A new study of wolves in Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming
By Janet Chapple on October 28th, 2010
In Wildlife
Back on April twelfth, I posted a sort of book report about Cat Urbigkit’s Yellowstone Wolves book and its eye-opening take on the 1990s wolf introduction from a Wyoming rancher’s point of view (see Yellowstone>Wildlife here for that post).
The item that brought me up short in this new report was this: “The study also proved beyond a doubt that wolves now living in the Northern Rockies did not somehow contaminate a remnant native wolf population.”—and— “The wolves from Canada were coming here by themselves. . . . They were already here. They walked.”
This clearly contradicts Urbigkit’s contention that the Canadian wolves brought in to the three contiguous mountain states were a different and larger species from what was here before. This news does not reduce my sympathy for ranchers who lose livestock to wolf predation, but it is another factor that justifies bringing in wolves to establish ecological balance, especially in Yellowstone Park.
The study appeared in the October issue of Molecular Ecology and was reported in some detail in the October 25th Missoulian newspaper.
1 comment
There are several things wrong with what you've reported. The actual research paper in Molecular Ecology only used samples from wolves involved in the reintroduction program, or from the existing northwestern Montana population. No native wolves (prior to reintroduction) in Yellowstone region were part of the study, so of course those genetics aren't reported. Research results on those animals have demonstrated their difference - see the results as reported in my book (the references are footnoted there). The wolves sampled after the reintroduction include known dead wolves - radio collared wolves and wolves otherwise known to the official program.Secondly, the quoted statement that the study "proved beyond a doubt" was hogwash, and wasn't a quote from the study itself. Instead, it was from an opinion piece in the same issue. The author effectively slammed anyone, including taxonomists, who do not agree with his opinion. Sorry dude, but I'm more interested in science than your opinion.
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