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This group has been studying wolves for many, many years. I strongly recommend following/supporting them. Their findings are based on science.....not myth.
Wolf management in WI by hunting sounds like a solution looking for a problem.
WI has roughly 6M people, the vast majority living in the southern half of the state. The DNR has calculated that the habitat of the northern half of the state can handle about 1000 wolves, and the hunts kept the population at about that number...
...but then the graduates of The Bambi School of Environmental Sciences convinced the liberal court of MA to stop the hunts....Since then the wolf population has grown to 1200+ and have now been spotted as far south as The Dells.....With a larger population, the wolves are forced to expand their territory into regions much more heavily populated with humans and livestock. That's just asking for more interaction with those people and animals. https://duckduckgo.com/?t=avast&q=wi...ages&ia=images
WI consists of the northern half- sparsely populated, "North Woods" with little agriculture, and the southern half-- the population centers, industrial parks and farms.
We have artificially limited their range, so now we must artificially control their population to fit the range available. Pretty simple, straight forward science.
BTW- those of us who actually know what we're talking about know that "populations in balance" means a dynamic equilibrium. Nothing in Nature is absolutely stagnantly unchanging and constant.
WI has roughly 6M people, the vast majority living in the southern half of the state. The DNR has calculated that the habitat of the northern half of the state can handle about 1000 wolves, and the hunts kept the population at about that number...
...but then the graduates of The Bambi School of Environmental Sciences convinced the liberal court of MA to stop the hunts....Since then the wolf population has grown to 1200+ and have now been spotted as far south as The Dells.....With a larger population, the wolves are forced to expand their territory into regions much more heavily populated with humans and livestock. That's just asking for more interaction with those people and animals. https://duckduckgo.com/?t=avast&q=wi...ages&ia=images
WI consists of the northern half- sparsely populated, "North Woods" with little agriculture, and the southern half-- the population centers, industrial parks and farms.
We have artificially limited their range, so now we must artificially control their population to fit the range available. Pretty simple, straight forward science.
BTW- those of us who actually know what we're talking about know that "populations in balance" means a dynamic equilibrium. Nothing in Nature is absolutely stagnantly unchanging and constant.
Almost all depredations are in the northern half of Wisconsin. I'm quite familiar with the state, I've lived there, worked around much of the state and I attended the Bambi School of Environmental Science there when there were few wolves in the state. People were complaining there were too many then too. We already have 30, what do we need 40 for??!!??!! they shrieked
There are simply too few depredations in the state to justify managing the entire population, which will have dubious beneficial effects anyway. Plus it's really absurd to allow hunting wolves with dogs, then turn around and complain about wolves killing hunting dogs.
Indiscriminate hunting can actually increase predation by disrupting pack structure.
Here's a great ppp by Adrian Wydeven, former WI wolf recovery coordinator
Wolf populations can be sustainably harvested at rates of 22-29% of the winter wolf population.
BUT, ethics, ecological benefits, value judgments, and cultural concerns should also be considered when determining IF, WHEN, WHERE, and HOW wolves will be hunted or trapped by the public
In other words, what I said before: We shouldn't be managing statewide wolf populations for the few special interests that are suffering small losses, and getting compensated for them. They have far too much influence over this.
The fear of wolves attacking people is so overblown. It's so bizarre the emotions this species elicits. And the ignorance.
Yes, the danger isn't zero, but it's actually not much from wolves. Canada still has lots of wolves, and not a small number of people, but fatal attacks are nearly unheard of.
Even bears, who do kill people sporadically, do so in only a tiny fraction of human/bear encounters. It didn't happen deliberately, but I have wound up just yards away from big black bears - including with cubs, as well as enormous grizzly bears - including with cubs, on more than one occasion, and I am still here to write this.
I am kind of surprised that wild animal attacks on humans are so few, to be honest. Whether it's a great white shark in the ocean, a grizzly bear or a pack of wolves in the forest, these animals are fully capable of winning any encounter, but the animals don't seem to view us as prey and generally just avoid contact with people.
P.S. If you're walking in the woods with your dog and come across some wolves though, I think your dog might be in some deep doo-doo. Wolves kill other wolves from competitor packs - basically turf wars... and your dog could elicit that kind of response
Last edited by OutdoorLover; 01-15-2024 at 08:37 AM..
P.S. If you're walking in the woods with your dog and come across some wolves though, I think your dog might be in some deep doo-doo. Wolves kill other wolves from competitor packs - basically turf wars... and your dog could elicit that kind of response
Pretty unlikely if the dog is at your side, under your control. If you let your dog run off leash in wolf country you should make sure its trained to come when called, and trained not to chase other animals.
I'll never forget the time my neighbors dog walked down the road past my driveway with my dog standing 30 feet away, watching. Normally he would not let that kind of opportunity for socializing pass him by but he just stood there motionless. Then I realized it was a wolf, not my neighbors dog.
But very few dogs are as smart as mine was in that moment.
I finished reading The Return of Wolves: An Iconic Predator’s Struggle to Survive in the American West by Eli Francovich over Thanksgiving. This subject has always been a favorite of mine. I think an important part of environmental stewardship is returning predators to the wild. And for reasons I will explain, human hunting is not only no substitute, but cuts against sound management of the environment.
In 1968 I remember reading in National Geographic about the damage elk were doing to Yellowstone (and other parks) by overbrowsing. Ironically the National Park Service was dumping hay on the ground to prevent their starvation. The animals were so tame they almost could have been petted.
In 1994, my wife and I drove past the National Elk Refuge, perched between Yellowstone and Grand Teton, on our way to Jackson Hole for skiing. The elk literally covered the hillside. I was excited by the Park Service's reintroduction of wolves in January 1995 and 1996. From what I have read they have led a nice ecological recovery in Yellowstone and environs. They have spread from the Yellowstone and Idaho reintroduction sites to Oregon, California and Washington. The book was primarily about Washington and I felt the author, striving to be balanced, was too anti-wolf. Quite simply, we are leasing lands for grazing to ranchers at almost sacrifice rates; the ranchers are getting enough support. Put simply, they are grazing cattle in wilderness and selling the results at a profit.
In my "neck of the woods," the Northeast, the wolves are reestablishing themselves, through hybridization with coyotes. The local coyotes are much larger than out West. Some are hunting in packs. Essentially, I think, they are reconstituted wolves. The range of the coyotes now, on occasion, includes New York City. To my mind, "welcome back," but do not let them lose their fear of man. Believe me, that can happen. Just ask Fido.
My father on a family vacation in 1981 or so, has FILM of a couple wolves along a tree line in Yellowstone. I was with him when he shot the footage.
If I didn't still have the footage, and was there when he took it, then I'd be inclined to write it off as not having happened.
It was taken on 8mm but I had all his film digitized since then.
My father on a family vacation in 1981 or so, has FILM of a couple wolves along a tree line in Yellowstone. I was with him when he shot the footage.
If I didn't still have the footage, and was there when he took it, then I'd be inclined to write it off as not having happened.
It was taken on 8mm but I had all his film digitized since then.
I am not surprised. There were reports of strays from Montana and Canada but no breeding population. Just as metropolitan New York has stray mountain lions or escaped or liberated "pets."
Federal authorities are investigating a former state conservation warden for killing a wolf last month in northern Wisconsin.
Chief Deputy Andy Runice with the Bayfield County Sheriff’s Office said authorities received a call around 2 a.m. on Dec. 25 from Pat Quaintance, who said he had shot a collared wolf at his home in Bayfield.
The incident is under investigation by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Runice said Bayfield County is working in cooperation with federal authorities and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
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