Fishing wolves

[Hanna]

I was somewhat surprised to read that even wolves (not only I ) "instinctively" prefer fish to red meat:

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/09/080903-wolves-salmon.html

"Fishing wolves" in coastal British Columbia are also looking to snatch some salmon, and will eat the fish almost exclusively when they are available, new research reveals.
Biologists analyzed years of data from gray wolves' feces to monitor what the animals were eating.
The team found that the coastal predators, like many other wolves, rely on deer most of the time in the spring and summer.
But during several months in the fall, the wolves ignored deer to focus on migrating salmon.
(...)
"Salmon continue to surprise us, showing us new ways in which their oceanic migrations eventually permeate entire terrestrial ecosystems," he said.
"In terms of providing food and nutrients to a whole food web, we like to think of them as North America's answer to the Serengeti's wildebeest."
(...)
"People forget, but it wasn't too long ago when both salmon and wolves co-occurred over much, much greater portions of North America and even Europe. This fishing wolf would have existed from southern California up to Alaska," he said.

[PaleoPhil]

From the article: Darimont said he personally avoids farmed salmon, because the process threatens natural populations with disease. (Related: "Farmed Salmon Decimating Wild Salmon Worldwide" [February 12, 2008].)

As for wild-caught salmon, he said, "consider that every bite of salmon you take, that's one less for wolves and songbirds … and many of these animals don't have options."

The price of sashimi-quality wild salmon is so high I don't eat much for that reason anyway.

[miles]

That's some stretch... This food-source is only temporarily available, so they can make the most of it whilst the deer will still be there when the salmon is gone, to eat later. Also, it's a change...

It's interesting that you prefer fish to red meat though. I've not enjoyed any fish yet =/

[yuli]

I prefer red meat to most fish...but...I prefer good wild salmon over red meat.
If there was no red meat yet lots and lots of wild salmon everywhere, I would not be sad, not at all

[raw]

i always like red meat. i also like fish from back home which is sun dried. delicious!!

[goodsamaritan]

It's interesting that you prefer fish to red meat though. I've not enjoyed any fish yet =/

You haven't found good fish yet.

[ForTheHunt]

I definitely prefer fish over red meat. It's so sweet and tasty. Red meat I prefer cooked as far as flavor goes, but mmm fish is definitely better raw. But if I go for raw fish I have very little fat. I can only get farmed salmon, trout etc.

Fish from the ocean is just so lean. Also I don't trust raw fish as much as I trust raw lamb or reindeer, also I'm more worried about parasites in fish.

[goodsamaritan]

Fish from the ocean is just so lean.

Fat ocean fish are:

Blue Marlin / swordfish
Blue Fin Tuna

Literally swimming in too much fat.

[ForTheHunt]

Fat ocean fish are:

Blue Marlin / swordfish
Blue Fin Tuna

Literally swimming in too much fat.

Those aren't in the atlantic thus I can't get them in Iceland.

Although I can get whale meat, which is dark dark red and very fatty. Taste quite excellent aswell, but I'm worried about parasites

[raw]

Those aren't in the atlantic thus I can't get them in Iceland.

Although I can get whale meat, which is dark dark red and very fatty. Taste quite excellent aswell, but I'm worried about parasites

wow! if i were you, i definitely try this whale meat. i really don't care about parasites anymore...

[djr_81]

Those aren't in the atlantic thus I can't get them in Iceland.

Swordfish is in the Atlantic, at least of the East Cost of North America. I buy it from local fishermen. It might not be indigenous to the eastern edge of the Atlantic though.

[TylerDurden]

Those aren't in the atlantic thus I can't get them in Iceland.

Although I can get whale meat, which is dark dark red and very fatty. Taste quite excellent aswell, but I'm worried about parasites

If only I could get whalemeat. I can get swordfish, blue marlin and tuna easily in the UK.

[Hanna]

That's some stretch... This food-source is only temporarily available, so they can make the most of it whilst the deer will still be there when the salmon is gone, to eat later. Also, it's a change...

Yes, of course. There are many possible reasons for the wolve´s preference to salmon. Some are mentioned in the article:

"[Salmon is] safe, it's nutritious, it's spatially constrained. This buffet from the sea comes to them. They don't have to search dozens of kilometers for deer. And it's predictable. Those are some awesome qualities in a resource."

More details can be found in the original article:

http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6785/8/14

Adaptive explanations for use of salmon
Whereas this wolf-prey association during fall departs from a 'wolf-ungulate' model, it is consistent with adaptive explanations based on safety, nutrition, and energetics. Selecting benign prey such as salmon over potentially dangerous ungulate prey follows predictions of foraging theory [56]. While hunting ungulates, wolves commonly incur serious and often fatal injuries [31].

In addition to safety benefits, we show here that salmon also provides enhanced nutrition over deer, especially in fat and energy. Moreover, strict comparisons might underestimate the nutritional value of salmon. Wolves selectively consume lipid-rich heads [30] and potentially benefit from docosahexaenoic acid, an omega-3 fatty acid, which is critical for nervous system function, can be manufactured only from dietary sources, and occurs at high levels in brain and optic tissue [57]. Finally, for equivalent energetic intake, wolves face less handling time and need to travel far less for salmon compared with searching for vulnerable ungulate prey [e.g. [58]]. If we consider energetic content as a central currency, and given a ratio of its value per mass of pink salmon compared with deer (4.4:1, calculated from Table 1) and an estimated daily requirement of 2.7 kilograms of deer per wolf of average mass per day among coastal populations [59], wolves that forgo deer would on average require only 0.62 kg of pink salmon each day. If wolves consume exclusively salmon heads that comprise (a conservatively estimated) 10% of the average mass of pink salmon in the area [1.3 kg; [43,44]], these energetic requirements would be satisfied by capturing only 4.6 salmon per day.

[MoonStalkeR]

Fish is delicious. I used to crave all kinds including white meat fish such as cod. I lost interest in eating white fish a few months ago but still enjoy otherslike tuna, salmon, oily fish, etc.