Cattle are Dangerous to Wildlife

[LongRanger]

Seems that 'harassing' cattle is reason enough to shoot-to-kill, as well . . .

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/n...newstopstories

'. . . justifiable under North Dakota law . . .'

Niiiiiiiiice





This is getting to be a bit much





..

[Frank Beck]

At least there was a threat.

Not like this:

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-w...-is-euthanized

The only "threat" was that some idiotic tourists were personally offended that a wild animal may have been cold... which it wasn't. Too bad an IQ test isn't mandatory before visiting state parks.

[trdking]

Damned City Folk

At least there was a threat.

Not like this:

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-w...-is-euthanized



The only "threat" was that some idiotic tourists were personally offended that a wild animal may have been cold... which it wasn't. Too bad an IQ test isn't mandatory before visiting state parks.

[Chuck Miller]

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-w...-is-euthanized

Oh my goodness.... what'a shame

[LongRanger]

'. . . A rancher killed the first confirmed wolverine in North Dakota in over a century, turning a spotlight on an elusive species. A mere 300 or so wolverines exist in the continental United States, and researchers predict that number could continue to dwindle.

The North American wolverine, informally called a "mountain devil," is the largest member of the weasel family. Weighing around 40 pounds *, the small beast is capable of fending off larger bears and wolves.

Why are wolverines so rare?

Wolverines dwell in cold, dry climates and at high elevations in places like Montana, Idaho and Wyoming. As The Atlantic's J. Weston Phippen notes, "The Rocky Mountains are one of their few remaining American homes."

Their frost-resistant pelts once made them prized among trappers, leaving wolverines deplenished across much of the U.S. by the 1930s. Though wolverine trapping is outlawed in many parts of North America, they still get caught in traps set for other animals.

Wolverines' loner nature also makes them sensitive to intrusions by humans, including those on snowmobiles, The New York Times notes, and concerns exist about a lack of genetic variability among so few of the animals in the 48 states.

Wolverines also rely on packs of snow, into which they burrow deep to raise their young. As the amount of snow thins in the Rockies and elsewhere, debates have arisen over whether climate change threatens the species in the U.S.

What's being done to help them?

In 2013, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service suggested listing the wolverine as an threatened species. At the time, the agency said that climate change ** caused by humans posed risks to the snowpacks integral to wolverines' survival.

In 2014, the Fish and Wildlife Service reversed its stance. The agency claimed that the data it had relied on was not conclusive. Idaho, Montana and Wyoming backed the agency's newfound opposition, the Atlantic notes, as did oil and fracking companies and snowmobile associations.

What's their current status?

Last month, a federal judge rejected the Fish and Wildlife Service's decision to deny wolverines' protection under the Endangered Species Act, as Reuters reported. The agency has now been ordered to reconsider its conclusions.

The judge, Dana Christensen, said the Fish and Wildlife Service reversed its initial stance in an "arbitrary and capricious" way under "immense political pressure" put on it by the states and industries that could face regulations were the animal protected.

As Phippen notes at the Atlantic, "If the wolverine is deemed threatened by the agency, it could open the gates for other animals to win similar status based on climate-change claims ***." . . .'


http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/n...1&noRedirect=1




* This is a threat to cattle?

** Uh-oh --- here we go! . . .

*** That's it --- can't save what ain't there! Kill all 'em d@mn Wolverines!

[37yrold911]

it's sad

but will probably help the enviros in their attempt to get wolverines listed as endangered

wasn't that tourist buffalo thing in a National park??

[dummkopf]

How can Bison milk be that much different from cow's milk.... Seems the park rangers are just as stupid as the tourists.

LongRanger.

[RSTarga]

How can Bison milk be that much different from cow's milk.... Seems the park rangers are just as stupid as the tourists.

LongRanger.

My Mom was raised on Burro milk so I guess milk is milk.

[37yrold911]

their policy is not to create a petting zoo, but to protect as much of the ecosystem that is in the Park - that means wolves kill elk or bison, some bison starve, etc.

it's nature

[dummkopf]

I am not so dense that I don't understand that, but it was removed by human. That is not nature. I am sure there would be a bison farm that would take it. I find it wasteful and so typical of government.