09 March 2016
Killing wolves to teach them a lesson?
A misconception exists, that by shooting and killing wolves they will actually learn to avoid humans and so doing it will create a situation where humans and wolves will not get into conflict regarding the same prey.
First of all, dead wolves don't learn, neither can dead wolves convey a message to the surviving pack members to stay away from humans. Simply because they are dead.
Secondly, wolves are being killed en masse from vehicles and helicopters, with high powered rifles fitted with scopes which means that wolves are wary of helicopters and vehicles, for that is what they associate the experience of pain and stress with. They do not notice the humans inside.
They may hear the sound of the rifle but they will not associate it with humans because they do not see the human that is shooting them. To them it is thunder and death, or thunder and pain.
The only way wolves will learn to avoid humans is if they associate the human with the pain and stress.
They will only learn to avoid livestock if they associate it with pain and stress. Unlike we would like to believe, wolves do not regard cattle as belonging to some rancher. To them it is an easy prey for which they compete with humans. Wolves do not have a concept of owning.
Wolves learn from experience.
Wolves that were trapped and freed will very seldom fall into the same trap again. Chances are that other members of the pack will also avoid the same traps because of the lesson the one that survived conveyed to them.
To teach wolves to avoid human presence and human habitat it is essential that they must be kept alive and non lethal methods are used. Wolves like most animals will avoid areas and creatures they associate with bad experiences.
To wolves the death of a pack member is part of everyday life. They die of sickness, fights with rivals, accidents and are often killed by intended prey. Death of a mature pack member can cause havoc with the pack's survival but will do little to teach them to avoid the cause of its death.
Wolves learn from each other and by way of association.
In a wolf world, death is something to accept, they will not contemplate a pack member's death and associate it with human presence.
The claim by Idaho officials that hunting and killing wolves taught them to stay away from human cattle is false and borders on misinformation. It simply means that they have killed so many wolves that depredation on livestock started to go down.
By Vincent Kennard
Killing wolves to teach them a lesson?
A misconception exists, that by shooting and killing wolves they will actually learn to avoid humans and so doing it will create a situation where humans and wolves will not get into conflict regarding the same prey.
First of all, dead wolves don't learn, neither can dead wolves convey a message to the surviving pack members to stay away from humans. Simply because they are dead.
Secondly, wolves are being killed en masse from vehicles and helicopters, with high powered rifles fitted with scopes which means that wolves are wary of helicopters and vehicles, for that is what they associate the experience of pain and stress with. They do not notice the humans inside.
They may hear the sound of the rifle but they will not associate it with humans because they do not see the human that is shooting them. To them it is thunder and death, or thunder and pain.
The only way wolves will learn to avoid humans is if they associate the human with the pain and stress.
They will only learn to avoid livestock if they associate it with pain and stress. Unlike we would like to believe, wolves do not regard cattle as belonging to some rancher. To them it is an easy prey for which they compete with humans. Wolves do not have a concept of owning.
Wolves learn from experience.
Wolves that were trapped and freed will very seldom fall into the same trap again. Chances are that other members of the pack will also avoid the same traps because of the lesson the one that survived conveyed to them.
To teach wolves to avoid human presence and human habitat it is essential that they must be kept alive and non lethal methods are used. Wolves like most animals will avoid areas and creatures they associate with bad experiences.
To wolves the death of a pack member is part of everyday life. They die of sickness, fights with rivals, accidents and are often killed by intended prey. Death of a mature pack member can cause havoc with the pack's survival but will do little to teach them to avoid the cause of its death.
Wolves learn from each other and by way of association.
In a wolf world, death is something to accept, they will not contemplate a pack member's death and associate it with human presence.
The claim by Idaho officials that hunting and killing wolves taught them to stay away from human cattle is false and borders on misinformation. It simply means that they have killed so many wolves that depredation on livestock started to go down.
By Vincent Kennard
