The Evolution of Wolf Management
Last Update/Review: May 27, 2002
Wolf management began in Alberta in 1899, the year of the first bounty payments. For the next 67 years, the primary objective of wildlife management in regard to wolves was the reduction of populations. Much of the very early (1899-1920s) wolf control was in reaction to losses suffered by agriculturists — predation on livestock was a major setback to Alberta's pioneering settlers.
With the exception of a few years in the 1920s and the '30s, the wolf bounty continued until 1955. The payments, in combination with unregulated shooting, trapping and use of strychnine by residents, were effective in reducing wolves in the settled parts of the province. The maximum number bountied in a single year was 1286 in 1945-46. An average of 725 wolves were submitted for payment in the final 20 years of the program.
J. Gunson photo |
A moose killed by wolves is examined for information on sex, age and condition. This calf was brought down by a pack of four wolves. In addtion to being smaller, calves are less experienced in avoiding predators and are often in poorer condition than older moose. |
The weakness of the bounty was that it provided control "when and where wanted" rather than "when and where needed." The bounty did not stop the wolf advances of the 1930s and the '40s. As more effective programs by government predator control personnel were developed in the 1950s, the wolf and coyote bounties were terminated by agreement of wildlife administrators in western Canada following a meeting in Calgary in September 1954.
The national parks in Alberta controlled wolves in the 1940s and '50s because of concern for their ungulate herds. On provincial lands, wildlife managers initially encouraged trappers wolf harvests, but by 1950 government became more actively involved. The use of toxicants became the first line of defence during the anti-rabies campaign of 1952-1956. This use was continued to 1966, although at reduced vigor, to reduce predation of game herds.
The energetic and effective wolf control programs of the 1950s were carried out in much of the wolf's northern range. In western Canada and Alaska, control was particularly severe. The overriding philosophy was to reduce wolves to minimum levels — and this objective was accomplished. In the short term, wolves paid a steep price, but their high reproductive capacity ultimately enabled them to re-establish their populations. The return of game herds and the eradication of rabies may have justified the wolf wars.
K. Scmidt photo |
Through the 1960s and the '70s, predator management evolved to include protection as a paramount consideration. After 1966 in Alberta, site-specific wolf control continued only in reaction to confirmed kills of livestock. This change in philosophy resulted from several factors. First, the reduced numbers of wolves and other large carnivores posed fewer problems. Second, elk, deer, and moose herds reached their greatest levels of the century during the late 1950s and the '60's following beneficial changes to their habitats, better management, and fewer predators. Third, an appreciation of wolves and other large carnivores grew among the general human population, in part, as a result of information from predator studies. A reluctance to interfere in wolf-prey relationships developed in government and among wildlife managers. |
By the mid-1970s, the management perspective began to change again. Wolves had returned to abundance, livestock problems had increased, and hunters complained of too many wolves and too few ungulates. Studies in Alaska, Minnesota and on Isle Royale, Michigan, quantified wolf kill rates and revealed situations where predation was the dominant depressant of ungulate populations. The results of such studies and continuing complaints from consumptive users of hoofed mammals set the stage for several wolf control programs, which created bitter public debate. In Alaska, the Department of Fish and Game's use of wolf control in the major controversy and lengthy legal challenges. In British Columbia, aerial shooting of wolves to enhance populations of elk, moose and sheep in the Kechika and Muskwa valleys prompted public outcries, intervention by pro-wolf groups and intensive scientific debate. The issue became highly polarized with scientists, managers and public advancing strong arguments for and against control. In Alberta, the emphasis was on additional research and the development of comprehensive management plans.
In Alberta, wolves returned to public prominence during the early 1980s. In 1982, Albertans reported more sightings, including packs in or near settlements. Livestock kills were up, and hunters renewed their complaints. There was no doubt that wolves had taken advantage of favorable conditions. Biologists reported die-offs of moose from ticks across a wide belt stretching from east-central to northwestern Alberta during the preceding winter. Wolves apparently found a plentiful food supply, which allowed high reproduction and survival of pups leading to resurgence in populations. Resulting public discussion prompted government to announce several provisional wolf management strategies in January 1983.
The objectives were to reduce local wolf populations where chronic livestock depredations occurred and ungulate herds were in serious decline. Strategies were designed to encourage a trapping harvest of 30 percent of the provincial wolf population. During 1983-1985, wolf trapping instruction and complimentary equipment were provided to trappers. Additional research of wolf-prey systems was recommended.
M. Sloan photo |
During this period, investigations of Alberta's only migratory herd of woodland caribou in Willmore Wilderness-Grande Cache, revealed wolf predation was a likely contributor to the herd's decline. The caribou, which numbered 1000 to 1600 in the 1960s, had plummeted to about 300 by 1980. Caribou were classified as threatened throughout the province, and the hunting season was closed in 1981, but the herd did not respond. Ten of 12 deaths of radioed caribou were thought to be predator-caused, and wolves were implicated in several of them. To assist the herd, the provincial caribou plan of 1986 recommended wolf reductions as one component of restoration. This recommendation renewed public controversy. Wilderness advocates wanted a moratorium on wolf control while other measures in the plan were tried. Such measures include coordinated logging to ensure sufficient old-growth caribou habitat was retained on winter ranges, reduction of kills by Natives, education of hunters, and control of traffic to reduce mortalities on the Grande Cache highway.
Wolf control to restore this herd of threatened caribou did not occur, whereas the remaining strategies inched forward. About the same time, the Nordegg wolf study revealed high winter kill rates and a declining elk herd. Plans to control this wolf population as part of the research were not accepted by government and the study was terminated.
By the mid-1980s, wildlife managers were reporting fewer wolves on winter moose surveys. This decline was not unexpected because many of the northern herds were at low densities and could support few wolves. Rapid declines had been observed in Minnesota, Isle Royale, and in Jasper National Park following the demise of principal prey species. In these situations, wolves invade neighboring territories, fight and kill one another, and starve. This course of events undoubtedly occurred in parts of northern Alberta. Scientists postulate that natural wolf-ungulate systems tend to stabilize at low numbers.
Alberta's Wolf Management Plan
