Alberta government poisoning wolves to address dwindling caribou population near tarsands

excellent point.

Now you twist it. Below you stated that I must "use my vehicle" as much as anyone else, to which I replied I don't drive a car. Which is the truth. Now you expand on it because that didn't work for you to infer I stated I am not a "consumer of resource based benefits" which I never stated because that wasn't what you originally inferred. Why the hell do you think people like myself are out here calling for alternatives? Of course in our lives using something that requires oil is hard to avoid and it's been BY DESIGN. However, the difference between a person who sees that and the destruction it causes and works to CHANGE IT as opposed to someone who accepts it regardless of the damage it does just because they want an easier life is the key here. But I too have tried to cut consumption of "resource based benefits" to as much of a minimum as I can and work to stop this. I'm so sorry you can't understand there are those who actually walk the walk. I also know for a fact that the First Nations people have been fighting this for years because they know where the true value lies. And as far as generalizations go, I'm not the one who typed "you guys" here. It is those on ALL sides involved in these tarsands which are affecting so many species that I speak against, including THIS government. Again, this isn't about making factions between countries. This is about stopping a global environmental catastrophe that will affect many generations and species to come. And I am no hypocrite about that.

Blah blah blah...if someone doesn't agree with you fully they have no idea what they talk about. I have stated before In other posts that I applaud your zest and passion for what you believe in maybe just maybe some are tired of your holier than thou attitude. have you ever lived among the native populations here? I have and let me tell you when enough money has been negotiated upon deals will be made regardless of the environmental impact. Good day to you ma'am.

Right. So instead of illustrating what you know to prove your points, you attack me for caring. Whatever. Good day to you too.

Some of us have careers and issues to attend to outside of the online world. I'm going to drive my car to the grocery store and take my little son sliding...is that ok or should I force him to walk 3 miles in the snow. Maybe I should buy some carbon credits to lessen the blow to the environment ;p well wishes from Canada.

Well you sure spent enough time on this thread so I don't see your point. We all have issues to attend to outside of the online world. You're flailing now and totally ignoring the topic of this post.

dudefromthe rock??? morelike under a rock....he asked for it...lol

Anyone ever notice these sensitive environmentalists have a real mean steak towards their fellow man. They would gladly do away with people to save some trees . I wonder are you off the grid? Do you walk or bike everywhere? Grow your own food? Wipe your butt with leaves? No?! You are a hypocrite!

The only rock around here sock puppet is the one occupying your cranial cavity.

Go buy some carbon credits to displace the BS you expell.

I need 5 more down votes for a badge come on people where are the sock puppets and hypocrites ?

Humans kill for sport. The point here is that the destruction caused by the tarsands has now dessimated the habitat of the caribou and affected their numbers. This is creating an imbalance. What the tarsands are doing to so many different species including humans is really the focus. However, it is the animals whose habitat has been destroyed that suffer for it. And really, poisoning with strychnine? That is a truly slow and horrible death. God forbid we actually stop our voracious hunger for oil.

I'm with you on the oil thing. I am wondering if the wolves had to move as far south as Colorado for survival as their habitat became unsustainable.

THANKS for putting it into perspective sanely, Instead of just making accusations like others always do on this website. I am with you.

That is totally ridicolous, wolves have never killed for sport in their lives. ONLY MAN Is this sick!

Wolves don't kill for sport. That is an old wives' tale.

People think that because sometimes they will kill an animal and leave it and not eat it. That's caching behaviour. They come back later to eat it. Sometimes they never come back to eat the kill. It's because they didn't need it.

And in many places in the Rockies, the elk were allowed to become overpopulated ... why? Because hunters wanted more elk to harvest.

People are the only animals on the planet that kill for sport.

You have no idea what you are talking about .

Thank you for explaining it so patiently . How can people even THINK that !? oh wait , Hollywood ....

Wouldn't it be better if the Canadian Government either relocated them or repair their habitats? Neither is happening...Wouldn't want to break any fingers, I mean paws...

How about you guys end your hunger for warfare, death and decimation of people's cultures in countries where you have no business? If these tar sands were in your country you wouldnt hear anything about it.

Well actually I speak out against all of that. By your logic then Alberta needs to stop killing the indigenous peoples of its land with their cancer causing sludge. By your generalizations regarding "you guys" then all who live in Alberta who are silent are murderers just as well. You are once again using the language of division, when it is likeminded people who care across borders and globally who should be joining with First Nations and places like Fort Chipewayan to STOP THIS because it is destroying pristine forests, water, cultures, species and the climate balance of this planet. And you can bet that wherever this was taking place you would hear about it from me.

