Perhaps one of the least researched and "hey, let's publish this titillating story on how "hunting wolves might actually boost their population" appeared in the Oregonian Newspaper today......It is obvious that the reporter picking up on an University of Calgary research report that indicated that wolves respond to human hunting pressure by the remaining wolves pairing up and having twice the litters in a given region...............The Reporter failed to ask the question if this is a good thing............Would it be a good thing to start killing people so that the remaining human population would breed more to compensate for the losses incurred by the killing?..............Yes, Wolves and Coyotes(especially Coyotes) do tend to have larger litters and create smaller territories with additional breeders as hunting pressure mounts.............But that leads to younger and inexperienced wolves and coyotes running amuck and getting into more trouble with people................Same thing happens in persecuted puma populations.........Juvenile males move into vacant territories, breed with remaining females and simultaneously take risks in and around human settlements(adolescent risk taking)..............What we should be striving for is intact wolf and coyote units,,,,,,,,,intact puma spatial organization so that least conflict with us human animals occur while optimum top down trophic ecosytem services occur generating the greatest array of biodiversity possible

https://www.google.com/url?rct=j&sa=t&url=http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2014/11/post_41.html&ct=ga&cd=CAIyGjNiY2FkZTRjYzk3Y2I0MjI6Y29tOmVuOlVT&usg=AFQjCNGMmoc61yqjkqpDDNicnE9bLoPkqA

Oregon environment roundup: Could hunting wolves actually boost wolf population?

Wolf pups from the Wenaha Pack huddle in a 2012 photo. A new study indicates wolf hunting could actually cause population increases by elevating stress hormones that, in turn, encourage reproduction. ( Photo courtesy of Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife)

Print

By Kelly House | khouse@oregonian.com 
Email the author | Follow on Twitter
on November 18, 2014 at 8:00 AM, updated November 18, 2014 at 8:05 AM

Could wolf hunting as a means of population control be having the opposite effect? A study published Wednesday in the journal Functional Ecology indicates it could. According to research from scientists at the University of Calgary, wolves change their reproductive behavior in response to the stress of being hunted. In short, they have more babies. Part of the reason, the scientists conclude, is because alpha male deaths lead to social disruption, enabling lower-ranking males to breed with female pack members.

  

"