In Fred’s opinion, Caribou are apprehensive of sandy eskers as the haunt
of Wolves, and do not linger there.
On October 15 Charles Schweder pointed out the body of a Caribou in a
little pond in the delta area at the head of Simons’ Lake. He considered
it killed by Wolves some weeks previously; its antlers were in the
velvet, and it had been eaten only about the head and hind quarters as
it lay in the water.
Joe Chambers, a trapper of Goose Creek (south of Churchill), stated that
Wolves select the fattest Caribou, and that during the winter of 1946-47
they had been devouring only such choice parts as the tongue and the
unborn young.
Caribou bodies are the primary bait for Wolves and Foxes on the Barren
Grounds. Two traps are commonly placed at each carcass.
Up to a couple of centuries ago, when the baneful effect of civilized
man began to be felt, the Caribou throve and multiplied to a point where
they probably strained the grazing capacity of the Barren Grounds.
Neither primitive man nor the Wolf had any serious effect on the size or
condition of the herds. The Caribou were numbered by millions, and they
doubtless owed their vigor and their success as a species in no small
measure to their friendly enemy, the Wolf. Through long ages the latter
had tended to eliminate the weaklings, the sickly, and the less alert
individuals, leaving the fitter animals to propagate their kind. Here
was a fine example of natural selection operating to the advantage of
the Caribou. Thus the Wolf may be safely considered a benefactor of the
species as a whole--a regulator and protector of its vitality.
There are only two regions of the world where Caribou (or Reindeer) have
not long shared their territory with the Wolf--Spitsbergen and the Queen
Charlotte Islands. And what sort of situation do we find there? Instead
of thriving in the absence of such a natural predator, the animals of
both regions are the runts of the whole Caribou-Reindeer tribe, and
those of the Queen Charlottes have become virtually or wholly extinct
(_cf._ Banfield, 1949: 481-482). Furthermore, the Newfoundland Caribou
suffered a very serious decline after the Newfoundland Wolf became
extinct at about the beginning of the present century. The lesson is
obvious: it is folly for man to imagine that he can benefit the Caribou
by eliminating the Wolves.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account