Can wolf management really be this simple?

[elkduds]

Transylvania Is Famous For Vampires, But Also Has Lots Of Grizzlies And Wolves

Krisztina Gayler has a long history of ranching in grizzly and wolf country on two continents. She grew up on a ranch in Hungary and came to the U.S. in…

cowboystatedaily.com

 

[peterk1234]

Transylvania Is Famous For Vampires, But Also Has Lots Of Grizzlies And Wolves

Krisztina Gayler has a long history of ranching in grizzly and wolf country on two continents. She grew up on a ranch in Hungary and came to the U.S. in…

cowboystatedaily.com

Nope.

 

[elkduds]

Nope.

I thought not, however please enlighten us. One obvious issue is how dispersed western livestock grazing is. With 20 million Romanians in a country smaller than CO, livestock should not have far to roam.

Random thought: How about reintroducing wolves next to Ammon Bundy's NV ranch?. Or maybe just a rattlesnake sanctuary/solar and wind farm?

 

[FairWeather]

Nothing is said in that article about the hunting culture in Romania. What is the relationship between the people and the wildlife resources? To me that stands out as a significant difference.

It’s not just peoples’ cattle heards that the wolves and bears are eating (hear and there), but it sounds like we may have a higher value placed on those prey species than they do in Eastern Europe.

 

[more_cowbell]

Says the ranchers cant have firearms or spray. Relying on packs of 15 large dogs to keep predators away sounds like a lot of dog food.

Also says “Shepherds and range riders are also almost constantly with flocks and herds.” Similar to what some Oregon ranchers do in addition to flagging, noisemakers, and other non lethal deterrents.

 

[Ben Lamb]

Nothing is said in that article about the hunting culture in Romania. What is the relationship between the people and the wildlife resources? To me that stands out as a significant difference.

It’s not just peoples’ cattle heards that the wolves and bears are eating (hear and there), but it sounds like we may have a higher value placed on those prey species than they do in Eastern Europe.

Hunting culture is deep in Albania, especially with wolves and bears being totemic in the BCE/early CE era. Tons of illegal hunting for bears, with the illegal trade in wildlife being a large concern internationally. There is some guided hunting from what I can tell. But like a lot of former soviet bloc countries, owning firearms is limited and highly regulated.

LGD's and preventative work is really important to how people deal with those critters and livestock. There's some really cool work coming out of the Tom Miner Basin Assn as well on selecting aggressive livestock breeds that will challenge predators rather than flee.

Ultimately, given the expanse of western ranges and the lack of people, lethal control will never be off the table but in areas where preventative work has been tried, at least in MT, it's worked well (Upper Blackfoot, Rocky Mtn Front, etc).

 

[Benfromalbuquerque]

I’m a supporter of LGDs and can attest to their application in perimeter security. I own a LGD and she will take guardianship of the vulnerable wherever she is placed. Stock in a corral will have all visitors challenged. Kids she’s never met on a playground are protected. Patio at a microbrewery is now her patio and her people. Ironically, this dog came from a Colorado breeder! Just something to think about.
A caveat to comparing EU grazing with USA is the acreage. Free range cattle grazers here would have to amass a legion of LGDs because stock isn’t penned at night. Yet this is definitely valuable information to they who have fenced pastures and finite holdings of stock.

 

[WYelker]

HAHA. Anyone ever wondered what it would take to feed 15-30 LGD on the range? It is not uncommon to see the sheep dogs kill wildlife and eat road kill etc. I mean if they were constantly dumping food in a bowl the dogs would not make it too far from the bowl.

As such this is very much an old lady who swallowed a fly issue. Where that many dogs would simply have unintended consequences and impacts... With sheep it works because they are often in a tighter herd, but with cattle that spread and cover a huge range this would be a significant issue.

 

[Dave N]

suppose I was also with fish and game in this country. And I maintained residences in a shadow trail of dirtgerm locations. Above you, below you, behind you. crawling up inside to see what foreign invaders have maintained power from within.

 

[Bonasababy]

Have heard Dave Mech and others talk about behavior differences between wolves in this part of the world and ours.

Differences in wolf behavior and human tolerance. In some places they come of the hills at night into towns to search for small pets and other food. Pretty interesting stuff.