Grey Wolf History

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On May 11, 1858, Minnesota became the 32nd state to join the United States of America (Minnesota). Early on, the state was filled with vast resources and an abundance of wildlife. Most of the wildlife, such as deer, elk and moose, contributed to the settler’s diet. Natural predators created competition and hardships for the new settlers; one of these animals was the Gray Wolf. The decrease in the amount of large mammals that the settlers consumed left wolves’ preying on cattle. The Greek name for the Gray Wolf is Canis lupus. Its range at one time consisted of Eastern Europe, Western Asia, Northern Africa and North America, but their numbers are only a fraction of what they once were (McLendon). Almost every one of the lower forty-eight…show more content…
Some of these actions were unregulated hunting and government-sponsored poisoning. The only place you could find a Gray Wolf in the 1960s was small pockets in Minnesota and a few areas in Michigan. Traditionally, the Gray Wolf has dark fur around their eyes and along their backs. The rest of their body is covered in white fur, but they can also be all black or pure white to blend into the northern environment where the Grey Wolf has flourished. In the 1970’s, the Green Revolution was started and the endangered species list “ESL” was founded. The Gray Wolf was placed on the ESL in 1974 and remains there today despite recent controversy. [Introduction] [Viewpoints 1] Areas in black are Gray Wolf ranges today. Areas in black are Gray Wolf ranges today. Minnesota has attempted to delist the Gray Wolf two times before…show more content…
By the late 1980’s and early 90’s, the Gray Wolf reached its population goal of over 1600, which is the minimum to be on the endangered species list. Even so, the wolf remained on and has flourished. It has created larger wolf packs and has expanded onto new territory that was once thought to be uninhabitable to wolves. The one problem with more and larger packs is that the Gray Wolf is a very territorial mammal and will wander tens to hundreds of miles to find prime territory and abundance of prey. With most of the wolf populations residing in Northeastern Minnesota, some wolf packs have been venturing into central Minnesota and Wisconsin. These areas are considered prime dairy land and hold more expensive and larger amounts of cattle. The DNR has classified Minnesota into two zones of protection: Zone A and Zone B (United). Zone A is the northern third part of the state, which is considered the wolves’ zone. This zone is filled with more state parks and undesired farm land. The undesirability of this land for cultivation provides a better environment that prevents the wolves from needing to wander into farm territory for food. Farmers living in these zones have to refer to other options to deal with invading wolves. Many of them use speakers projecting howls to imitate other Grey Wolf packs. This usually makes the invading pack migrate to other areas.

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