Management of Wolf-Livestock Interactions

            Building off of the issue of wolf-livestock interactions, this post will discuss the possibility of limiting wolf predation on livestock through management action. While compensation programs are an important tool to manage ranchers’ attitudes toward wolves, management plans aimed at reducing these interactions are also key in areas where wolves and livestock coexist. I recently read an article published in ­­­­Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment in 2011 detailing a study of wolf predation on cattle in Alberta, Canada¹. This study highlighted important trends seen wolf-cattle interactions in this area and suggested a management technique for reducing cattle loss to wolves.
            The study area is a predominantly ranching landscape with large range lands used seasonally for cattle grazing, similar to parts of the NRM area for wolf reintroduction in the US. Wolf diet compositions were studied year-round using scat analysis and field searches based on GPS telemetry relocations. The results showed an increase in percent biomass of cattle in wolf diets from 31% during the non-grazing season to 74% during the grazing season. The authors believe that this prey switching is due to the increased presence of cattle within the wolf territories during the grazing season as well as higher nutritional demands of wolf packs since this is the same season during which wolves are rearing pups.

            Wolves were found to scavenge more during the non-grazing season than during the grazing season, and the majority of scavenging was from the boneyards where ranchers dispose of carcasses of livestock that have died of disease or are otherwise unfit for human consumption. Because boneyards are only required to be 400 meters from facilities or residences, boneyard scavenging brings wolves dangerously close to humans and livestock. In addition, it gives wolves a taste for cattle and increases the likelihood that they will prey on livestock instead of wild ungulates.

            The management technique proposed in this paper is the use of metal storage bins for anything that may attract wolves or other carnivores, such as carcasses, grain, or garbage. The use of these bins not only decreases the chances of wolves approaching facilities or residences, but also prevents them from becoming accustomed to eating cattle due to scavenging from boneyards.

            Although this study was performed in Canada, I believe that the proposed development of management plans aimed at reducing wolf-livestock interactions also applies to areas of wolf reintroduction in the US. The area where the study was performed and the NRM area are similar in that they are both ranching landscapes that overlap wolf territories. The plan proposed in the article for use of metal storage bins to limit access to objects which might attract wolves should also be implemented in the US.

            In my opinion, further development of additional management plans is integral to the support of wolf conservation in the US. Not only will these plans reduce loss of livestock to wolves and therefore the impact of wolves on the livestock industry, they also have the potential to positively influence the attitudes of ranchers toward wolf conservation. Resources detailing the research being done and the management plans being implemented should be made available to all ranchers in the area. Compromises on the issues surrounding wolf reintroduction cannot be reached without thorough communication and cooperation between wolf conservationists and livestock producers. 

1.Morehouse, A.T., & Boyce, M.S. (2011). From venison to beef: seasonal changes in wolf diet composition in a                 livestock grazing landscape. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 9(8), 440-445.