Predators
Predators, more than any other wildlife, engendered fear and loathing, prompting an all-out assault through much of history.
Often painted as the enemy to livestock production and therefore frontier and later rural civilization, predators’ positive role in the environment was never considered.
Predators evolved alongside the herds they hunted. Predators keep herds healthy and strong by selectively culling the weakest members—the old, the injured, the genetically compromised and abandoned youngsters. In their pursuit of prey, predators also keep the vast herds on the move, protecting habitat by keeping the grazers from staying in one place too long.
When we look at nature’s big picture, we have to recognize the role predators play in the health of the natural world. True biodiversity must also include fangs and claws.
Latest articles
Read more about predators and management practices:
Wolverines Are Back in the News
According to the reasoning of the author of this article, wolverine restorations will fail because of climate change, and aren’t worth the effort. With all due respect to Dr. Mason – and as he […]
National Park Service Reverses Course on Plan to Remove Iconic Animals: ‘This is Incredible News’
“This is a significant step in wild horse restoration.
They Shoot Owls in California, Don’t They?
For more than 100-years, the U.S. government, acting through multiple wildlife agencies, has conducted predator eradications. The eradication programs attract major funding and require increasing numbers of employees for agencies, strengthening their interagency clout and […]
Conserving the Legacy by Wyman Meizner
“The outstanding scientific discovery of the twentieth century is not television, or radio, but rather the complexity of the land organism. Only those who know the most about it can appreciate how little we […]
Can Beavers Restore Far-West Texas?
Two so-called invasive species, cattle and beavers, have the power to restore desert habitats. NOTE: this post was originally published to this site on April 12, 2017 AND on August 26, 2021.
Valerius Geist: When Do Wolves Become Dangerous to Humans?
“Valerius Geist was the world’s foremost deer authority. Born in Ukraine, Geist was heir to millennia of Central European cultural memory of wolves. He was neither anti-wolf, nor in denial regarding the threat wolves can […]
Plan to Allow Wolf Hunting in Europe to Spare Livestock Could Backfire, Some Scientists Say
“Wolves are even more controversial in Europe than the US. Pre-firearms Europeans lived with wolves for millennia; fear of wolves was reality-based and deeply ingrained in European culture.
Allan Savory and the Science of Tracking
Over the last 60 years, Allan Savory has at different times worn a wildlife agency shirt and crest, his country’s military battle camouflage, the formal attire of a parliamentarian, and rancher’s dungarees. His in-the-bush and […]
Wolverine
Quoting the producers, “Wolverines are also referred to as the glutton, carcajou, skunk bear, or quickhatch. Wolverines are the largest land-dwelling species of the family Mustelidae, carnivorous mammals that include weasels, badgers, otters, ferrets, martens, […]
New Wolf Management | Montana PBS Reports: IMPACT
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks is working on a new conservation and management plan for the state’s Grey Wolf population. Montana PBS talks with agencies to learn more about the changes and ranchers who are […]
USDA Wildlife Services–Black Vulture, Wolf Predation
“Wildlife Services” is the helpful-sounding name taken by the federal agency which has been conducting the misguided, wasteful, and counter-productive war on predators for over 120-years. The war started with bounties, but now relies on […]
Black Vultures Are Good for the Environment
Bird park aviculturist, Kat, joins us to tell us about one of the most “misunderstood” birds in the animal kingdom, the Black Vulture.
Hard-To-Eradicate ‘Super Pigs’ in Canada Threaten to Invade the US
Super pigs from Canada will soon be in the U.S. These animals can’t be eradicated but they can be controlled – if we allow them into the commercial food chain like any other domestic species. […]
This is Why Farmers Sell Their Weapons and Buy Donkeys
As described in this video, burros make excellent guards against wolves and coyotes.
Elk in Paradise: Rancher, Ecologist, Hunter
Here is an excellent video by the Property and Environmental Research Center (PERC) a free market conservation think tank based in Bozeman. Quoting PERC: The ancient pathways of elk are the heartbeat of the […]
The War on Lake Trout
Lake trout, native to the Great Lakes and the boreal lakes of Canada and Alaska, were first “discovered” in Yellowstone Lake in 1994. Their appearance was likely the result of introduction from nearby Lewis or […]
BlM Ends Use of ‘Cyanide Bomb’ to Kill Coyotes and Other Predators, Citing Safety Concerns
“This article discusses the continuing ‘War on Wildlife’ being waged against predators by government agencies. These have done vast damage to wildlife.
Drought Busters 101 : A 21-Minute Video on Desert Grassland Restoration
“Drought Busters” is an inexpensive, quick, physiologically and economically sustainable method of habitat and wildlife restoration. We call it Drought Busters because it increases effective rainfall by rebuilding soil fertility and the soil’s ability to […]
Attacking Aoudad on Behalf of Bighorn
NOTE: this post was originally published to this site on February 6th, 2017 The Borderlands Research Institute (BRI) and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) say aoudad harm desert mule deer, pronghorn and desert […]
Desperate to Rid Catalina of Invasive Deer, Officials Propose Bold Helicopter Hunt
It’s hard to name a single wildlife “management” practice pursued by the big conservation bureaucracies that does not involve the wholesale killing out of entire wildlife populations. Their glaring management failures are blamed on climate […]
Wolves Culling Deer Herds
Predators including wolves can cull weak or sick deer, elk and caribou much better than any wildlife “manager”. This makes predators the best means of removing CWD-infected animals from our wild herds.