Jim And Jamie Dutcher: "The Hidden Life of Wolves"
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2013-02-07/jim-and-jamie-dutcher-hidden-life-wolves
Puppies maintain and develop their own pup hierarchy for their first few years of life, and their ranks are established early.
(Photo by Jim and Jamie Dutcher/National Geographic Stock p. 85)
From 1990 to 1996, Jim and Jamie Dutcher lived among a pack of gray wolves just outside Idaho's Sawtooth Wilderness. During these years of observation, the Dutchers say they found these often misunderstood animals to be highly social, communicating and bonding with family in a way humans could easily understand. Their new book, accompanied by Jim's photography, documents their findings and argues that the gray wolf should not have been removed from the endangered species list.
Guests
Jim Dutcher
author and photographer, "The Hidden Life of Wolves." Jim is an Emmy Award-winning filmmaker and cinematographer.
Jamie Dutcher
co-author and co-producer, "The Hidden Life of Wolves." Jamie worked in the animal hospital of the National Zoo in Washington, D.C.
Related Items
Jim And Jamie Dutcher's Wolf Photography
Published with permission of the National Geographic Society from the book The Hidden Life of Wolves by Jim and Jamie Dutcher. Copyright ©2013 Jim Dutcher and Jamie Dutcher. All rights reserved.
Watch The Hidden Life Of Wolves
Read An Excerpt
Published with permission of the National Geographic Society from the book The Hidden Life of Wolves by Jim and Jamie Dutcher. Copyright ©2013 Jim Dutcher and Jamie Dutcher. All rights reserved.
Comments
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Thank you for having the Dutchers on your program and giving wolves a voice. It's important to reach the public and let them know how wolves are being killed, hunted by dogs, poisoned and trapped--all under the name of "management" with only a lip-service to science.
It is a judgement on humanity that dogs, whom we have greatly influenced, treat each other much less well than do wolves---and the trick of getting beings to care more for their masters than for each other has come in handy with people, too.
(Terry Pratchett has pointed out that people would be better off if 'Homo homini lupus' were true.)
Has it ever been proposed or considered by the Federal Government to reimburse farmers for livestock killed by wolves rather than spending money on the so-called wovles management programs? I highly oppose wolves hunting.
I have loved wolves my entire life! Is it possible to visit the station in Idaho to see the wolves and experience them upclose from your research station?
Thank you for a wonderful program! I'm delighted to have a bit of nature brought to my day, and learn about the character of wolves.
I am appalled that not more people are calling to seriously voice their outrage at the slaughter of the wolves in Idaho, Woming and Montana. The ranchers are using MY federal property to raise cattle and sheep. Because of the killing of the Yellowstone Bison and now the wolves in these states, I have given up eating cows and have done for over 5 years as has my husband. This slaughter of these animals is disgraceful. The horrors theynare experiencing at the hands of man, being shot,poisoned, trapped, pups killed.....I hate humans more and more each day and this is why.
Tise ranchers who call and talk about the poor elk do not stop to think about the hunters who shoot the elk, gut them, and eat them just like the wolves do only in HUGE numbers.
Thank you for FINALLY having this on NPR, i have complained about not hearing anything aout this slaughter earlier. Hopefully, better late than never.
There has been a reimbursement program for YEARS, and still this passed. It is occuring on our federal property remember.
Very good show with great response on Jim and Jamie Dutcher interview! Your show has raised public awareness and is very effective!
Thank you so much!
Thank you so much for having the Dutchers as guests today. They helped to dispell many myths about wolves, which have been held onto by many people in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming for over a century. Wolf management, the manipulation of wolf numbers via hunting, is largely decided by politicians, not biologists. In WI, their state wolf biologists were not allowed in the process of designing the wolf hunt there. WI also ignored input and participation by tribes that hold wolves in high regard. MN, WI, MT and ID all allow trapping of wolves...these are not live traps. A wolf does not leave a trap alive. In MT and ID alone, over 1,000 wolves have been killed during the wolf "hunts" in those two states since Aug. 30. MT's wolf season ends Feb. 28. Idaho's season ends June 30th and begins again in Aug. Some areas are considering year-long trapping of wolves. WY's wolf "hunt" is shoot on sight and there is no quota, just as there are no quotas in MT and ID. There is no science being used in wolf hunts. Wolf hunting is just shooting at any wolf than is within range. There is no consideration as to population density, taking females vs. males, taking alphas vs. non-alphas. This is not how other game animals are hunted. Like Jamie and Jim said, it is a slaughter. Thank you for highlighting the issue of wolves in the US, never enough time. And the topic of wolves and issues related to them could take up an entire day, believe me. Well done as always, thank you.
Kristi Lloyd
Thank you so very much for hosting this very informative and interesting interview with Jim and Jamie Dutcher. The public as a whole honestly needs to recieve factual information about the wolves instead of just the myths and untruths spread by the haters. What is happening to this magnificent Apex Predator in the Western States of Idaho, Montana and Wyoming is truly deplorable. When Politics is allowed to trump Science, our precious wildlife loses.
