Monday, November 15, 2010

The Wolf Off The Endangered List?

The gray wolf is the largest wild member of the Canidae family.  The gray wolf used to populate a vast amount of Europe, Asia, and North America.  The wolf population decreased dramatically due to habitat destruction, human involvement, and many human-wolf encounters that led to local extinction of the wolf.  The wolf is now only protected in certain areas of the U.S.

In 2009 The gray wolf was removed from the ESA
( Endangered Species Act) in the Rockies, mainly Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming.  This upset certain conservation organizations(which are suing the federal government) because they know the wolf is not yet populated enough to be removed from the list.  In order to be removed from the ESA conservation groups argue that there has to be 2,000 - 2,500 wolves in the Rockies area.  Currently there are only 1,600 wolves accounted for in the Rockies area.  If the wolf is removed now, conservation groups fear that their numbers are still to low and that the wolves will be over hunted leading to another huge decrease in the population.    



http://news.mongabay.com/2009/0507-hance_wolfoped.html
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18 comments:

  1. Rob MortonNovember 15, 2010 at 5:37 AM

    There is no way that the Gray Wolf should have been taken off of the endangered species list. There is a small amount of them left, my opinion, they should be put back on.

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  2. adelineNovember 15, 2010 at 5:37 AM

    Is the ESA suing the government for money or to et the wolf back on the endangered species list?

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  3. Kristin SibleyNovember 15, 2010 at 5:41 AM

    I agree, the Gray Wolf shouldn't have been removed from the endangered species list if they hadn't met the critera for it. Is it legal for people to hunt them?

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  4. Meryl JonesNovember 17, 2010 at 4:49 AM

    I agree that they should be put back on the list. Why were they taken off the list to begin with?

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  5. KNovember 17, 2010 at 4:52 AM

    Were the wolves hunted? Or were there homes just destroyed? What caused them to become extinct?

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  6. Mason LeightonNovember 17, 2010 at 5:01 AM

    Adeline I looked it up and I believe they were suing the government to get the wolf back on the list, they proposed a deal where the wolf would be moved to a threatened status in 4 districts including the Rockies area. If this deal isn't passed then the wolf will be removed from ESA's protection, thus probably being legal to hunt to answer Kristin's question to.

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  7. brendan.macdonaldNovember 17, 2010 at 5:05 AM

    I believe that the wolves should have remained on the conservation list. They are a vital part to an ecosystem in which they hunt animals who can destroy vegetated areas rapidly such as elk. It is important that we have a balance between animals that hunt, and those that are hunted.

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  8. Mason LeightonNovember 17, 2010 at 5:07 AM

    Meryl and Katrina the wolf was put on the list because of human encroachment on the wolves territory which lead to loss of habitat for the wolf. Also because of the habitat loss a lot of the deer and elk they eat were run off to, which led the wolf to hunt cattle and sheep. Many wolves were killed by landowners trying to protect their livestock.

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  9. MayaNovember 17, 2010 at 5:11 AM

    Where do the wolves live other than the Rockies? Or is that one of the few places where they still remain?

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  10. RMurphy23November 17, 2010 at 5:14 AM

    There isn't a thing we can do about the Grey wolves. Over time they will disappear and we are going to have to deal with that when that time comes

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  11. Mason LeightonNovember 17, 2010 at 5:21 AM

    Maya wolves do live in other areas including Canada, Alaska, Greenland, parts of Europe, Russia, and other parts of Asia. The Rockies is the biggest location in American for wolves other then Alaska, which is why this upsets the conservation groups.

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  12. Mason LeightonNovember 17, 2010 at 5:24 AM

    Murphy we can do something. The wolves still have a decent population in other parts of the world, but in America the population is weak and needs to be rebuilt.

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  13. Brian HNovember 17, 2010 at 5:24 AM

    I agree that the wolf is an important part to an ecosystem and they should be put back on the protection list.

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  14. RMurphy23November 17, 2010 at 5:25 AM

    I still think that just because we put them back on the endangered list doesn't mean that people aren't going to go and kill them

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  15. JordanNovember 17, 2010 at 5:30 AM

    Ryan, putting them back on the endangered list will only help, sure some people may still kill them but what happens if they were to get caught?

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  16. Rance MillsNovember 17, 2010 at 6:31 AM

    Jordan, you can get in big trouble for killing a animal that is on the endangered species list. Killing an animal on the endangered species list is a felony, and you can be fined up to $50,000 and also possibly a year in prison.

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  17. whitneyNovember 17, 2010 at 7:20 AM

    I agree that the Grey Wolf should stay on the endangered. I agree with Ryan if we take them off then people are going to think that it is okay just to get rid of one animal by shooting it. If it is on the list then people would be aware of it and if one comes across you lawn, instead of killing it call the Wildlife Conservation officer and they will do something about it.

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  18. DaNieLiMarch 11, 2013 at 8:28 AM

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    ReplyDelete

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