Future of the Wolf
Last Update/Review: May 27, 2002
In today's Alberta, among a largely urban human population, the wolf is increasingly perceived as a symbol of wilderness and environmental quality. The days when our pioneering ancestors wanted to rid the country of every wolf are gone, probably forever. These changing attitudes have great impact on how wolves will be managed in the future. Modern management must consider the ethics of wolf control, and find a balance between utilitarian (control reasonable) versus naturalistic (control unacceptable) philosophies, and between humaneness of control and capture efficiency. The form of wolf management must be acceptable to the majority of citizens.
A healthy wolf population in Alberta means that depredations of livestock and pets will occur. Although preventive animal husbandry can reduce such occurrences, and compensation payments help producers with their loss, some removal of offending animals will be necessary. In the 1990s in Alberta, fewer than 50 wolves are removed annually because of this problem. Such control will be as selective and humane as possible, preferably through trapping. Toxicants will be used only as a last resort.
More than a quarter century has elapsed since the last wolf control program in Alberta was conducted to restore or enhance a hoofed mammal population. Such control can be effective as demonstrated in Alaska, Yukon and British Columbia, but remains highly controversial. Alberta will evaluate additional wolf-prey relationships. Temporary reductions in local wolf populations are controversial, but may be required as part of the overall strategy to effectively restore threatened ungulates. Public awareness and knowledge are paramount to future wolf management.
It has also been more than a quarter century since Douglas Pimlott, Canada's most noted wolf authority at the time, asked the question "Will the species still exist when the twentieth century passes into history?" In Alberta, the wolf will enter the next century in good numbers; its future seems assured.
K. Schmidt photo
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