Wolves prefer fishing to hunting. It is easier for the wolves to catch salmon than track deer. BBC News.
“Wolves in western Canada prefer to fish for salmon when it is in season rather than hunt deer or other wild game, researchers have found.”
Easier? Why I thought wolves from Canada were killing machines that took down anything — the bigger the better.
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Ralph Maughan
Dr. Ralph Maughan is professor emeritus of political science at Idaho State University with specialties in natural resource politics, public opinion, interest groups, political parties, voting and elections. Aside from academic publications, he is author or co-author of three hiking/backpacking guides, and he is past President of the Western Watersheds Project.
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There’s a really gorgeous book and DVD on the salmon-eating wolves of British Columbia called The Last Wild Wolves, Ghosts of the Rain Forest. The author is Ian McAllister. It’s from U. of California Press–ISBN 978-0-520-25473-2. The photos are wonderful, and the accounts of low tech research methods (no radio collars) are worth pondering. I heartily recommend it.
This is the perfect solution for getting wolves into Utah. We just need some salmon runs up from the Great Salt Lake!
Interesting, I’ve seen one of those documentaries, something to do with a ‘ghost bear’ (white grizzlies), it mentioned grey wolves eating salmon brains and leaving carrion for bears.
“Easier? Why I thought wolves from Canada were killing machines that took down anything — the bigger the better”
According to a lovely little article I found (ref. Wolf Song Alaska) on Wolf Management in Canada, trappers from areas like Alberta and British Columbia are taught to kill the healthy wolves (because their pelts sell for higher prices) and leave the old/injured/mangy ones.
Take a look at Nootka Island on the west coast of Vancouver Island. Wolves there have extripated the deer on that island and learned to hunt the seals and sea lions. They watch the beach for sunning marine mammals and then launch a pincer movement to cut off the seaward escape. What was that about the “mother of invention”???
John, the “ghost bear” is a black bear, not a brown, and it is the bears who eat the brain and the roe and leave the flesh for…wolves/eagles/etc…
I stand corrected.
I have seen coyotes fih before, in small drainages that fish get stuck in. Pretty cool, but wolves would be awesome to see do it!
The book that Maska mentioned is incredible!
The first wolf I saw in the wild was on the McNeil River in Alaska more than 20 years ago. I watched it steal a salmon from a large Brown Bear.
There’s a parasite that affects (as I understand it) canines that is carried by anadramous fish — doesn’t it affect wolves?
I know it can kill a dog.
If I remember correctly, the bear is actually called the spirit bear, I have read a couple of articles about them as saw a couple of shows about them as well..
National Geographic ran a story about these bears some years ago. they run from cinnamon to a dirty blond and apparently only occur in a small area in BC close to the ocean.
this looks like a good place for this
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28381818/