Wolves and Cougars (Seattle, Tacoma, Vancouver: house, purchasing, elementary school)

[PrincessoftheCape]

I want to preface this post by saying that, while I am an ardent conservative, I'm a huge fan of natural predators. I believe states like Idaho and Montana are making an absolutely wretched mistake slaughtering their just-now-recovering wolf populations, all to spare a few backwards ranchers the 'terrible' burden of having to use automatic government compensation payouts to replace the occasional wolf kill. Even Maine, where my in-laws are from, is mulling over the idea of labeling the eastern wolf extirpated (meaning that, if wolves ever attempted to recolonize, they could simply be slaughtered without debate).

Having said that, I got curious the other night about wild animals around me. I live near Anacortes, which is as about as far removed from the wilderness in Western Washington as you can get (outside Seattle/Tacoma, of course). We have a strip of farmland about 10-15 miles wide separating us from the foothills of the Cascades, plus the Swinomish Channel. The presence of serious, large predators did not seem plausible to me.

However, last night, as I was taking my dog out for the last time, I began to hear the familiar yip-yapping of coyotes. I knew the sound well from my time in Connecticut (an equally well-settled place, though free of wolves [not coywolves, though!] and cougar). I was surprised, but not stunned -- coyotes are pretty infamous for invading even thickly populated urban environments. I listened for a while, and the sound went away. I was creeped out, but not because of the coyotes. Rather, it was the fact that they had swum across the channel got my mind to wondering...

Back inside, a bit of cursory Googling revealed the startling truth: in the past four years, there have been a pair of cougar sightings in Anacortes, including a confirmed house pet kill. I was, frankly, shocked. I don't know why it startled me so much -- I suppose I had always clung to the idea that these reclusive cats were isolated to the high, craggy peaks and loneliest of lonely valleys. What's more, they're apparently fairly active across Skagit County killing livestock. While they're clearly rare in Anacortes, both sightings were within a few miles of my house. Even before this, I carried a large staff when I took my dog out to our yard, but I'm thinking of purchasing something a bit more deadly just in case. Would an attack be unheard of? Sure... but, as an easterner, I was (and am) pretty freaked out. It's not like I'm living on a main road or anything, and these are big predators.

Another interesting (and, personally, far more exciting) piece of information on that website is the wolf sightings map. While most of the claims are likely mistaken dogs, a few appear to be of multiple wolves attempting to repopulate the lowlands. Though the chances of a pack ever re-establishing itself around Mount Erie out here are absolutely zero, I, for one, would welcome them. Have you ever seen the deer population in this town? It is absolutely rampant. Honestly, the more wolves the merrier... maybe they'd even sneak into downtown and eat those scary pieces of artwork we have hung up on every vertical surface.

Anyway, just thought I'd share. Some people might find this stuff interesting, too.

[bad apples]

It might be possible, however I think its pretty unlikely. You should probably worry more about two legged freaks straying from Seattle more than cougars. There are wolves in Eastern Washington now and in the Cascades. Some people want to start hunting them already even though they have just started making a come back in Washington. Can't let those insurgents terrorize my cattle, no sir. Got to take them out with my trusty Bushmaster keep them from spreading liberal propaganda to my cattle. On a more serious note, cougars won't generally come that close to the human population unless they are starving in winter time. You could by yourself a can of bear mace just in case if you don't want to carry a weapon. Cougars can be anywhere in Washington but the likelihood of seeing one is pretty slim. I know people who have lived their whole lives in the Cascades and never even seen one at they are avid outdoorsmen. All I have ever seen is tracks. The further out in the sticks you live the more likely you are to see a healthy one. Cougars do come into town in some of the Eastern Washington towns at certain times of year and attack dogs occasionally many are killed for this. Wolves have been seen in the Winthrop, Entiat and Leavenworth areas on a regular basis. The mindset of some undereducated people tends to be hey I saw a wolf lets go kill it. It is a holdover tradition stemming from the hatred of Wolves of Europeans before they came to the North American continent. Placing bounties on wolves in the 1800's was a common occurrence. Now look at how many coyotes have filled in that niche. The funny thing is you will never rid this continent of coyotes ore even make a dent in their populations because of the way they breed. Kill the alpha male coyote and more males come in to breed with all the females producing more offspring. Most coyote hunters don't know jack about the life history of coyote packs. By killing the alpha males and females they do more harm than good to thin the population.

[hml1976]

I live near Vancouver, WA and we have cougar sightings in the area most years. When we first moved here six years ago they had to tranquilize one in a tree outside my husband's office building on a main road. Our friends that live on the nearby mountains see them occasionally.

