Re: Wolf Pack Chase Elk Herd
It’s a concept that works better with large herds, like on the savanna. They’ll run a herd and pick off the weakest. I agree in BC that it’s much more opportunist. Animals are more widely distributed, they try to kill whatever they come across e.g. a lone healthy moose is fair game. The snow pack conditions, when deep and crusty, essentially make all big ungulates ‘weak’. Given the choice, they will predate on weaker animals preferentially, not out of some Disney law, but because their success rate will be higher, energy output lower, and the chance of injury less. They are the ultimate gamblers, great at reading odds and the players at the table.
Re: Wolf Pack Chase Elk Herd
https://vimeo.com/315433506?ref=fb-share&1
Watch this video.. guy said whole groupe 80-90 elk disappeared in just couple of weeks.. now tell me wich of them was strong or weak??? The wolves just killed them all. The animal at the edge of defence always takes a bite and gets sick or takes couple more and dies on the spot. As those guys say we need to do our part and take as many wolves as possible.
Re: Wolf Pack Chase Elk Herd
That Canadian biologist knows what's happening on Vancouver island too.
23 minutes in the video
Quote:
Originally Posted by
drakfero
https://vimeo.com/315433506?ref=fb-share&1
Watch this video.. guy said whole groupe 80-90 elk disappeared in just couple of weeks.. now tell me wich of them was strong or weak??? The wolves just killed them all. The animal at the edge of defence always takes a bite and gets sick or takes couple more and dies on the spot. As those guys say we need to do our part and take as many wolves as possible.
Re: Wolf Pack Chase Elk Herd
Quote:
Originally Posted by
SSG-man
That Canadian biologist knows what's happening on Vancouver island too.
23 minutes in the video
Valerius Geist.
Re: Wolf Pack Chase Elk Herd
Spoke to a game warden in Saskatchewan once about wolves & moose. His experience suggested whatever was in the wolves path was a target, healthy or not. It isn't pretty. They try to rip the rear muscles apart until the elk or moose can't work their muscles or bleed out. In addition if wolves only ate the sick one would think wolves would get sick as well. Doesn't work that way. All a healthy animal has to do is trip once on a log & it's game over.
Re: Wolf Pack Chase Elk Herd
If the wolf has to eat, it will eat.
Think they take advantage of whatever opportunity presents itself.
Sure, a lame ungulate when the herd begins to flee will straggle behind, thus is an easier and more obvious choice to
pursue.
Other times, it's whatever's around.
I suspect their percentage of success drops when pursuing a healthy specimen for sure.
But I doubt they only attack and kill when one is only sick.