Keeping wolves away
Options include loud noises and shock collars
By Dan Gallagher
Associated Press
BOISE ý Loudspeakers blaring out the recorded sound of gunfire or
other loud noises or dog shock collars could resolve problems with
wolves before ranchers resort to a rifle bullet, researchers
believe.
Since the federal reintroduction of 35 wolves into Idaho in 1995-96,
conservationists have warred with opponents of the predator. In the
past three years, at least 30 wolves have been killed or removed in
and around the Sawtooth National Recreation Area due to conflicts
with livestock.
“There’s no one simple solution for the wolves,” said John Shivik
with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services. “What
we’re trying to produce is options. You can never have too many
tools in your toolbox.”
Shivik, Adrian Treves with the Wildlife Conservation Society in New
York and Peggy Callahan of the Wildlife Science Center in Forest
Lake, Minn., reported on those alternatives in the December issue of
Conservation Biology.
They researched whether devices ý called RAG or radio-activated
guard boxes ý would scare off wolves.
The RAG boxes have cassette players that are activated to broadcast
loud noises when wolves with radio collars come too close.
The three researchers compared the predators’ consumption of
road-killed deer carcasses and of dog food before and after being
exposed to the noise.
The sound scared the wolves off to the point that roadkill
consumption dropped by two-third and dog food consumption by
three-quarters.
This experiment was done on wild wolves and bears in Wisconsin.
The problem with the RAG boxes is wolves can learn to ignore the
noise.
Instead of scaring the wolves, electric collars like those used to
train dogs may teach them to stay away from livestock, said Shivik,
who has researched their use. They would also activate if the wolves
get too close to calves or lambs protected by the system.
“It’s the same way that wolves learn not to eat porcupines,” he
said. “It’s just not worth it.”
Federal experts have about a dozen RAG boxes at their disposal in
Idaho, said Carter Niemeyer, Idaho wolf coordinator for the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service. He agrees the wolves can become
habituated to the boxes, and they work better in tight spaces than
wide-open range.
And an inherent problem in the West is most wolves are not collared.
Niemeyer estimated there are about 760 wolves in Idaho, Wyoming and
Montana, where the recovery project has been concentrated. About 360
are in Idaho. Although some wolves are captured and collared each
winter, only about 50 Idaho animals have collars, Niemeyer said.
Wolf reintroduction has succeeded in the Northern Rockies and the
federal government is preparing to pull them off the Endangered
Species List if populations can be maintained. The RAG boxes and
shock collars may not be a complete answer, but they may save some
wolves and livestock.
“High-technology devices are much more expensive, complicated and
limited in effectiveness than a single bullet from a high-powered
rifle, but they also allow a predator to live ý surely the goal of
conservation,” Shivik said.