All of that said I walk the nearby trails most mornings by myself and the only problem I've ever had is with dogs that are off leash. I have come within a few feet of a coyote though, I once saw a black bear at a distance, and I have seen bobcats twice.

Interesting about your swimming coyote story. My inlaws actually live on a very small island off of the Carolinas and they have coyotes as well.

[PrincessoftheCape]

Originally Posted by hml1976

I live near Vancouver, WA and we have cougar sightings in the area most years. When we first moved here six years ago they had to tranquilize one in a tree outside my husband's office building on a main road. Our friends that live on the nearby mountains see them occasionally.

All of that said I walk the nearby trails most mornings by myself and the only problem I've ever had is with dogs that are off leash. I have come within a few feet of a coyote though, I once saw a black bear at a distance, and I have seen bobcats twice.

Interesting about your swimming coyote story. My inlaws actually live on a very small island off of the Carolinas and they have coyotes as well.

Do they live anywhere near this? Interestingly, the red wolf appears to be a natural wolf-coyote hybrid that occurred long before settlers had destroyed the eastern wolf population. However, that has landed the survivors in a bit of a preservationist grey area. Are they a separate and unique species worth saving? Or are they (or at least the survivors) really just run of the mill coywolves (with far more coyote than wolf)?

Coyotes themselves can be quite dangerous, providing they work in tandem and put their minds to it. I'm a much bigger fan of wolves because, generally speaking, wolves avoid human contact at all cost, and are easily spooked. I just wish the current administration didn't seem so ardently opposed to them at every turn.

[bad apples]

The red wolf being a hybrid is debatable. Some scientist think that red wolves existed in North America long before gray wolves where here. Nobody really knows what their origin is.
However red wolves will mate with coyotes if there are no other red wolves available. This fact really is making it hard to reintroduce red wolves and get populations growing. Grey wolves will not mate with coyotes and usually stay in separate territories. The red wolf is a lot smaller in size than the grey wolf and much more compatible with coyotes. They are closer relatives to coyotes.

On a separate note I wonder why modern ranchers who complain about wolves eating their herds don't have Shepards. Shepards were very common in the Middle Ages usually living with the herds to fight off wolf attacks. They didn't kill the wolves to my understanding they just ran them off. Why can't ranchers hire people to be shepards instead of just shooting the animals?

Red Wolf Coalition - About Red Wolves - Controversies

[Hemlock140]

Here in Sammamish we have seen bears, cougars, and coyotes, but never a wolf. Just Friday the local elementary school had to delay their outdoor activities due to a family of coyotes crossing the soccer field. I have not heard any stories of problems other than the occasional cat or small dog disappearing.

[PrincessoftheCape]

They occasionally talk about reintroducing wolves to Olympic National Park. It probably wouldn't be all that bad an idea considering that the surrounding farmland is rather limited in scope, and the Olympic wilderness is exceedingly isolated. A pack or two could probably exist within the mountains and rarely be seen or heard.

[509]

Originally Posted by PrincessoftheCape

They occasionally talk about reintroducing wolves to Olympic National Park. It probably wouldn't be all that bad an idea considering that the surrounding farmland is rather limited in scope, and the Olympic wilderness is exceedingly isolated. A pack or two could probably exist within the mountains and rarely be seen or heard.

That is a real good idea.

There are surplus wolves in eastern Washington that can easily be relocated to the Olympic National Park. I am sure there will be plenty of wolves from Stevens County that will be happy to make the trek. Contact you Department of Fish and Game and your legislator.

[PS90]

Originally Posted by 509

That is a real good idea.

There are surplus wolves in eastern Washington that can easily be relocated to the Olympic National Park. I am sure there will be plenty of wolves from Stevens County that will be happy to make the trek. Contact you Department of Fish and Game and your legislator.

I was going to post something like this yesterday, but thought better of it. The wolf "debate" is certainly in the top 3 most-common conversation topics here. Personally, I can see both sides of the argument.

[509]

Originally Posted by PS90

I was going to post something like this yesterday, but thought better of it. The wolf "debate" is certainly in the top 3 most-common conversation topics here. Personally, I can see both sides of the argument.

The more evenly distributed wolves are throughout the state of Washington the better the policy discussion.

Wolves are fine. Cougars are fine. Coyotes are fine. Some of the viewpoints on how to manage those species are interesting to say the least possible.

I was shocked that Seattle residents did not want coyotes in their city parks. Coyotes are great animals, not really friendly. But very smart. Fun to watch and listen to late at night.