Less Than Lethal Wolf Deterrent

Can AC/DC Help California Cattle Ranchers?

Early in my higher education experience I had the opportunity to work in South Africa at a wildlife rehabilitation center.  While working there I personally experienced the relationship between livestock and predators when a local farmer offered to capture a leopard that was killing his livestock if we could relocate it. The truth was, we could, but relocating the leopard only meant we were relocating the conflict rather than building tools to foster a more successful relationship between farmers, livestock, and predators. These interactions don’t stand alone. It is more than just one leopard killing one goat. The dynamic includes local communities, wildlife, economics and social structures. It is more complex than we consider on a day to day basis. 

It isn’t any wonder then that I’m invested in the evolving relationship between U.S. cattle herds and expanding wolf populations. Like the relocation of the leopard, we can track wolf packs, study their scat and set up game cameras, but will that work produce successful coexistence between livestock and predators, cattle ranchers and the local environment, industry and economics? 

The Data on Wolf and Cattle Interactions

There are ten documented wolf packs inside California and along the California-Oregon border. Scientists believe there are more than 70 wolves in the region. As their numbers grow, interactions with livestock become increasingly common.  While ranchers say the wolves are becoming comfortable around humans and not all interactions result in livestock death, data suggests that on average one wolf is responsible for $162,000 in cattle loss on a yearly basis.  That is close to an $11.4 million loss for the California cattle industry every year. 

When wolves were first reintroduced in the area, California allotted funds to support ranchers in deterring wolves and to help owners recoup losses suffered because of wolf killings. Today that money is gone and the California government no longer assists with the cost of wolf deterrent strategies. Certain criteria must be met to prove wolves were involved before ranchers can receive any money for livestock deaths.  The dynamic has become financially problematic for area cattle owners.  

One California ranch lost 76 cows in the last year. It is an abnormally high number and one the owners attribute to wolf packs in the area. The family was only able to prove that 16 cows died as a direct result of wolf kills and therefore did not receive any compensation for the other 60 head. It is difficult to prove that cows have miscarried due to increased stress from wolf harassment or that calves have died from being chased long distances through the night by packs. And in the case of wolves, sometimes there is no physical evidence left behind other than a smaller herd of animals.

However, losses are not the only financial issue. Legal deterrent methods are expensive and California ranch owners spend between $70,000 and $100,000 to ward off wolf interactions every year.  Guard dogs, range riders, electric fencing, lights, noise makers, drones and portable pens are all approved ways to protect cattle but are infrastructure items ranches would probably not invest in if they didn’t have to worry about wolves. Eventually the expenses will outweigh the income cattlemen stand to produce and some fear the wolves will push them out of business. 

And yet, just as with leopards, there is an argument to be made that apex predators are a valuable addition to any ecosystem. Keeping prey populations in check is beneficial for vegetation and even the health of riverways. A healthy environment is good for cows, sheep, deer, elk, bears, fish, birds and pollinators. In the right balance everyone wins. Is it a live and let live situation, or is there a way that we can strategically foster a better balance?

Does it Have to be Cows or Wolves?

Whether you favor wolves over cattle or visa-versa, neither are likely to go anywhere in the near future. Beef is a $4.76 billion dollar industry in California and supplies over 100,000 jobs. It isn’t a sector the state wants to see fall apart. Yet, the more data that comes in the more it appears that wolves are relying on cattle populations as food sources. Over a two year study, 72% of wolf scat tested had cow DNA present. As more game cameras are placed near cattle herds there is documentation of wolf packs chasing cattle herds through the night. And bloodwork shows increased cortisol levels in cattle that could contribute to a decline in birth rates. Negative interactions won’t decrease unless there are adaptive ways of deterring wolves from livestock herds.

But, ranchers are not quite ready to throw in the towel yet. Like the South African farmer willing to capture and relocate the leopard, some cattle owners are finding creative, non- lethal ways to keep wolves away from their livelihoods.  According to the Wall Street Journal, it includes AC/DC.

Drones and noisemakers are legal tools for deterring wolves from harassing cows. An Oregon family has begun combining the two strategies to keep the wolves at bay by playing loud rock music, shouting movie scenes and firecracker noise from drones in the vicinity of wolves. The ranch which had experienced 11 livestock kills in a 20 day period saw a significant reduction using the drone method. The noise appears to keep the pack separated instead of bunched together. In 85 days there have only been 2 kills. 

The goal is that the wolves have a negative but not lethal interaction with humans and opt to pursue cattle less frequently. Ranchers are used to predators like bears, mountain lions and coyotes.  In rural areas primarily suited to livestock grazing there is always an acceptable herd loss due to predation. If heavy metal blasted through drone speakers can decrease predator kill rates then its possible cattle ranchers might find a more balanced relationship with the apex predators in the area. 

Already there is a warning system in place so that ranchers know when packs move into their region. The early warning system combined with noise making tools like drones could offer the strategic approach that archives that balance both ranchers and wolf conservation scientists hope for. If not, states like California, Oregon and Colorado who are tracking wolf packs will have to take a hard look at how wolves are impacting industry and food systems.