The Wolf in Newfoundland: Thought to be extinct, one shot and killed. DNA tests confirm it.

www.cbc.ca...

The Gray Wolf subspecies, the Labrador Wolf, is known to live in Labrador, the mainland portion of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. However, populations on the island of Newfoundland itself were thought to have been hunted to extinction by the 1930s. However, just recently one was shot by a Coyote hunted. Coyotes are non-native to the island and are seen as posing a risk to our fragile caribou herds.

There was a lot of speculation at the time when pictures were first circulated that the animal wasn't an abnormally large Coyote or a Coy-Wolf hybrid, but an honest to goodness Gray Wolf, and the results of the DNA test confirm it.

Provincial authorities are insisting that there's no evidence that the wolves are breeding here, but imo - Newfoundland is a big island, sparse populated, heavily forrested. With a large population of moose and caribou as prey, it's entirely possible.

The hunter shot the animal believing that it was a coyote - he had previously attented a government seminar on the coyote threat and was assured that there were no wolves on the island.

I don't make a habit of posting threads, but this struck me as pretty interesting.

I think it's important to note that the hunter was confident that the animal he was firing at was a coyote, which is an invasive species to the province. There's plenty of evidence to suggest that coyotes are a threat to the island's caribou herds, which are one of our most important natural resources. I've twice in my life witnessed wild caribou herds, it's an amazing sight and an unforgettable experience. And if the non-native coyote represents a threat to their population, I firmly believe we should be rid of them.

Ahhh.. I love newfoundland. My grandparents live there, my father is from there. Been there spordically all my life. I love it there.

I dont particularly how they build a trillion homes in st johns. Destroyed quite a few beautiful places.

I think it would be interesting to see if the wolves are there, they are native to the island afterall, its just impossible for them to cross, They are part of the natural cycle. I believe they would also help with the coyote problem , i think they might be yummy to a wolf.

Peace from NS.

reply to post by Monger


And

was assured that there were no wolves on the island.

Extinct again

Surely you can see the difference between a coyote and a grey wolf

Cran

reply to post by cranspace


I see what you're saying, but wolves simply weren't supposed to be there, all of the evidence suggested it.

But if there was one, I don't doubt for a second that there are more. I'm pretty thrilled by the news. I've always regretted that our island's wolves were hunted to extinction, and this DNA result seems to herald their return.

Beautiful creature but you can tell it's looks are not even close to that of a coyote. Although I understand the nuisance that coyotes can be.

He sure was a pretty boy tho....

What you are calling an "invasive" animal obviously can't read the signs posted around the borders of the province that tell coyotes to keep out! These animals have always been native to North America, and unlike most of our wildlife, they have managed to adapt somewhat to living alongside humans. Much like raccoons, coyotes have learned to live off what we throw away, and can often be found living in parklands in and around our cities. In areas where coyote numbers are higher than normal, they can be a problem for livestock farmers, especially those who raise sheep. Lambing season is usually the worst period for coyote kills, as the scent of fresh placentas can be detected by a pack of coyotes from several miles away. If you want to do some varmint hunting, most sheep farmers will be glad to allow you onto their properties in the hopes of ending the problem.
Thinning out their numbers in problem areas is one thing, but to try wiping out the entire coyote population in any area is something I just can't agree with, especially when it is us humans who have many times unknowingly been guilty of attracting these highly intelligent animals in the first place. Remember too that there are many cases of livestock being attacked by domestic dogs that are allowed to run loose by their owners. The main difference that I've found between a dog pack kill and that of coyotes is that the dogs will often slaughter several animals, whereas the coyotes will kill and take only what they need.

reply to post by Bkrmn



Coyotes simply shouldn't be here. Newfoundland's 'border' is the North Atlantic. They came across on the sea ice in the last decade, There's no precedent for any coyote population on the island. Our caribou herds are fragile and getting smaller every year, and the coyote is to blame. What's more, more and more domestic pets are falling prey to this invasive species.

Coyotes are an interesting species in their own right, but they're also a pest. Here, they're regarded as a nuisance animal and should be treated as such. It's one thing for them to be within their natural range, but here they're disrupting the ecosystem.

reply to post by Bkrmn


The coyote do not belong, and are destroying the natural ecosystem. The best solution would be to move them, this is not possible, killing them breaks my heart, but in this case it's the lesser of two evils.

reply to post by Monger

My sincere apologies, I didn't realize coyotes only started showing up in the past ten years or so. I should have done some research before opening my yap! I have hunted them in places where they had become a real problem, and know of quite a few instances of them killing pets. I'll never forget the poor woman who phoned me and while sobbing her heart out, told me she had just witnessed a coyote running across her yard with her female Jack Russel in its mouth. The poor dog had given birth to pups only a few days prior.
It is a shame about the wolf being shot! A hunter is supposed to be one hundred per cent sure of what he/she is going to shoot before even pointing a weapon at the intended target! Failure to do so is how people get killed!

