Red Wolf or Coyote? Maybe a bit of both
The News and Observer article the other day about red wolf reintroduction into North Carolina had a few people ask me about my thoughts. Well that certainly is a loaded question mainly because I’m not convinced what has been released as a red wolf is really a red wolf. No doubt it has wolf in it but it also has coyote in it as well. Myself I believe they are better described as a supped up coyote. While I know many will disagree with me I’m just not sure the federal government should be stocking in something that is not what they claim it is.
Now am I opposed to restoring wolves or other predators to ranges where they once were? No if it is done reasonably but that never seems how it is done. I do not believe predators should be stocked in to replaces man’s role at the top of the food chain. While there is room for both where the issue comes in that many of the supporters of restoration efforts want to allow these populations to grow unchecked we only have to look at western United States to see that.
Well anyone that knows me knows how much I like to turkey hunt so the main thrust of the article must make me happy;
Wolves’ role in helping these ground-nesting birds is well known, Rabon said. Raccoons eat the birds’ eggs, and red wolves prey on raccoons. More wolves mean fewer raccoons, and fewer raccoons mean more quail and turkey. Connecting the dots, more wolves mean more birds.
Effects like this aren’t unique to Eastern North Carolina. Research from around the globe, compiled in an article in the journal Science last month, shows just how deeply large predators like wolves and cougars are connected to the ecosystems where they live.
If predators vanish or reappear, even plants and soil might feel the effects. Predators play a crucial role in shaping the landscape.
I’m really not surprised the red wolf / coyote help many of the birds including turkeys. Other predators have gone pretty much unchecked with trapping becoming a politically incorrect activity and hunting of coons certainly not as popular as it once was. West Virginia did a five year wild turkey survival study and found that only one study turkey was taken by a coyote suggesting the coyote did not negatively impact the wild turkey population. Given that study the red wolf / coyote in eastern North Carolina most likely has some positive effects on turkey and quail populations.
Of course with anything in nature something has to give especially if the red wolf has federal protection and the population continues to expand. The protection is hard to enforce giving that the red wolf stocked in had coyote in its dna already and they will breed with coyotes making it impossible for anyone to prove if the critter in question is a red wolf or a coyote. That is my opinion and should not be taken as legal advice for sure. I hunt pretty infrequently in the red wolf territory but if you do you better educate yourself on the red wolf.
Red Wolf Id Card
Bottom line whatever you choose to call it the red wolf / coyote is having some positive impacts but a check with local farmers I’m sure they have some negative impacts these critters are causing.
