Wolves Enjoy Salmon?

Tue, March 2, 2010
Posted in Alaska News

Wolves like to eat moose and caribou. That’s a given- ungulates are by far their favorite prey. But a new study shows wolves also eat a lot of salmon where it’s available, even in Interior Alaska. The research could transform the way biologists and managers think about how the species interact in the ecosystem.

Annie Feidt, APRN – Anchorage

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Comments

Chris Kutsch

The assertion that the availability of salmon increases moose predation in those areas seems very tenuous. What is the direct link? What seasons are the salmon available? How does it affect wolf numbers, and what are the numbers, for that matter? The article presents generalizations and vague language. The bulk of the wolf population in Denali correlates strongly to ungulate populations, and while the west and northwest regions of the park hold wolves, it has traditionally been a very low density, if I recall correctly. If they are eating 17% salmon as part of a yearly diet, that suggests that for a significant period of summer/fall there is little or no ungulate predation. I do not know the implications of this finding, and neither do the folks at ADF&G or the BOG. Wildlife scientists can only claim to be such as long as they hue to the scientific approach, and their influence in decision making needs be minimized when they start making ill-informed assumptions.
shauna

I'm curious as to what your educational background is on this subject?
wlfgirl

duh!!!i knew that! and i didnt need a degree for that!!!took them this long to figure that one out???wooow!!!
ulogoni

Oh of course Fish and Game would use this information that is new to them to push their wolf killing agenda. New to them. Eating salmon and ungulates is not new to the wolves. Think hundreds of thousands of years. Caribou populations are not only in decline in Alaska. It is a global decline. The major factor pressuring woodland caribou is industrial development. For Arctic caribou and reindeer, climate change is another major pressure. Out of 58 large herds in the Northern Hemisphere, 34 are declining. For 16 others there is no data. Killing predators does not address the source of the decline, thus any perceived benefit is most temporary.