wolves under threat by mankind !!

 

Long ago, before the  four-legged best friend of humans  learned to fetch tennis balls, its  ancestors were purely wild animals in competition—sometimes violent—with humanity.  At some point, tens of thousands years ago -  our bitter rivals transformed  to  snuggly, fluffy pooch pals?  -  According to Scientists,    all dogs  descended from wolves. Gray wolves and dogs diverged from an extinct wolf species some 15,000 to 40,000 years ago.  The domestication of dogs was  perhaps one of the most extraordinary events in human history. 

In the Ithihasa purana ‘Mahabarat’ the  Pandavas were firm in their resolve to renounce their Kingdom and began the ascent of Meru hill in the Himalayas as part of their final journey. Yudhisthira led the way followed by Bheema, Arjuna, Nakula, Sahadeva and Draupadi. A dog also accompanied them through their journey. 

Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club commonly known as Wolves, is a professional association football club based in the city of Wolverhampton in the West Midlands, England. Formed as St. Luke's F.C. in 1877, the club has played at Molineux Stadium since 1889 and has been competing in the Premier League, the top division of English football, since winning promotion in 2018.

 

Pic credit : twitter.com/hourlywolvesbot

The animal ‘Wolf’  (Canis lupus[a]), also known as the  grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of Canis lupus have been recognized. The wolf is the largest extant member of Canidae, males averaging 40 kg (88 lb) and females 37 kg (82 lb).  The wolf is also distinguished from other Canis species by its less pointed ears and muzzle, as well as a shorter torso and a longer tail. The wolf is nonetheless related closely enough to smaller Canis species, such as the coyote and the golden jackal, to produce fertile hybrids with them.  Of all members of the genus Canis, the wolf is most specialized for cooperative game hunting as demonstrated by its physical adaptations to tackling large prey, its more social nature, and its highly advanced expressive behaviour. It travels in nuclear families consisting of a mated pair accompanied by their offspring. Offspring may leave to form their own packs on the onset of sexual maturity and in response to competition for food within the pack. Wolves are also territorial and fights over territory are among the principal causes of wolf mortality. The wolf is mainly a carnivore and feeds on large wild hooved mammals as well as smaller animals, livestock, carrion, and garbage.  

A legal analysis has determined legislation intended to change the effective date of some 200 pieces of previously passed legislation should be amended to avoid a potential Idaho government shutdown in June. The Idaho attorney general's office sent the analysis Thursday to a nonpartisan government entity that supports state lawmakers.

Idaho is a state in the Western United States, in the Mountain West subregion. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canadian border with the province of British Columbia. With a population of approximately 1.7 million and an area of 83,570 square miles (216,400 km2), Idaho is the 14th largest, the 12th least populous and the 7th least densely populated of the 50 U.S. states. The state's capital and largest city is Boise.

For thousands of years Idaho has been inhabited by Native American peoples. In the early 19th century, Idaho was considered part of the Oregon Country, an area disputed between the United States and the British Empire. It officially became U.S. territory with the signing of the Oregon Treaty of 1846, but a separate Idaho Territory was not organized until 1863.  Idaho was eventually admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, becoming the 43rd state.  A number of science and technology firms are either headquartered in Idaho or have factories there, and the state also contains the Idaho National Laboratory, which is the country's largest Department of Energy facility. Idaho's agricultural sector supplies many products, but the state is best known for its potato crop, which comprises around one-third of the nationwide yield.  Idaho lawmakers have passed a bill aimed at killing the majority of the state’s wolves, which would get rid of most limits on hunting the predators. It represents the most sweeping expansion of wolf hunting in the state, and has drawn outrage from scientists, conservationists, and even pro-hunting groups.

The act would allow hunters and private contractors to kill 90 percent or more of the state’s wolves, which number around 1,500 at last count. The decision comes just months after the species was removed from the U.S. Endangered Species Act, though wolves in the Northern Rockies have been delisted since 2011. The move threatens to partially undo decades of intense efforts—costing tens of millions in taxpayer dollars—to recover wolves in the region. The bill passed along party lines, with an overwhelming majority of Republicans in support and Democrats mostly opposed. In the State Senate, it passed on April 21 with a vote of 26 to seven and cleared the State House of Representatives on April 27 with a tally of 58 to 11. The legislation is now headed to the office of Republican Governor Brad Little. If he signs it, it will go into effect within months.

The act would allow for wolves—animals which many in the state perceive as harmful to livestock and elk—to be hunted just about any way, including being shot from airplanes, helicopters, ATVs, and snow machines. Baiting and night hunting with spotlights would be permitted. It would allow trapping and snaring wolves on private property year-round, and each hunter could purchase an unlimited number of tags for killing the predators. The act paves the way for $300,000 in state funds to go specifically toward killing wolves that prey on elk, an annual increase of $190,000. This is an addition to more than $500,000 the state earmarks toward killing wolves that attack livestock. Some of this money can be given to individuals as reimbursement for expenses accrued killing wolves, which many critics see as a return to the bounty-hunting system that led to the near-elimination of wolves from the Lower 48 in the early 20th century.

Over the last few years, hunters in Idaho have legally killed about 500 wolves annually, so that the managed population has remained close to 1,500.

Sad mankind tries to exterminate all other living creatures and sometimes humans too.

With regards – S. Sampathkumar
4^th May 2021