Under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), gray wolves are listed as endangered species in 48 of the states, excluding Minnesota and Alaska. That was accurate until last year of 2008. The decision to lift the ESA, ensuring the wolves safety, was decided on March 28, 2008. It was only in Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana where most of the wolf population is in the United States.
The farmers in those areas should be very happy. The most common cause of death for wolves is conflict with people over livestock losses. Wolf predation on livestock is fairly uncommon, but the wolves that do prey on them are often killed to protect the livestock. Wolves are also killed due to human intrusive into wolf territory. Humans’ violating their space causes wolves to lose their habitat and many of their prey species.
I believe wolves should stay under the endangered species act even if their population rate reaches above 900. Wolves have been feared and misunderstood by our kind for plenty of years. They only see them as savage, dangerous creatures, never to be touched by human hands. Yet I seem them as creatures that should be coveted. Why should we destroy such a majestic creature as a wolf?
Wolves may have powerful jaw and sharp teeth, have excellent hearing, be able to smell 100 times better than us mere humans, or have thick fun, but they are no different than me or you. Like us wolves live with their family, called packs. Each pack has usually seven to twenty members containing a mother, father, their young, and other adult wolves. When their kin is in trouble they are there for each other. Wolves help each other hunt, travel, and feed. Mother and Father provide for the young until able to do so themselves. Pups tumble and roll, pounce, and fight, just as our young do. They even play tag and hide and seek. So why should we kill our brothers and sisters, creatures so much alike us?
The government took the wolves off the Endangered Species Act due to a rise in their population. There is an estimated guess that there 5,000 wolves living in the 48 lowers states and 7,000 to 11,200 living in Alaska. If wolves are allowed to be killed because there was an up rise in their population, shouldn’t humans be taken off of it as well? As of March, 2009 the world’s population is estimated to be about 6.76 billion. Since births outnumber deaths, the world’s population is expected to reach 9 billion by the year 2040. Why aren’t we allowed to kill off the excess amount of humans, just like we do to animals? We are beasts just like them, except we are higher up on the food chain and able to master fire.
Wolves should not be allowed to be slaughtered just because there are many of these graceful creatures. They should be allowed to remain on the endangered list because soon enough there won’t be many of them left once again. Unlike human wolves are able to take care of the excess numbers of themselves. There is a place for each and every one of them in a pack if they decide to belong to one. Humans are unable to care for all their kin; wolves do, which make them worthy of living and actually having a chance to have a life.