Alaska considers wolf cull to boost caribou herd
CBC News
Wildlife officials in Alaska are considering killing more wolves as a way to kick-start the growth of the 40 Mile caribou herd. The herd, which ranges between the Yukon and Alaska, once numbered more than half-a-million head, but dropped to about 5,000 by the 1970s. While a recovery program has since boosted the count to more than 40,000, biologists say the herd has stopped growing. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game is looking at a number of ways to change that, including stepping up a wolf-kill program already being used to boost moose numbers in the state. Alaska is also looking at reintroducing the wolf sterilization plan. Fifteen pairs of breeding wolves in the caribou’s range have been sterilized in the past decade. Other members of the pack have been relocated. Wildlife biologist Cathie Harmes said the sterilization program was effective and could work again, although it had some drawbacks. “Certainly, it was exceedingly expensive compared to a lot of wildlife management techniques,” she said. Harmes said officials are still waiting for a report that will determine whether the sterilization program was successful.