple of the shop owners in Ely, Minnesota.
Then there's the other side of the coin - those who promote the idea that gray wolves are savage hunters with an unquenchable thirst for fresh meat that are hell bent on destroying the whitetail population across the state of Minnesota.
They relate tails of violent, brutal attacks by the wolf on unsuspecting deer and moose, and bark for the elimination of all wolves. To them the wolf is the scurge of northeastern Minnesota and a danger to every dog, cat, cow, deer, moose, and human around.
I don't subscribe to that theory either.
While it's undeniable wolves eat their fair share of deer and moose - probably more than the DNR or any other wildlife biologist will ever admit - I find it hard to believe the animal is capable of destroyed an entire population of anything.
Nature just doesn't work like that.
Now, do I believe the gray wolf has become an ever-increasing problem for farmers and others who live in rural areas? Absolutely.
There's no doubt in my mind that as the wolf population has outgrown the habitat available to them in this state over the past 20 years or so and because of that the animal has become more brazen and more visible to the average Minnesotan.
And as their population grows and the area they have to roam shrinks, you're going to see them doing more damage to livestock and deer. This is documented truth based on sound science - not emotions.
According to the DNR:
"The greatest long-term threat to wolf conservation is habitat reduction and destruction. Human population growth and subsequent increases in human dispersion on the land are contributing to the decrease of available habitat for large ungulates, and hence wolves. This growth also increases the chance of human-wolf encounters, which usually end poorly for wolves... gray wolves have a demonstrated ability to adapt to human pressures, and human intolerance of their presence may be the limiting factor for wolves in Minnesota."
And that's where the idea of hunting/trapping seasons comes into play. The DNR, through research and study, has concluded that the best way to lower the chances of human/wolf interaction is through population management and thus we get some seasons to do just that.
That idea comes out of sound science and research.
Years and years of it.
Still, despite the fact that the DNR and wildlife experts from various other agencies - including some native Americans - have come to this conclusion, there are those extremists on both sides convinced that their way is right and everyone else is wrong.
And that's how you get groups like "Howling For Wolves," the entity that took the time to ship members from their group up north recently to stage a wolf-hunting protest outside a local mall in hopes of garnering attention to their cause.
I didn't attend the event. I can pretty much guess what their stance is and how closed-minded and unrealistic they are after seeing their disturbing billboards on the sides of Minnesota highways this fall like the following three examples:
Enough already: This ain't no Kevin Costner movie but wolves aren't on a mission to eradicate the whitetail population in Minnesota either.
As most of you reading this blog are aware, the state of Minnesota conducted a legalized wolf hunt this fall after the gray wolf was removed from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife's threatened and endangered species list late last year after many decades under the protection of the federal government.
Two seasons were created and harvest targets were set for various parts of the state.
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources officials, using a management plan that was created years ago through sound biological research and reference, determined wolf hunting/trapping seasons would be an acceptable way to help control a population in the state that has easily reached the 3,000 mark and, by all accounts, is considered extremely healthy.
The statewide harvest target was set at 400 wolves and the state was broken down into three zones: Northwest, northeast and north central.
The DNR issued 3,600 permits to early-season wolf hunters and 2,400 permits for late-season hunters and trappers. The second season started Nov. 24 and runs through Jan. 31. During the early season hunters bagged 147 wolves.
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As you can imagine the idea of a wolf hunt, regardless of how few wolves would be be targeted, drew the ire of several groups in the country and state including one created just recently named "Howling For Wolves (www.howlingforwolves.org)."Before we go into them, however, perhaps we should clarify my stance on the whole thing: I've honestly never understood the obsession some people have with the gray wolf. I don't find the gray wolf majestic or spiritual and I don't place it any higher on the "prestige" list of animals wandering the forests of northern Minnesota than the deer, the fox, the moose, the bear or any other furry critters.
In my mind it's just another four-legged animal doing what animals do - eating, craping and sleeping.
But then again I'm not selling or collecting wolf related do-dads, trinkets, sweatshirts, posters, books or blankets. I guess what I'm saying is that if one thing can be deemed as an absolute truth about the gray wolf it is by far one of the most marketed wildlife images ever.
Ask Kevin Costner or a couple of the shop owners in Ely, Minnesota.
Then there's the other side of the coin - those who promote the idea that gray wolves are savage hunters with an unquenchable thirst for fresh meat that are hell bent on destroying the whitetail population across the state of Minnesota.
They relate tails of violent, brutal attacks by the wolf on unsuspecting deer and moose, and bark for the elimination of all wolves. To them the wolf is the scurge of northeastern Minnesota and a danger to every dog, cat, cow, deer, moose, and human around.
I don't subscribe to that theory either.
While it's undeniable wolves eat their fair share of deer and moose - probably more than the DNR or any other wildlife biologist will ever admit - I find it hard to believe the animal is capable of destroyed an entire population of anything.
Nature just doesn't work like that.
Now, do I believe the gray wolf has become an ever-increasing problem for farmers and others who live in rural areas? Absolutely.