Frankly, it's a bit harder to tell the difference, sometimes.

No wolf and about 500,000 Moose, .... which are not indegenous to the area.

If the logic that coyotes/wolves/other predators should be shot and killed to control the population, or remove them from where the are not "supposed" to be, is acceptable, couldn't we say the same thing about humans? We too are a predator, the only difference is wild animals kill to live. We on the other hand, kill for the fun of it.

reply to post by Menrva


Ish. The difference is that we get rid of the other predator to make room for us as predators. And while you might find that wrong, it is "survival of the fittest".

Last month, a second wolf caught by a coyote trapper, thought to be a coyote, has been proven once again by DNA testing to be a wolf.

CBC Link

Personally, I welcome the wolf back to the island. Killing them off in the first place was folly, as they belong here. They were an integral part of the ecosystem for tens of thousands of years. The coyotes can go, they're a menace and they simply don't belong. They prey on our pets and take yearling caribou by their hundreds. A pack of wolves can take down a bull moose, or a big bull 'bou, leaving the youngsters to grow and propagate the species.

Interesting sidenote is that a mountain lion has recently been sited nearby where I live. Fish and Game said that it's impossible, there no evidence, blah, blah, blah. But they said the same for the wolf. And they said the same about the coyote, too, until they became an epidemic.

If climate change isn't happening, as so many people like to suggest, then why are so many species venturing into territory they've never inhabited before?

Originally posted by Monger
reply to post by Bkrmn

 

Coyotes simply shouldn't be here. Newfoundland's 'border' is the North Atlantic. They came across on the sea ice in the last decade, There's no precedent for any coyote population on the island. Our caribou herds are fragile and getting smaller every year, and the coyote is to blame. What's more, more and more domestic pets are falling prey to this invasive species.

Coyotes are an interesting species in their own right, but they're also a pest. Here, they're regarded as a nuisance animal and should be treated as such. It's one thing for them to be within their natural range, but here they're disrupting the ecosystem.

I DO NOT LIKE ANIMAL, SO ME KILL. ME HUMAN, ME DECIDE IF LIVE! (Despite having been the entire reason the species got there in the first place)

If I could read minds, I'd put my entire life saving on the fact that the hunter shot it knowing it was a wolf. And know what, he probably didn't give a crap that they're on the brink of extinction. Maybe he should be shot because he's now a nuisance for disrupting the natural order.

reply to post by HairlessApe


Brink of extinction, huh? Do you post things that you know to be true, or just what you feel to be true? If the wolf is on the 'brink of extinction.' then why does the IUCN Red List consider it a species of least concern? So quick to judge, and so fast a loose with the facts.

The hunter DID NOT know that the animal he shot was a wolf. As far as anybody at the time knew, there were no wolves here. There are now, and I for one welcome their return.

reply to post by AzureSky


Sin Jawns is a place I avoid like the bloody pox. I live at the foot of Gros Morne National Park, one of the most stunningly beautiful places on the planet. Newfoundland sure has changed a lot in these last few years, and not all for the best. But it's still my home, it's still in my heart and my blood. There's more beautiful scenery here to be seen per square mile than anywhere else on earth, if you avoid the Avalon

Originally posted by Monger
reply to post by HairlessApe

 

Brink of extinction, huh? Do you post things that you know to be true, or just what you feel to be true? If the wolf is on the 'brink of extinction.' then why does the IUCN Red List consider it a species of least concern? So quick to judge, and so fast a loose with the facts.

The hunter DID NOT know that the animal he shot was a wolf. As far as anybody at the time knew, there were no wolves here. There are now, and I for one welcome their return.

Better question. If the wolf is not near extinction, then why is the title of your thread:
"The Wolf in Newfoundland: Thought to be extinct, one shot and killed. DNA tests confirm it."

The hunter couldn't tell the difference between a full grown grey wolf and a coyote, huh? Do you post things to be true, or just what you feel to be true?

Originally posted by HairlessApe

The hunter had likely never seen a wolf in person. It's not so easy to tell the difference when looking through the scope of a rifle, on a bed of white snow, nothing for scale. It's far too easy to make judgements and assumptions.

The Newfoundland Wolf was a sub-species of the Gray Wolf hunted to extinction in the '30s. In the title I was referring to the Newfoundland Wolf, not to any other related species.

I wonder if you're not just a anti-hunting fanatic being obtuse, or if you're genuinely unaware. If the latter happens to be the case, I'm more than happy to oblige you in this conversation.