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Wolves prefer fishing to hunting

by flight737 | September 2, 2008 at 09:15 pm

1110 views | 9 Recommendations | 15 comments

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For wolves in Canada it is eaiser to catch salmon than track deer so why not prefer to fish rather than hunt?

Wolves in western Canada prefer to fish for salmon when it is in season rather than hunt deer or other wild game, researchers have found.
Scientists studied the eating habits of wolf packs in British Columbia.
Deer is the staple food of the wolves in the spring and summer but they often injure themselves hunting them.
When Pacific salmon return to the region's rivers to spawn in the autumn, the wolves prefer the taste of the more nutritious and easier to catch fish.
The researchers studied the droppings and hair of eight wolf groups over four years to discover what they ate.
They had expected the wolves to switch to salmon only if deer were in short supply but this was not the case.
"Selecting benign prey such as salmon makes sense from a safety point of view," wrote Dr Chris Darimont, from the University of Victoria, BC, and his colleagues in the journal BMC Ecology.
"While hunting deer, wolves commonly incur serious and often fatal injuries," the researchers said, adding that salmon fishing is much less time consuming than tracking deer in the forest.
"In addition to safety benefits, we determined that salmon also provides enhanced nutrition over deer, especially in fat and energy."

Source: news.bbc.co.uk

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Paschen

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 03:34 on September 3rd, 2008

flight737, I like this story. It's good stuff.

That may explain why my half Wolf is always after the Fish in the Pond.

Véro Chorzöv

at 06:57 on September 3rd, 2008

I love wolves....that's all!!!!
So I love take photos of them!

Véro Chorzöv has contributed a photo to this story.

vamp

at 07:26 on September 3rd, 2008

I just love wolves, my home is full of them.

vamp has contributed a photo to this story.

rgdaniel

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 08:41 on September 3rd, 2008

Anything about wolves gets my attention

teresa.cross71

at 09:17 on September 3rd, 2008

This picture was taken at a Wolf Sactuary in Vancouver. The wolves were being fed and this wolf was trying to take on the Alpha Wolf in the pack. Even in Captivity handlers must ensure the Alpha gets fed first before the rest of the pack to avoid fighting.

teresa.cross71 has contributed a photo to this story.

Big Daddy Dishrags

at 13:26 on September 3rd, 2008

Copyright 2007 Big Daddy Dishrags. This wolf is a resident of Bergeron's Exotic Animal Sanctuary in Picton, ON (www.bergerons.ca) most of the animals there have been rescued from various predicaments and would have been euthanized if not for the sanctuary.

Big Daddy Dishrags has contributed a photo to this story.

ditzywolflady

at 13:56 on September 3rd, 2008

I didn't take the photo, don't know who did,I got the photo from Webshots.
I love wolves and collect as many photos as I can.
I have had the chance to raise a wolf pup but I believe they should be in the wild not at a home.
I love wolves because of their loyalty to the whole pack.

ditzywolflady has contributed a photo to this story.

interactive-bot

at 16:56 on September 3rd, 2008

Wolf photos taken in Haliburton Forest, Ontario Canada in Feb 2007, natural habitat

interactive-bot has contributed a photo to this story.

a Giant Girl

at 18:58 on September 3rd, 2008

Happened upon this guy at the base of Grouse Mountain in Vancouver BC.

a Giant Girl has contributed a photo to this story.

Ney Oliveira

at 21:16 on September 3rd, 2008

Wolf in captivity, Grouse Mountain, BC, Canada

Ney Oliveira has contributed a photo to this story.

esdiway

at 21:30 on September 4th, 2008

took this photo at the base of grouse mountain, bc, canada - january 2008

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lisaseat

at 13:07 on September 6th, 2008

Whilst in Canada last summer i was on a hike and we heard some noise, on inspection we noticed this beautiful guy standing checking out his domain!

Whilst in Canada this summer i visited a wolf sanctuary near Haliburton, they live in a 8 ach area and hunt for food etc, they have some amazing statistics and information about them, they go in depth about the hunting nature of wolfs, and also the extream closness they have to Ravens, believe it or not they play together. Native history always places the 2 animals together! i definatly recomend a trip to the place if your in Ontario! if you want more info pop me a mail and i will give you directions.

lisaseat has contributed a photo to this story.