There's no doubt in my mind that as the wolf population has outgrown the habitat available to them in this state over the past 20 years or so and because of that the animal has become more brazen and more visible to the average Minnesotan.
And as their population grows and the area they have to roam shrinks, you're going to see them doing more damage to livestock and deer. This is documented truth based on sound science - not emotions.
According to the DNR:
"The greatest long-term threat to wolf conservation is habitat reduction and destruction. Human population growth and subsequent increases in human dispersion on the land are contributing to the decrease of available habitat for large ungulates, and hence wolves. This growth also increases the chance of human-wolf encounters, which usually end poorly for wolves... gray wolves have a demonstrated ability to adapt to human pressures, and human intolerance of their presence may be the limiting factor for wolves in Minnesota."
And that's where the idea of hunting/trapping seasons comes into play. The DNR, through research and study, has concluded that the best way to lower the chances of human/wolf interaction is through population management and thus we get some seasons to do just that.
That idea comes out of sound science and research.
Years and years of it.
Still, despite the fact that the DNR and wildlife experts from various other agencies - including some native Americans - have come to this conclusion, there are those extremists on both sides convinced that their way is right and everyone else is wrong.
And that's how you get groups like "Howling For Wolves," the entity that took the time to ship members from their group up north recently to stage a wolf-hunting protest outside a local mall in hopes of garnering attention to their cause.
I didn't attend the event. I can pretty much guess what their stance is and how closed-minded and unrealistic they are after seeing their disturbing billboards on the sides of Minnesota highways this fall like the following three examples:
Looking at those fake, photoshop images, makes me more sick than the idea of unethical hunters gut-shooting wolves for no reason. You can't possibly take any group serious that uses that type of imagery and false advertising to further their agenda.
But then again, after seeing some of the pro-wolf hunting groups and pages that have popped up on the Internet, particularly on social media sites like Facebook, since the wolf was delisted, it's no wonder groups like "Howl" feel the need to go the route of "shock and awe."
It's two extreme sides pushing each others buttons while the rest of us are left to wonder whatever happened to common sense.
And perhaps the most ironic part of it all is that the most vocal on both sides of the issue are probably the least likely to have actually ever seen a gray wolf outside of a picture book or the Ely Wolf Center.
Because despite all the claims by so-called hunters out there who swear they've come eye-to-eye with gray wolves in the wild, I'm willing to bet 99 percent of the time what they actually saw was a coyote - an animal often mistaken for a gray wolf by those who don't know any better.
Then there are those members of extreme wolf loving groups like "Howl" who live nowhere near wolf territory and have never, ever had the opportunity to glance at one in the backwoods of northeastern Minnesota - an area they've most likely never been to to begin with.
Because let me tell you, having actually seen three gray wolves in the woods over my 25 years of deer hunting, I can say this - when they come through the trees from out of nowhere and glance in your direction, the last thing you think is: "Oh, my, how majestic."
And when you come across the remains of a fresh wolf kill on the ground and there's deer hair, fat, hide and limbs strewn about you certainly don't envision doing a fancy dance with one like your name is Kevin Costner.
But then again, after seeing some of the pro-wolf hunting groups and pages that have popped up on the Internet, particularly on social media sites like Facebook, since the wolf was delisted, it's no wonder groups like "Howl" feel the need to go the route of "shock and awe."
It's two extreme sides pushing each others buttons while the rest of us are left to wonder whatever happened to common sense.
And perhaps the most ironic part of it all is that the most vocal on both sides of the issue are probably the least likely to have actually ever seen a gray wolf outside of a picture book or the Ely Wolf Center.
Because despite all the claims by so-called hunters out there who swear they've come eye-to-eye with gray wolves in the wild, I'm willing to bet 99 percent of the time what they actually saw was a coyote - an animal often mistaken for a gray wolf by those who don't know any better.
Then there are those members of extreme wolf loving groups like "Howl" who live nowhere near wolf territory and have never, ever had the opportunity to glance at one in the backwoods of northeastern Minnesota - an area they've most likely never been to to begin with.
Because let me tell you, having actually seen three gray wolves in the woods over my 25 years of deer hunting, I can say this - when they come through the trees from out of nowhere and glance in your direction, the last thing you think is: "Oh, my, how majestic."
And when you come across the remains of a fresh wolf kill on the ground and there's deer hair, fat, hide and limbs strewn about you certainly don't envision doing a fancy dance with one like your name is Kevin Costner.
In : Gray wolf
Tags: minnesota deer hunting wolf gray timber hunt "dances with wolves" costner kevin dnr northern iron range peta howling wolves
A former outdoors writer and reporter for the Mesabi Daily News in Virginia, MN, and the Daily Tribune in Hibbing, MN, Jesse has been in the newspaper business for nearly 20 years. His numerous awards over the past two decades include five first-place awards from the Associated Press; two first-place National Newspaper awards; and a first-place Minnesota Newspaper Association award. He is an avid hunter and angler and enjoys guns and archery.
