Ridecamp: Re: [RC] Hunting Season

> >Why are human predators unnatural?????
>
> Well  hmmm.  When's the last time you saw a 4-legged predator using scents
> or calls or baits, or high-powered weapons with scopes that extend the
> predator's natural reach maybe 3000 times, or infra-red goggles, etc.
> etc?  I'm not putting a value, negative or otherwise on these tools, but I
> sure think that the use of these things does sort of nudge the hunters who
> use them out of the "natural" category!

By the same token, the transplanted wolves in this area will get into a herd
of elk with new calves and simply slaughter them for the fun of it--if a
human did that, they'd get put in jail.  Game department here documented one
such kill with 19 elk calves slaughtered and just their noses eaten.  Since
the introduction of wolves (NOT natural to this area, BTW), the counts of
elk calves indicate that the percentages of cows that have surviving calves
has dropped from somewhere in the low 30's to somewhere in the teens (I
forget the exact numbers).  You are the one that suggested a comparison
about culling--human hunters tend to take either bulls or dry cows--they
don't indiscriminately slaughter the babies.  To the credit of the elk--they
are learning to circle and protect their young--a behavior that the game
biologists had not previously observed....

As to the hi-tech tools--doesn't matter how hi-tech the human hunters are,
they are still restricted to the number of permits that the herd should be
thinned to maintain its health.  I don't know of a single "natural" preditor
that is so considerate of the prey species...

Heidi


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