Johannian's blog: Wolves' Population Decreasing

Wolves' population have been decreasing here in the USA, but it's wolves' natural aggressive behavior that's getting them killed, and also the fact that they will kill cattle if given the opportunity.

One of the reasons why wolves no longer dwell in the Black Hills of South Dakota is because Grey/Gray Wolves (Canis Lupus) were attacking cattle. Of course, a wild animal is going to go for the easier kill, because with cattle most likely they won't have to chase a cow very far (for there are fences). After many years of this happening, wolves eventually got pushed out of SD, because the owners of the cattle that were getting attacked were shooting and killing the wolves. This started way back in the late 19th century, and eventually continued into the 20th century, but it really started becoming a big problem in the '70s. Many more wolves were being killed, because many more farms were being made, ergo much more cattle for the wolves to kill, therefore causing more owners to shoot more wolves.
An example story is the famous story about the "Custer Wolf", which was a Grey/Gray Wolf in 1911 who caused destruction among multiple ranchers' livestock. The damage was estimated to be a loss of around $25,000 all in all. This wolf was hunted for months, and eventually was killed by a hunter who caught the wolf in a trap.
You can read more about the story here.

I am going to say right now that I am not against an owner of any type of property killing an animal that's causing damage to their property. Let me put it this way: if a mouse is wreaking havoc and destruction in your house, you are going to want to kill it, am I right? What if a wolf, or, really any predator—let's say a Mountain Lion for sake of example—were to kill hundreds (or thousands) of dollars worth of farm animals? Would you not want to get rid of the source of the problem (in the example case, the Mountain Lion)?

It really is unfortunate that Grey/Gray Wolves are dying out, but they do have refuge in Yellowstone National park. They have Buffalo and deer to kill, and hunting is not allowed.

If you would like to know how this short article came about in my mind, this is what lit the bulb (for lack of better words) in my brain:

The latest NRA (National Rifle Association) issue had a short story in the 'Armed Citizen' section of the issue about a man encountering a wolf pack. Here it is:
"A man was out checking his trail cameras in Colville, Wash., on the evening of Oct. 7, 2020, when he found himself surrounded by a pack of wolves hovering about 30 yards away. As the wolves moved closer, he yelled to scare them off. Instead of retreating, however, they growled at him and showed their teeth. Luckily the man was carrying his Browning rifle with him, and was able to protect himself by shooting one of the wolves in the chest, instantly killing it. When the other pack members started to retreat, he was able to escape and call the sheriff's office to report the incident."

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