[Ski]

The solution, of course, as I suggested in another thread, is simply to kill all the goddam cows. Done. Problem solved.

[thunderhead]

But i want steak and milk.

[Ski]

so eat buffalo. much healthier. the farm-raised venison from New Zealand is damn good too. cows are the bane of mankind. they should be removed from the planet. all kinds of animals are capable of producing milk. ask anybody from Tibet. Besides, considering how many other options there are to beef, that's not a cogent argument.

[Malachai Constant]

In Algonquin Provincial Park the presence of wolves kept the numbers of white tail deer small as compared to moose as wolves easily kill deer but have a much harder time with moose. The wolves were killed off pretty much by the 1950’s. When the park was established hunting was severely limited to preserve moose. With the wolves gone deer numbers exploded as the could browse the cutover land. Moose numbers plunged as the deer ate most of the available food. Deer faced starvation due to over population.Wolves were reintroduced and predator bounties banned. The result is moose numbers increased an deer thrived in open areas.

[Cyclopath]

[Ski]

I'd posit you would never see a condition where there were "too many" predators. Their population numbers are limited by the carrying capacity of their habitat range. In cases where they've been extirpated, where huge numbers of prey animals exist, the predator numbers will increase rapidly. WDFW had NO idea the resident wolf population in Washington State would increase at the rate it did. When the prey animal population is reduced to a the level where it no longer sustains the predator population, the predator population will remain stable or decrease. The system worked just fine until we stuck our fingers into it and screwed it up.

[RumiDude]

Couple things ... There have always been territorial fights between predators of all sorts, this includes wolves, coyotes, bears, cougars, lynx, and bobcats. It has also occurred with the very top predator, human beings. The problem with humans is that they are capable of expiration of other species. See wolves and grizzly bears as prime examples. As I for the issue of deer, moose, elk, etc, these have always been managed by humans for the benefit of hunters,farmers, and ranchers, NOT for the benefit and health of the ecosystem. And the primary reason for problems in this area are loss of habitat due to unmanaged human usage. Rumi. <~~~~~unmanageable

[treeswarper]

Much of the elk in our state come from elk transplanted here from the Yellowstone area. In fact, the local tribes have transplanted elk to their lands and now market a big game hunt to hunters with enough money. I hate to tell you, but people are part of the ecosystem and have been for some time. I was at a lecture about GPNF archeology, and during excavations of rock shelters, at one point, elk bones disappeared and did not reappear. Volcanic eruption? Over hunting? Disease? People had to eat and have historically been "Top Predator". You also cannot just shove an animal species into an area where the citizens do not want it, without resistance. You can expect wolves to be shot or poisoned or ?? for some time, if not as long as people are living among them. That's just the way it is, no matter how horrible you think it is. Like, I'm going to release skunks in the Redmond area. It'll be against the law for you to do anything detrimental to a skunk. Would that be acceptable?

[RumiDude]

[Ski]

The urban centers of Seattle and Tacoma already have healthy skunk populations, which are supported by idiots who think it's a good idea to feed squirrels and raccoons. The Roosevelt Elk up on the Olympic Peninsula and down around Mt. St. Helens (the two largest population centers of Roosevelt Elk in the state) are indigenous to the area.

[Kascadia]

[Ski]

^ Unless I am mistaken, that herd over on Oak Creek are Rocky Mountain elk.... I could well be mistaken. The area around Mt. St. Helens has the highest elk population density in the state, but the wolves haven't managed to make it that far yet... they're still hanging out over on the Teanaway.

[BigBrunyon]

The issue at hand here is that it's always a rube deal when getting these big deals thru to law! Run of the mill churn em and burn em type deal.

[timberghost]

What it really comes down to is the info about predators can be interpreted/manipulated to fit each person's views or agenda. There's no doubt that their has been an increase in the numbers good or bad it's your take.

[ThinAir]