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Elk Island Wolf Pack killed

4/6/2016

13 Comments

 
The government of Alberta has somewhat silently killed wolves in a National Park. Read more from our WM pack member Jordan Wilkie:

"The Demise of the Elk Island Wolf Pack

In 2014, Dan Brown, president of Blackfoot Grazing Association started contacting media and the government claiming 29 animals had been killed or (get this) had gone missing from a pasture in the Cooking Lake-Blackfoot Grazing, Wildlife and Provincial Recreation Area. He believes wolves are largely to blame.

If this first paragraph makes you feel weird, that's because it is. The classic wolf scapegoat language is already being used here.

Alarmingly no one even knew how many wolves there were.. Parks Canada thought maybe 12-15. Brown exaggerated the number to over 25, but Parks Canada new that was not true and told media that there was no way that number was correct. Hence, they knew that they were now dealing with a liar that was embellishing the "wolf problem" and instead of being critical, they announced that they would allow a wolf cull.

The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) had celebrated the presence of wolves in and around Elk Island National Park as an indicator of the health and success of protected natural areas in the region, and in response to the news of the culling insisted that efforts should be made to seek a solution that does not involve the elimination of these animals.

Instead, in an attempt to minimize the impact on subsidized livestock being grazed on public land, the Alberta government approved the culling of six wolves by the grazing association themselves, inside the provincial recreation area.

Why were the ranchers allowed to cull these wolves?
And what exactly is a provincial recreation area?
Is this part of the Elk Island National Park?
What are the agreements to use the provincial land for grazing?
What measures are in place to protect the cattle from predators?

I have sent emails to Alberta Environment and Parks (AEP) and Environment Sustainable Resources Department (ESRD) asking for more information...

Regardless, the ranchers were given an Alberta Environment and Parks damage control licence... Which leads me to more questions..

What were the specific conditions on this license and how are these conditions held accountable?
How exactly were these wolves killed?
What was the process?
Who oversaw the kill?
How can we be sure that only six wolves were killed?

And of course... Why was the public only notified after the decision had been made?

ESRD of Alberta said they were going to establish a working group.. But that was a lie. CPAWs confirmed that they only spoke to these ranchers. They only catered to this grazing association.

Paul Frame, a carnivore specialist with Alberta Environment admitted: “What happens when the greater Edmonton public hears that we’re killing wolves in a provincial park because of livestock grazing?"

Well, nothing happened and this is why the future of the entire pack was now in deep jeopardy.

Paul Frame then said the words that have haunted me for two years... He told the Edmonton Journal: “We have no idea what killing six wolves is going to do.”

Nonetheless, Dan Brown was still not happy and made it very clear he wanted to kill more.

The Edmonton Journal reported that the first suspected wolf kill occurred at the end of May, but then reported that the cull was not officially approved by the AEP until the beginning of October, which infuriated the ranchers claiming that it took too long to decide what to do and that they couldn't afford to “hum and haw” again.

But wait... What does this mean?
Does this mean that there was an non-approved wolf cull on Provincial land? Wouldn't that be poaching?
And the quote that they "can't afford to hum and haw again", what does this mean?
That the association will not wait for approval to cull wolves in the future?

After this initial information and the allowance of the cull, there was almost no information. It wasn't until I picked up the Fall/Winter 2015 Conservation magazine that I found a sentence stating Delaney Anderson, a Biologist of the AEP, observed late in 2014 that some of the remaining wolves looked sick. Often sick wolves may have mange, which is easily curable, and if the health and numbers of the pack had disintegrated that much since the cull, why was there nothing done to ensure that the last of the pack were protected?

Also how many remained at this point?
Had the cull taken more than six?
Was the alpha wolf killed?

I was shocked when Conservation magazine reported that the AEP could only confirm two wolves still in the area as of March, 2015.

That was a year ago. I approached Alison Ronson of CPAWS after a talk she was doing at the UofA last February. She broke the news to me that the wolves were gone completely.

And for that I wept.
Because I cared about the Elk Island wolf pack.

And killing them, and leaving a remaining disorganized family to die is just not good enough.