Are you insane??? Provide a link for that statement. Read a book for petes sake.

I thought the same thing until my last visit to Colorado. There are parts of Colorado where the elk herds were so large it reminded me of how the buffalo must have filled the plains at one point. The herd is a magnificent thing to behold. Now the herds are getting smaller and smaller and we came across several carcasses, uneaten and clearly killed by wolves. A friend of mine who works for the dept of conservation said that the wolves have grown in large numbers and that their killing for sport had been observed.

I have been there and seen the carcasses (not the killing for sport) myself. I grew up in Colorado and return at least once a year. I have been doing it for over forty years. I am an avid hiker and outdoor enthusiast. I love nature and being in it. I love the movie Never Cry Wolf. But, the wolves are very dangerous to the beautiful elk. Perhaps the term "surplus killing" instead of "sport killing" would be less offensive to you.

And I don't own a tv.

Yes I think that would be a better way to deal with it. I am not for exterminating the wolves, I only seek to examine one of the results of their introduction into places where they are not native.

I engage in dialogue only. Insults distract from the topics at hand.

I only asked a question. Show all of us your proof that the wolf kills for sport. Good luck with that. You have no idea what your talking about on this subject. Do some research before you made a wild statement like that.

No you didn't only ask a question. You engaged in personal slander. Again I prefer dialogue to debate. I talked about my own experience and what I have personally seen. If you don't find it relevant to the discussion, so be it.

damn man! you don't give up do you there are no wolves in Colorado, i live here and they just suggested bringing them in to control deer and elk, it is people that hurt wildlife not the other way around, including the idiots from texas that killed 9 moose with elk tags. they were fined 25 grand per moose, their vehicles and guns confiscated and their priveleges revoked here and in texas....so stop saying stuff you know nothing about....sheesh!

I split my time between Virginia and Colorado. I saw this myself outside of Gypsum on the western slope. I am well aware of the discussions to bring them in for herd control. But, there is evidence that some of the wolves are already there. I am not saying anything about the wolves except that they are destructive to elk herds. Truth.

Here is a link to an article about the biologist who found that wolves had made their way back into Colorado.

http://www.hcn.org/issues/42.3/prodigal-dogs

"Officially, wild wolves do not live in Colorado. The nearest established population is in Wyoming, where gray wolves were introduced to Yellowstone National Park in 1995. But rumors of wolf sightings abound in Colorado, and in recent years, at least two wolves have died in the state. In 2004, a young radio-collared female wolf from Yellowstone was killed on Interstate 70 near Idaho Springs, about 30 miles west of Denver. In the winter of 2009, another young female collared wolf traveled a 1,000-mile-long route from the Yellowstone region to the Meeker, Colo., area, roughly 20 miles from where Eisenberg and her crew work. That wolf's death, in April, is still under investigation by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and neither state nor federal officials will comment on the matter."

My point had nothing to do with hunters or whatever their argument is. I have talked with no hunters about it. I am only talking about what I have seen with my own eyes.

Yeah, but you know somehow magically wolves and elk managed to coexist just fine for 50,000 years. There were lots of wolves and lots of elk throughout the West when white people showed up.

What changed?

White people showed up.

I don't know about the magic part or the white people part but undoubtedly predators and prey co-exist. I understand that wolves eat elk. I eat elk also. Why do some favor the wolf over the elk?

I don't favour one over the other. I favour both. They both coexisted for thousands of years and can again, if man stays out of the way.

The never ending struggle between predator and prey make both species stronger, culling out the weak of body wits and will, allowing the strong to thrive. I cheer this behavior in nature because I know that without it we wouldn't have half the wonderous splendor in our animal diversity as we do.

I too cheer the diversity. I was sad to see the change in the herds that I have been watching for forty years. But, it is part of the cycle of life.

Americans are fantastic at pointing fingers at someone else. The very definition of hypocrisy.

You got it...some celebrity will jump on the bandwagon and take up the cause giving them popularity.

plenty have come forward already to do so, they have even been making the front pages of the calgary sun lately.

Of course get their pictures hugging a seal or tree ...cause celebritae. Any press is good press for some.

No hatred or anger intended but Im willing to bet you use your vehicle as much as anyone.

I don't drive a car. So I'd take your bet.

No car here either . Anyway their are alternatives , so really , the excuses are diminishing . Nissan leafs , Teslas and all ....