ASSOCIATED PRESS: A Washington State University study found that with each wolf killed, there was a 5 percent uptick in attacks on cattle and sheep.
ASSOCIATED PRESS: A Washington State University study found that with each wolf killed, there was a 5 percent uptick in attacks on cattle and sheep.
The reason appears to be that killing the alpha male or female, which normally keep a tight leash on other members of the pack, frees the other wolves to start breeding. That produces more breeding pairs. And breeding pairs trying to feed pups are more likely to kill livestock than individual wolves, said lead author Rob Wielgus, professor of wildlife ecology and director of the university’s Large Carnivore Conservation Lab.
“It’s like killing the schoolteacher, the animals that keep everyone else in line,” he said. “You’ve got no brakes anymore.”
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