The Wolverine Way

For some odd reason, wolverines have been getting my attention of late, with a recent lecture by a USFS biologist regarding research in the Cascades and then this book, which I stumbled onto in the local library. I have to admit, I'm baffled as to why this is the first book by Doug Chadwick I've read. It was not, however, the last. Let me sum up this work by saying it is an incredible read with information about what is clearly one of the most interesting animals on the planet and by quoting Mr Chadwick on his summary of this animal.....

"If wolverines have a strategy, it's this: Go hard, and high, and steep, and never back down, not even from the biggest grizzly, and least of all from a mountain. Climb everything: trees, cliffs, avalanche chutes, summits. Eat everybody: alive, dead, long-dead, moose, mouse, fox, frog, its still-warm heart or frozen bones."

Douglas Chadwick

I'm glad I'm not a frog in Indonesia....

When I was a young and idealistic university student of Wildlife Biology at the time when the term "ecology" was just being invented, there were still salmon and swordfish aplenty. Not only could you order either fish at a restaurant and feel no anguish over impacting a population, we didn't even grasp the concept of impacting a population. If there were farmed salmon, I'd never heard of them. If there was a dramatic decrease in the size of swordfish taken in the Atlantic fishery, it hadn't been realized yet.


Fast forward a few years and I still won't order the sword at dinner - although I have given up criticizing those who do. And not only has sportfishing for salmon fallen on hard times, the commercial venture from California to Oregon has all but disappeared. Alaska is feeling it as well and as we all know, there are salmon species that travel the Columbia that are still listed as endangered. So what do you suppose we have learned from our years and years of overfishing and the stunning impact it had on the marine fishery? Apparently nothing.

It seems that somewhere between 200 million and 1 billion (that's with a 'B') frogs are eaten every year. Indonesia leads the export market, so being a frog there makes it a real challenge to live a long and prosperous froggy life. While I am not a particular fan of frog legs and feet, it would seem there are plenty of folks that are. Having eaten them, I can confirm that they taste like chicken - as long as the chicken spent it's life in a pot of water. So it's sort of like eating a wet, fishy chicken.

It might be worth trying to remember the lessons we've learned in the world's oceans. Or maybe our froggie friends really will croak.
For more details on this whole unpleasant amphibian disaster - read this - http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28876555