As the federal government prepares to release its harmful plan to remove protections for wolves in the Northern Rockies, some anti-wolf zealots are chomping at the bit to spread misinformation about these misunderstood animals.
I'm sending this message to debunk some of those myths and set the record straight.
Wolves: Myth vs. Reality
MYTH [1]:
Wolves are "vicious killing machines" with no purpose.
FACT:
Like any top predator, wolves play an enormously important role in their ecosystems.
MYTH [2]:
Wolves are very dangerous and commonly attack people.
FACT:
Wolf attacks are among the rarest of all large mammal attacks on humans. In fact, a person in wolf country has a greater chance of being hit by lightning, dying of a bee sting, or being killed in a collision with a deer than being injured by a wolf.
MYTH [3]:
Wolves devastate elk herds, leaving hunters with fewer elk to kill
FACT:
Elk and deer populations have not been wiped out by wolves. For example, in Idaho, data show that in 2005 (the most recent year we have stats for) hunter harvest numbers were higher than in some years before the wolf even arrived in the state.
MYTH [4]:
Ranchers are not reimbursed for their losses to wolves.
FACT:
Most livestock owners who can prove that wolves caused the loss of their stock seek and receive compensation for their losses.
MYTH [5]:
Wolves are causing serious economic harm to local communities.
FACT:
Wolves in Yellowstone have attracted more than $35 million annually to local economies.
SOURCE:
Defenders of Wildlife.....a national, nonprofit membership organization dedicated to the protection of all native wild animals and plants in their natural communities.
