Caribou 2018 -now what?

[325]

There’s damn little oil & gas work in the Itchas...I’d even venture to say there’s zero.

Yeah, I’d say the absurdly high wolf population is the reason for the decline.

[gcreek]

Yeah, I’d say the absurdly high wolf population is the reason for the decline.

Although 15 years too late, that population was drastically reduced this winter. Including the wolves that the Ministry took out and from north of Anahim Lake to the Tatlayoko area, helicopter crew and locals have taken out a known to myself number of 116 wolves. A great start!

Now the Ministry needs to address the bear population that has also exploded in this area.

[325]

Although 15 years too late, that population was drastically reduced this winter. Including the wolves that the Ministry took out and from north of Anahim Lake to the Tatlayoko area, helicopter crew and locals have taken out a known to myself number of 116 wolves. A great start!

Now the Ministry needs to address the bear population that has also exploded in this area.

Exactly. Bears are a major factor in the decline of ungulates province-wide.

[HarryToolips]

Yes Harry, I am a hunter and not a troll. And no, I don't assume the issues with caribou are because of hunting pressure. In fact, the biological reasons for the decline are quite well understood - its habitat alteration from industrial logging, mining and oil and gas which in turns increases vulnerability of caribou herds to predation. Ergo, populations decline to the inevitable extirpation. Under those circumstances hunting related mortality, while not the cause, pushes the herds further towards extirpation. What I wonder is why hunters are not much more vocal about threats to habitat, for caribou or other sensitive wildlife, and why we accept, even advocate for continued hunting opportunities on threatened populations. And arnt so-called environmentalist actually potential allies in our efforts to protect wildlife habitat?

Good to hear your not a troll...

[msawyer]

No worries Harry.... One thing for us all to keep in mind when we want to point fingers at predators as the cause of the problem and yet these herds have coexisted with predation for hundreds, maybe thousands, of years and managed to survive and even thrive. So in my view it is highly unlikely that the predators are the direct cause of the decline in this caribou herd. So lets ask ourselves what has changed in that area since, lets say, 1970, that might explain the precipitous decline in the caribou population... Pick your flavor of choice, but it still always comes back to human activities, human caused changes to the habitat, and increased mortality from all causes directly or indirectly because of humans. The question I pose to you all is what are we hunters going to do about it?

[HarryToolips]

Well it ain't hunting for 5 pt Bulls imo, but it is human caused like you said..I would attribute it mostly, in the case of the caribou, to loss of old growth forests, which hold a lot of the crucial forage they require..but I'm not a biologist, so I could be wrong...

[msawyer]

Have a read of this article and let me know your thoughts.....

https://thenarwhal.ca/a-dangerous-ro...LTd5d-Q2trxVC0

[gcreek]

Have a read of this article and let me know your thoughts.....

https://thenarwhal.ca/a-dangerous-ro...LTd5d-Q2trxVC0

Interesting how the bunny huggers are blaming the Liberals while it was the current government that pulled the trigger. A wolf cull needed to be done. Regardless of all the armchair biologists and other experts opinions, it needed doing.

Harry, you need to venture farther away from pavement, parts of BC have no end of desirable habitat but for predators.

[gcreek]

No worries Harry.... One thing for us all to keep in mind when we want to point fingers at predators as the cause of the problem and yet these herds have coexisted with predation for hundreds, maybe thousands, of years and managed to survive and even thrive. So in my view it is highly unlikely that the predators are the direct cause of the decline in this caribou herd. So lets ask ourselves what has changed in that area since, lets say, 1970, that might explain the precipitous decline in the caribou population... Pick your flavor of choice, but it still always comes back to human activities, human caused changes to the habitat, and increased mortality from all causes directly or indirectly because of humans. The question I pose to you all is what are we hunters going to do about it?

During the 1950s there happened to be another major wolf cull paid for by the Federal government to "sustain and replenish" food animals for the native populations. It was done in the gold rush era also because they were competition,

This bullshyte about predators not being the cause of today's issue is why the game herds got so badly depleted. People can talk all they want about the industrial activities making things easier for wolves but the fact is still that they are too numerous. Most places in BC have all the habitat needed.

May I ask what your vocation and location is?

[Walking Buffalo]

Good to hear your not a troll...

Trust your instincts!
msawyer has a history here and at Alberta Outfoorsman.

Yet another sad side effect of the CCP virus, the trolls are bored and are revisiting old haunts.