PREE: Hey Mom! Hey Dad! Did you hear about the wolf that came from Oregon to California?

                        MOM: I was just about to ask you the same thing!  I hope he has a safe journey.

                        PREE: I’m really excited about it, but I’m worried about him. Some people are afraid of wolves.

                        DAD: Some are afraid and some want to exterminate them. If he doesn’t find a mate, he may

                        have to return to his pack 730 miles from where he is now.

                        PREE: Worst case scenario is being trapped and left to die in a leg-hold trap.

                        MOM: The last wolf in California was killed 80 years ago and the last grizzly 90 years ago.

                        PREE: Why do some people hate them so much?

                        DAD: There is so much misinformation about wolves. Wolves are often blamed for livestock

                        deaths, but 90% of deaths are due to health issues. The remaining 10% are due to coyotes,

                        followed by loose dogs, and vultures. Wolves come in last and cause less than 1% of deaths.

                        PREE: What about those big guardian dogs. Do they help?

                        MOM: They do help most of the time if there is more than one dog. There are alarms that can

                        be set off that scare them away in combination with the dogs. During lambing and calving season,

                        it would help to bring them closer to the main ranch.

                        PREE: In the movies, you always see them attacking people. Is that true?

                        DAD: Wolves attacking people are very rare, especially in North America. Those that do attack

                        usually have rabies or habituated to humans.

                        PREE: What about the hunters that think wolves compete with them for elk, deer and caribou?

                        MOM: I think you could answer that yourself Pree!

                        PREE: I was thinking that wolves take the weak ones and people hunt the big healthy ones. In my

                        opinion, the wolves are doing a favor for the ecosystem.

                        DAD: I’m with you on that! People reduce the health of the herd by taking the best. Without

                        wolves, there were so many elk in Yellowstone Park that they destroyed the cottonwoods, causing

                        beavers to disappear as well as many other wetland inhabitants.

                        PREE: I sure hope science and reason will rule and this story will have a happy ending! You

                        know - I’d be more afraid of meeting an elk in the wild than a wolf.

References

Incidence of wolf attacks:

   http://www.lcie.org/docs/damage%20prevention/linnell%20nina%20op%20731%20fear%20of%20wolves%20eng.pdf

Do guardian dogs protect livestock from wolves:

                 `http://www.defenders.org/programs_and_policy/wildlife_conservation/solutions/carnivore_conservation_fund/in_the_field/livestock_guard_dog_project.php

Wolves and the Yellowstone ecosystem:

    http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2003/10/031029064909.htm

Leghold traps and non-target animals like eagles:

http://www.bancrueltraps.com/b_trapping_incidents.php

http://www.bornfreeusa.org/facts.php?p=53&more=1