human hunting and culling of wolf packs.....................does it reduce populations(additive) or simply substitute for other ways wolves die(compensatory)?

Recently, Dennis Murray and Brent Patterson of Trent University in Canada presented a talk on whether human killing and trapping of wolves can significantly reduce populations(additive culling) or simply substitute for other causes of wolf deaths(compensatory), and not reduce populations.

They and others have concluded that wolf populations can sustain an annual mortality of 30% and not face population reductions. Annual litters and recruitment of dispersing wolves from other packs seem to be able to act as an offset to up to 30% of a given population dying through one cause or another.

Wolves, like coyotes often respond to population losses by having larger litters of pups(more food on the ground, so larger litters can be sustained). Where Wolves have recently re-colonized an area(like Eastern Oregon), human hunting and trapping of wolves can be harmful and additive to the point of causing more than 30% annual mortality and therefore generate population reductions. Where Wolves have hit population saturation levels, an awful lot of killing by humans has to take place to cause the >than 30% mortality levels to kick in................with the exception being if a widespread enough geographical locale is thoroughly hunted, human hunting can again tip the 30% lever and bring on population reductions.

What is often not taken into account by Fish and Wildlife Agencies is that wolves are social pack animals and that while <30% culling might not reduce populations, it is always disruptive to family units, often causing the breakup of packs that can lead to domestic cattle and sheep killing and confusion and risk taking on the part of the remaining juvenile members of the fractured pack(just like us humans, when mom and dad split up, the kids often get into bad trouble).

If dispersing yearling wolves are also killed by human hunters, this can reduce genetic mixing of packs that can lead to eventual health problems through inbreeding outcomes.

Bottom line is that Wildlife Managers need to "go back to school" and re-think hunting season and culling strategies when it comes to social predators..................it is not enough to say that a certain quota of "kills" will not reduce populations...............................we have to look beyond raw numbers and begin to think about intact family units and the benefits that it brings to the wolf family as well as the benefit that it brings to the rancher and farmer and wildlife observer as it relates to not having "gangs of fractured wolf remnant members taking undue chances with livestock and coming in close to human dwellings because of hunger and desperation due to pack violation.

click to read and inspect Murray and Patterson's revealing slide show

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