Posted by Ranger Sally (165.83.4.57) on March 14, 2002 at 13:40:45:
In Reply to: about the wolves posted by alisha lake on March 14, 2002 at 12:20:45:
: what happens if there are too many wolves in the park? If there are to many will some of them kill people for food? Do they get rabies? If so, how do you get them out of the park? Also if there are too many wolves, do you shoot some of them so they won't kill anybody in the park or do you just take them somewhere else?
Sounds like you have a lot of questions, Alisha and I wish we could chat in person. At present wolfs are still listed here as a threatened, non-essential population. In order to be "delisted", there must be a total of 30 breeding pairs (including those in sites in Idaho and northwest Montana)for 3 successive years. Acceptable wolf management plans from the states of Wyoming, Idaho and Montana are also required. Currently they have not even reached the point of delisting.
In time it is likely that the number of wolves will continue to grow and that they WILL disperse out of the park. That is why it will be necessary for the surrounding states to have management plans prepared, so that conflicts between wolves and humans will be handled in an appropriate manner. When the wolves get to the point of being delisted, the state wildlife agencies will manage them, if they leave the park. If there are too many of them, it is possible that someday there could be a harvesting or hunting season invoked. Historically most wolves avoid people, if possible and do not consider humans to be a food source-in fact, there has never been an instance of a healthy wolf killing a person in the lower 48 states. Wolves can, however, get rabies, as can other wild animals. It's important that people avoid feeding or trying to "habituate" wolves and that people who either live in or visit areas where there are wild predators(not just wolves)respect and take precautions to avoid conflicts with such animals.