Wolves
Chip (Community of Peace) Originally published May 2004Minnesota is one of the few states where wolves still exist in the wild. The timber wolf, also known as the eastern gray wolf, lives in the northern part of the state. Wolves are so important to many Minnesotans that our professional basketball team is named the Timberwolves. Recent studies show that there are between 2,000 and 2,300 wolves in Minnesota.
There hasn’t always been this many wolves in Minnesota. By 1970, the timber wolf was almost extinct. They were put under the protection of the Endangered Species Act. Since then, they have been protected by law and their numbers have increased.
Some people want to take them off the endangered species list. If this happens, they will be hunted again. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is considering taking the timber wolf off the endangered species list.
The Minnesota Wolf Alliance is a group that protects wolves. This group does not want the wolf to be de-listed. They say that humans must learn to coexist with wolves.
There are many myths about wolves. One myth is that wolves are vicious animals that attack anything and everything. The fact is that no person in the U.S. has ever been killed by a wolf. Another myth about wolves is that they will soon overpopulate the state. This is not true. Wolves are very territorial. They limit their own numbers.
My opinion is that wolves should continue to be protected. Wolves are peaceful and do not harm humans. Wolves are reclusive and avoid contact with humans whenever they can. The wolf population would decrease rapidly if they were delisted.
There is no such thing as “the big, bad wolf.” These stories are called fairy tales for a reason.