Highwood Pass, Kananaskis Wolf
VIDEOS
For more videos about wolves, please visit our YouTube channel HERE and view our PLAYLIST
Some videos on this page may be disturbing to viewers
Some videos on this page may be disturbing to viewers
Wolves Unmasked 🐺 Wolf Documentary 2021🐺 Wolf Rewilding
How Wolves Alter Wetlands by Voyageurs Wolf Project
The Tale Behind: Wolves - Dr. Carolyn Willekes
Exposed with John E. Marriott - Episode 11 - Snare Cruelty. Discretion advised
Thank you to our Friends at Wildlife Defence League for this Video.
Intolerable Cruelty - by biologist Gilbert Proulx
Alberta's Secret War on Wolves
Wolf Families
How many of us have written letters to the AB government about wolf treatment in this province, only to get a response back justifying wolf culls by stating something along the lines of "wolves are abundant throughout Alberta's forested lands" or "Alberta's wolf population is robust and shows no signs of reduction...". To us, and many other wolf advocates and scientists, wolves are more than just a number to be counted. Wolves are highly complex and social animals that exhibit behaviours much akin to our own. They have families that suffer when broken up, they mourn their dead, they share in family responsibilities and pass down traditions and knowledge.
Wolf biologist Gordon Haber studied wolves for years in Alaska, and his observations match those of many other wolf researchers in that, wolf management based on numbers alone is not sound science nor is it ethical.
Some quotes from Mr. Haber:
"When it comes to wolves, it’s not about numbers. It’s about family. A wolf is a wolf when it’s part of an intact, unexploited family group capable of astonishingly beautiful and complex cooperative behaviors and unique traditions. If a family group is left unexploited (that is, not trapped, shot, poisoned or otherwise killed by humans) it will develop extraordinary traditions for hunting, pup-rearing, and social behaviors that are finely tuned to its precise environment and that are unique to that particular long-lived family group."
"You can’t manage wolves by the numbers. You can’t just count the numbers of wolves over a particular area and decide whether it’s a “healthy” population. That’s because the functional unit of wolves is the family, a multigenerational extended family group."
"We need to realize, and push for, this fact: Wolves are no longer endangered when these family groups have permanent protection, when we manage according to this essential functional unit, and when wolves have adequate habitat and prey. If we leave wolves alone, they will manage their numbers in concert with their environment."
"Natural losses typically take younger wolves, whereas hunting and trapping take older, experienced, wolves. These older wolves are essential because they know the territory, prey movements, hunting techniques, denning sites, pup rearing and teaching—and because they are the breeders. Gordon observed this several times: an alpha wolf was killed by humans, setting off a chain of events that left most of the family group dead and the rest scattered, rag-tag orphans."
And from Jay Mallonee - wolf biologist:
"As a research biologist, I have found that wolves are neither super-beings nor simple-minded organisms programmed by nature to react only through primeval instincts. Wolves are complex creatures and more is unknown about them than is known. What science does understand is that like humans they can feel pain, pleasure, fear, and a sense of loss, and they display a remarkable intelligence unmatched by most living organisms. When pushed to their physical and psychological limits, they can suffer emotional disorders similar to those observed in humans. Their place in nature is equally as complex."
Linda Rutledge, a
geneticist at Trent University in Peterborough,
Ontario that has led a team tracking changes in
the wolf population:
"Rutledge and her team are now
advocating that conservation policies should
“look beyond numbers” and take into account
the social dynamics of wild creatures. “The
family-based wolf social structure evolved
over millions of years,” says Rutledge. The
benefits of this behaviour to wolves and the
world around them can be cryptic and difficult
to track, but they are nonetheless an integral
part of the natural wolf."
Sadly, in most places around the world, wildlife is managed using numbers alone, including in Alberta.
Please speak up for wolves and let our leaders know that there are more to wolves than just a number to be "managed".
Wolf biologist Gordon Haber studied wolves for years in Alaska, and his observations match those of many other wolf researchers in that, wolf management based on numbers alone is not sound science nor is it ethical.
Some quotes from Mr. Haber:
"When it comes to wolves, it’s not about numbers. It’s about family. A wolf is a wolf when it’s part of an intact, unexploited family group capable of astonishingly beautiful and complex cooperative behaviors and unique traditions. If a family group is left unexploited (that is, not trapped, shot, poisoned or otherwise killed by humans) it will develop extraordinary traditions for hunting, pup-rearing, and social behaviors that are finely tuned to its precise environment and that are unique to that particular long-lived family group."
"You can’t manage wolves by the numbers. You can’t just count the numbers of wolves over a particular area and decide whether it’s a “healthy” population. That’s because the functional unit of wolves is the family, a multigenerational extended family group."
"We need to realize, and push for, this fact: Wolves are no longer endangered when these family groups have permanent protection, when we manage according to this essential functional unit, and when wolves have adequate habitat and prey. If we leave wolves alone, they will manage their numbers in concert with their environment."
"Natural losses typically take younger wolves, whereas hunting and trapping take older, experienced, wolves. These older wolves are essential because they know the territory, prey movements, hunting techniques, denning sites, pup rearing and teaching—and because they are the breeders. Gordon observed this several times: an alpha wolf was killed by humans, setting off a chain of events that left most of the family group dead and the rest scattered, rag-tag orphans."
And from Jay Mallonee - wolf biologist:
"As a research biologist, I have found that wolves are neither super-beings nor simple-minded organisms programmed by nature to react only through primeval instincts. Wolves are complex creatures and more is unknown about them than is known. What science does understand is that like humans they can feel pain, pleasure, fear, and a sense of loss, and they display a remarkable intelligence unmatched by most living organisms. When pushed to their physical and psychological limits, they can suffer emotional disorders similar to those observed in humans. Their place in nature is equally as complex."
Linda Rutledge, a
geneticist at Trent University in Peterborough,
Ontario that has led a team tracking changes in
the wolf population:
"Rutledge and her team are now
advocating that conservation policies should
“look beyond numbers” and take into account
the social dynamics of wild creatures. “The
family-based wolf social structure evolved
over millions of years,” says Rutledge. The
benefits of this behaviour to wolves and the
world around them can be cryptic and difficult
to track, but they are nonetheless an integral
part of the natural wolf."
Sadly, in most places around the world, wildlife is managed using numbers alone, including in Alberta.
Please speak up for wolves and let our leaders know that there are more to wolves than just a number to be "managed".
Liberal Hunting of Wolves in Alberta
Alberta Bounties on Wolves
Quick Reminder!
Letters to the Alberta Government
Speak up for wolves! AB government to review wildlife policies in 2018
Poison Use in Alberta - Strychnine up for Renewal
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Speak up For Alberta Wolves
Non Lethal Methods Work.
Alberta Wolf Petition gets tabled at the Alberta Legislature
Check out our PSA and share!
When wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park in the United States after being absent nearly 70 years, the most remarkable "trophic cascade" occurred. What is a trophic cascade and how exactly do wolves change rivers? George Monbiot explains in this movie remix.
How to photograph wolves at Wolf Park
Monty Sloan attempts to photograph the Main Pack at Wolf Park for his Photo of the Day
YouTube: How to photograph wolves at Wolf Park
Louise Liebenberg - Owner of The Grazerie Ranch speaks about successful coexistence with predators on her ranch.
PLEASE NOTE: The following videos contain some graphic content and may be disturbing to view.
Snared Wolf
The effects of 1080 poison