- Jordan Wilkie

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13 Comments
Dan Foley
8/7/2016 06:58:23 pm

Not positive that this is true or not , I always find a lot of embelishment on both sides of this coin. Anyhow I wish they could have left this pack alone for another year or 2 and really find out the numbers and establish if there was a necessity to cull in the first place. Anyhow last winter I was photographing deep in the south end of the park and came upon a fresh Wood bison kill. I was sure it was taken within the last 24 hours is so as the carcass was still gleaming red and also there was a yearling calf mourning over the remains of obviously it mother . I wish I could have stayed around a little longer and looked through the area but it was getting late and I had to go. I do have pics of the carcass and calf from 100 meters or so but that is as close as I could get with the time I had. There might stil be a few left and I hope this year to prove it.

Reply
Chris
7/30/2017 12:04:31 pm

Sounds to me like mom died of natural causes and the coyotes got to the carcass before anything else. The fact that there was a calf left alive tells me the wolves didn't have a hand in it. Food for thought.

P.s there are still a few left out there 2017 ;-)

Reply
Craig
12/31/2016 06:11:26 pm

I was at Elk Island today (Dec 31/16) and got a poor quality picture of what appears to be a wolf.

Reply
Wayne Morris
6/13/2017 10:18:34 am

Did the wolf cull mentioned in an April 2016 article have anything to do with the over population happening in Elk Island National Park today? Curious.

Reply
Chris
7/30/2017 11:50:49 am

What over population are you talking about ? 😜

Reply
Damian link
2/13/2020 12:11:23 pm

The park is just too small for a healthy wolf pack to thrive I guess. The ungulates there are already overpopulated so you’d think having wolves here would be a good thing but nope, humans love to hate wolves with a passion – especially ranchers. Have fun dealing with the massive numbers of coyotes the more wolves are displaced. Deeply, deeply misunderstood creatures.

George
2/26/2018 01:44:15 pm

Shouldn't the cull have been supervised ?

Reply
Damian link
2/13/2020 12:07:49 pm

You'd think eh? Shoot first. Ask questions later.

Reply
Damian link
2/13/2020 12:06:04 pm

Wolves are incredibly elusive animals that tend to avoid human contact as much as they can. Their territorial range can vary from 129 to over 2,500 square kilometers. A healthy pack living in Elk Island (194 km²) had potential, but unfortunately we as humans don’t always see eye-to-eye on protecting them.

The ranchers have every right to be concerned but the threat of their livestock being killed off will never go away. Take one apex predator away and another will have to fill the niche (in this case coyotes, especially the hybrids springing up since the 80’s in Eastern Canada). I’d worry much more about humans killing for pleasure than wolves but hey, what do I know about farming or ranching?

It’s unfortunate for the animals as they don’t know any better but Elk Island is also completely fenced in to stop the ungulates there from wandering off. Although I have been there many times, I have never once seen any large predators besides coyotes. The rumored black bear being sighted from time to time is common but never a wolf. It’s such a shame to have a national park so close to the city that once was home to wolves. Wish I had the chance to see them when they were left alone.

Reply
Dan Foley
11/2/2020 07:12:55 pm

Still one left as of this summer...see tracks quite often, I call him Ollie! He is a survivor.

Reply
Jess McMullin link
1/23/2021 03:07:52 pm

I’m very curious about Elk Island wolf population...sad news in this cull. I’ve seen 1 canine in summer 2020 that looked quite different than a coyote in the north side of the park, and heard some very different howling during winter camping this season alongside coyote pack calls (I see and hear coyotes regularly in my neighbour hood and in Elk Island). Last week (Jan 2021) I saw 3 large canines on south side of park. They seemed much bigger than coyotes, but had very similar coloring. Could just be the excitement of spotting from highway & pulling over that made them look bigger (they spooked as soon as I came in line of sight). Sadly all my photos have turned out poorly-I feel like the Elk Island wolves are my cryptid search. Would be keen to learn more.

Reply
Curt Hennig
5/7/2021 12:58:14 pm

Wolves are starting to spring up around the Cooking Lake area so it's possible!

Reply
Dan Foley
1/4/2023 06:21:35 pm

Ive enjoyed the comments in this thread since I first posted my comment just over 6 years ago. I have not seen any sign of any large predators for a few years now and feel certain that the Wolves no longer are wandering the park on a regular basis. I am always hopeful that maybe one day another small pack will make it back within the boundry of the park and that maybe just maybe may be left alone for a little longer and be able to thrive. Ollie and his family never got that chance and they were decimated too quickly. I was fortunate in the time that I knew they were in the area to see them 3 times and photograp them twice. It was a rush that I still feel when I wonder the park. Dan Foley




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