The perils of wandering wolves: M2001, a lone male from Banff, shot dead by Montana hunter
Tyler Dawson
POSTMEDIA
3?24/2021
A grey wolf from Banff travelled around 500 kilometres, across the Alberta-British Columbia border, and into Montana — all in just five days — where it met its end at the hands of a Montana hunter, a stark reminder of the perils faced by animal populations once they leave the protective borders of national parks.
Wolf M2001, a lone male, made the journey down the spine of the Rockies, starting from Kananaskis Country, just east of Banff National Park, through Fernie, B.C., and then crossing into the United States — likely in search of a new pack or mate.
He was shot dead on March 8, Parks Canada officials confirmed, saying they tracked the wolf with a GPS collar as it made its journey.
“It is legal in Montana for landowners to remove wolves that potentially threaten livestock, domestic dogs or human safety,” said a Parks Canada statement.
Such trips are not unusual, especially for young wolves, that leave in search of new packs, hunting and living territory, most commonly when the wolves are between one-and-a-half and three-years old.
But research indicates the mortality of wolves increases significantly once they leave the relative safety of national parks, although even within park borders, they risk being hit by vehicles or trains or euthanized should they become too used to humans.
Once they cross park boundaries, however, they’re at risk of being killed by hunters and trappers, both in Canada and the United States.
Hunters killed more than 200 grey wolves in Wisconsin, 82% more than the state's limit
A 2020 study, which tracked 72 wolves between 1987 and 2018, found that wolves that left Banff National Park were 6.7 times more likely to die. Those that left the park had a 44 per cent chance of survival, compared to 84 per cent for those who lived within the park.
“Indeed, the greatest risk factor in our study was whether wolves left the protection of the park in winter during the hunting and trapping season on adjacent provincial lands,” the study says.
Most the deaths outside the park were caused by hunting — 18 per cent — and trapping — 36 per cent. In some parts of Alberta and Saskatchewan, municipalities pay bounties on wolves, coyotes and other predators, according to a 2015 research paper.
For example, Big Lakes, Alta., a county located northwest of Edmonton, offers $250 per wolf pelt, according to the municipality website. Wildlife advocate suggest these municipal programs have paid out hundreds of thousands of tax dollars to hunters and trappers over the years. Other areas have hosted “kill contests,” where teams compete to see how many animals, often coyotes, can be killed in a period of time.
The perils for wandering wolves isn’t just a problem for the animals in Canadian parks. In February, Greg Gianforte, the Republican Governor of Montana, trapped and killed a six-year-old wolf. It had travelled more than 16 kilometres away from Yellowstone National Park, and so was fair game. Gianforte hadn’t actually done the requisite training to trap wolves, and received a written warning.
As it happens, the wolves in Yellowstone are actually wolves that were relocated from Banff and Jasper National Park in the 1990s.
The death of Wolf M2001 also comes shortly after Wisconsin hunters killed 20 per cent of the state’s wolf hunting quota in one 60-hour period at the end of February, resulting in the death of 216 wolves. This wildly exceeded the state’s quota of 119 dead wolves in a hunt that also happened during the breeding season of the grey wolf.
The cull came after the U.S. administration under former president Donald Trump removed the grey wolf from the endangered species list.
With additional reporting from the Washington Post
• Email: tdawson@postmedia.com | Twitter: tylerrdawson
© Provided by National Post File photo of a grey wolf Kootenay National Park. Research indicates the mortality of wolves increases significantly once they leave the relative safety of national parks.
A grey wolf from Banff travelled around 500 kilometres, across the Alberta-British Columbia border, and into Montana — all in just five days — where it met its end at the hands of a Montana hunter, a stark reminder of the perils faced by animal populations once they leave the protective borders of national parks.
Wolf M2001, a lone male, made the journey down the spine of the Rockies, starting from Kananaskis Country, just east of Banff National Park, through Fernie, B.C., and then crossing into the United States — likely in search of a new pack or mate.
He was shot dead on March 8, Parks Canada officials confirmed, saying they tracked the wolf with a GPS collar as it made its journey.
“It is legal in Montana for landowners to remove wolves that potentially threaten livestock, domestic dogs or human safety,” said a Parks Canada statement.
Such trips are not unusual, especially for young wolves, that leave in search of new packs, hunting and living territory, most commonly when the wolves are between one-and-a-half and three-years old.
But research indicates the mortality of wolves increases significantly once they leave the relative safety of national parks, although even within park borders, they risk being hit by vehicles or trains or euthanized should they become too used to humans.
Once they cross park boundaries, however, they’re at risk of being killed by hunters and trappers, both in Canada and the United States.
Hunters killed more than 200 grey wolves in Wisconsin, 82% more than the state's limit
A 2020 study, which tracked 72 wolves between 1987 and 2018, found that wolves that left Banff National Park were 6.7 times more likely to die. Those that left the park had a 44 per cent chance of survival, compared to 84 per cent for those who lived within the park.
“Indeed, the greatest risk factor in our study was whether wolves left the protection of the park in winter during the hunting and trapping season on adjacent provincial lands,” the study says.
Most the deaths outside the park were caused by hunting — 18 per cent — and trapping — 36 per cent. In some parts of Alberta and Saskatchewan, municipalities pay bounties on wolves, coyotes and other predators, according to a 2015 research paper.
For example, Big Lakes, Alta., a county located northwest of Edmonton, offers $250 per wolf pelt, according to the municipality website. Wildlife advocate suggest these municipal programs have paid out hundreds of thousands of tax dollars to hunters and trappers over the years. Other areas have hosted “kill contests,” where teams compete to see how many animals, often coyotes, can be killed in a period of time.
The perils for wandering wolves isn’t just a problem for the animals in Canadian parks. In February, Greg Gianforte, the Republican Governor of Montana, trapped and killed a six-year-old wolf. It had travelled more than 16 kilometres away from Yellowstone National Park, and so was fair game. Gianforte hadn’t actually done the requisite training to trap wolves, and received a written warning.
As it happens, the wolves in Yellowstone are actually wolves that were relocated from Banff and Jasper National Park in the 1990s.
The death of Wolf M2001 also comes shortly after Wisconsin hunters killed 20 per cent of the state’s wolf hunting quota in one 60-hour period at the end of February, resulting in the death of 216 wolves. This wildly exceeded the state’s quota of 119 dead wolves in a hunt that also happened during the breeding season of the grey wolf.
The cull came after the U.S. administration under former president Donald Trump removed the grey wolf from the endangered species list.
With additional reporting from the Washington Post
• Email: tdawson@postmedia.com | Twitter: tylerrdawson
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