I would also like to touch on what Jamie Dutcher suggested about what citizens can do to stop the wolf slaughter. Many ranchers use public lands to graze cattle. An agency run by the USDA is called Wildlife Services. This agency is the hired guns of the livestock industry. Wildlife Services uses traps, snares, poison, shooting from the ground and from planes to kill wolves at the behest of ranchers. This is funded by US taxpayers. The state of Idaho also uses Wildlife Services to kill wolves to boost elk numbers for hunters. One thing you can do is contact your US senators and representatives and urge them to cut the budget for Wildlife Services, severely. This is a very opportunistic time to do this now since Congress is working on cutting spending. Also, public lands ranchers are very heavily subsidized by US taxpayers. The reason/excuse for these subsidies is to keep the price of beef down. Should every industry in the US be subsidized to keep prices down? Also ask your US senators and representatives to cut these subsidies. Public lands ranchers pay in just over $20 million/year in grazing fees yet receive over $200 million in subsidies. There are many non-lethal means of predator controls to keep livestock losses by predators down but many of these ranchers want wolves killed. WS kills for these ranchers at the cost to you, the US taxpayer. There is little transparency or accountability within WS, many citizens don't even know it exists (NOT the same as US Fish and Wildlife Service). Taking action is the only thing that will stop the slaughter of wolves. There are only 6 states in the lower 48 that have gray wolves and they are subject to "hunting". Wolves are not as widespread as many other wildlife across the country. Predators are beneficial to their ecosystems and need to be preserved. Wolves have been unjustly persecuted for over 100 years, after a 60 year absence in the west. They were brought back for a reason.
Well said, SClevidence!
Ranchers are in fact compensated. Poor husbandry practices increase risk to livestock. Please see article if you wish
http://www.oregonwild.org/fish_wildlife/bringing_wolves_back/wolves-misu...
I received the DVD documenting the Dutcher's study of wolves some odd years ago. I can't imagine how horrified they must have been when wolves were de-listed. Environmental and conservation groups won a case against the government to keep wolves on the list, but the Obama Administration threw out the judgement and tossed wolves under a bus anyway. Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar hates wolves and sucks up to anti-wolf ranchers. The wolves in Wyoming were protected for a while, as Wyoming has a poor wolf management program. Now even the wolves in Wyoming can be shot on sight. Disgusting.
Would everyone who commented on this story, PLEASE write a letter to the new Sec. of Interior - I don't remember her name.
Ma'iingan (maa e gun), wolf in the Ojibwe language, is sacred to the Ojibwe. Ma'iingan was placed on earth to be a companion to the Ojibwe. As a child on Leech Lake Ojibwe Reservation, I used to play with them - one day they just disappeared. They were killed by white men for fun - they just wanted to shoot something and kill it.
Ma'iingan is back, but the white people have started killing them again.
I don't understand why white people have such low regard for the companions Gitche Manito - the Creator - has given us. Why do you want to kill them?
Baa Bii Daash
Thank you for having Jim and Jamie on the show. I wonder if there is a way to pass this message/question(s) on to them.
The thing that first got me excited about the need to leave the wolves alone was the film “Lords of Nature” and then the book “Never Cry Wolf”. I wonder about three things.
First, in “Never Cry Wolf”, there was a section about a Native Canadian who knew what the wolf howls meant, even to the time and direction that the caribou were traveling and that the original message had been relayed through more than one pack. Has this been verified in any way?
Second is about a conversation in the interview about wolves having strict protocols for breading that has exceptions for super abundance and extreme shortage of food and the health of new cubs. These protocols are far from the traits of vegetarian prey animals. Deer and elk will breed until they are starving. I bring this up because we, in our billions seem to be acting like prey species even though we are, by common standards, the most successful species on the planet. (cont.)
cont.
Third is related to the fact that less than 2% of cattle death is attributed to wolves. I have read that wolves have another impact on cattle which is reported loss of weight in “wolf spooked” cattle. This sounds very much like the changes in awareness that happen to elk when wolves are present vs. when they are not. The elk spend a lot less time in one spot grazing aspen shoots down to the ground when wolves are around. One of the things that bothers me, and all the evidence suggest that the cattlemen are bothered too, is that European cattle are so vulnerable to attack. I suspect that the ancestors to European cattle were not so vulnerable. I also suspect that if left to their own devices, it would not take too many generations of exposure to wolves that they would become less vulnerable. Moreover, they might also become less vulnerable to challenges in health and exposure to the elements which are the primary causes of cattle losses. The other option is to have cattlemen start herding buffalo, which would not be such easy prey and would probably have fewer other impacts on North American ecosystems.
ps. I live in Los Alamos, New Mexico and the Valles Caldera National Preserve is practically in my back yard. It is home to approximately 3000 elk and the last time I checked, is a working cattle ranch whose functioning is based on ecological and economic sustainability. I would love to see some studies done to determine the suitability for the Valle to be a science based reserve for studying new ways for elk, cattle and wolves to co-exist in the same mountainous environment, either for gray wolves or the smaller Mexican “Lobo”.
Her name is Sally Jewell and she has yet to be confirmed. She is a conservationist who understands a lot about the oil and gas industry. This is not the appropriate forum to say more, but if confirmed things could be very interesting over the next four years. I agree that we all need to show support for ending the slaughter of wolves and I hope Diane can get her on the show soon.
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