|
Two Different Perspectives on Predation
A recent incident along the busy Yellowhead Highway in Jasper National Park brought out two very different human reactions to predation.
The first was from Milly Bavis, a Jasper resident, in a letter to the
Jasper Fitzhugh newspaper:
"On Friday, December 2, 2005 at around 10 in the morning, I was driving to Hinton on the Yellowhead. Only a few kilometres from Jasper I saw a large herd of elk gathered in the far side of a field to my right and a smaller group of ten or so at the very edge of the road. |
|
At this point, other than the excitement of seeing so large a herd, things were unfolding in a pretty predictable way. I slowed down to a stop, waiting to see what the smaller group of elk was going to do next.
It was strange because I sensed a nervousness and anticipation from the whole herd and the smaller group was intently looking across the road to my left. Then, all of a sudden, as if they were one, the smaller herd dashed off back towards the main herd as if it had been really spooked. At this point I glanced over to the left side of the road.
I saw a lone grey wolf and a mid-sized elk coming my way, walking side by side in no apparent rush in the direction of the larger herd. I noticed that their paces were evenly matched. My first, admittedly foolish impression of them being buddies out for a leisurely stroll was short-lived, for as the wolf and elk drew closer, I saw red stains on the wolf's chest. The stark reality of the scene became all too apparent to me.
When they reached the shoulder of the road to my left, the elk collapsed and the wolf settled down to continue its meal. I had thought that wolves killed their prey before eating, but I was proven wrong. I hope the elk did not suffer too much longer or that shock had sunk in, nonetheless I drove away with my emotions in a tailspin. When I got to the park gate, I reported the incident.
I was challenged on many levels but I eventually realized that we humans aren't so very different from the wolves. We may bypass the gory stuff when we go to the grocery store and bring home our meat in neat little packages, but otherwise the differences fade.
What an incredible honour for me to have witnessed this life-and-death struggle with my own eyes here in Jasper National Park."
When Milly reported the incident at the park gate, a warden drove to the site and found the traffic backed up and three wolves feeding on the elk. Motorists were out of their cars, throwing snowballs at the wolves in an unsuccessful attempt to drive them off. The warden shot the elk and moved it off the highway to a back road where the wolves could feed in peace. One driver came up to the warden, saying his wife was upset by the incident and asking how Parks Canada could possibly allow the wolves to eat animals in this way.
How can a busy warden explain in a few short minutes that predation by wolves is necessary if the elk are not to overpopulate their habitat and die of starvation? That while predation may not be pleasant for humans to see, it is the only way that a predator can kill an animal? That the elk was probably selected from the herd by the wolves because it was weakened by old age or sickness? That predation is what has made the elk the fleet, magnificently formed creature that it is today? That the death of this elk will benefit dozens of other species from coyotes to chickadees who depend on the wolves for these banquets? That this is what a national park is all about - a place where predators and prey can interact in their age-old drama of life and death and whether we are here or not, it will continue forever?
