Wisconsin Wolves

[idnative1948]

Article in the Idaho Statesman today.

http://www.idahostatesman.com/2010/11/15/1418884/wisconsin-wrangles-over-wolves.html

 

[Dodad]

Point well taken - In Wisconsin we don't have too many wolves - we don't have enuf territory to hold them AND the whitetails, elk, small game and hunting dogs that are getting eaten faster than a 10:15 mass at a summer resort.

We need cull numbers and a hunt to do just that.

We also need a way to spread out the forrage base of elk for the wolves as we have not had any growth in the elk herd in a number of years. We've got a small elk herd located in less than 100 square miles. That is a dinner bell for the wolves and the 90,000 black bears we have in the state.

JMO

 

[belly-deep]

Hmm....

I just had a twilight zone like image pop into my head.

Imagine its 2040. Now westerners are traveling to the East to hunt elk because their herds have grown into good populations and there are hardly any elk left in the West because of all the predators....wouldn't that be something?

 

[schmalts]

First off, those numbers they report for wolf populations are bullshit. They cannot count bear and deer and they admit that, in fact they admit that the bear count was only half of what it really was last year and need to add more tags for harvest.
Then, i know of a well known pack near lake mead that is not even listed on the map of pack locations. You cannot hunt there without hearing them and it has been that way for years.
Then the numbers fluctuate all the time from whoever decides to make a statement from the DNR. Last fall i read numbers were close to 1000 and that was before this years pups being born.

I do like the 74 wolves found dead report though..... How many did they not find that were dead lying around? Add up all those numbers i am sure would not add up to even close to 10% of what they say the population is. C'mon, they are going to say they actually found up to 10% of the wolf population laying dead? What a joke.

 

[belly-deep]

First off, those numbers they report for wolf populations are bullshit. They cannot count bear and deer and they admit that, in fact they admit that the bear count was only half of what it really was last year and need to add more tags for harvest.
Then, i know of a well known pack near lake mead that is not even listed on the map of pack locations. You cannot hunt there without hearing them and it has been that way for years.
Then the numbers fluctuate all the time from whoever decides to make a statement from the DNR. Last fall i read numbers were close to 1000 and that was before this years pups being born.

I do like the 74 wolves found dead report though..... How many did they not find that were dead lying around? Add up all those numbers i am sure would not add up to even close to 10% of what they say the population is. C'mon, they are going to say they actually found up to 10% of the wolf population laying dead? What a joke.

Ya know I'm not really inclined to believe them, but every once in a while I hear stories about the wolf number cover-up in Montana. I know a rancher who has a government trapper put sets out on his land. He claims the trapper killed over 100 wolves last year and the FWP is instructing him to do so because they don't want the public to know how many we actually have (on the hunter side of things) and how many we are actually killing (on the enviro side of things). A complete conspiracy theory, but thing like that get me wondering.

 

[Bucnutz.wis]

I agree with Schmalts - the Wisconsin DNR couldn't count the change from their inflated paychecks ...

 

[stillkickin]

Around here across the border from WI we have plenty of wolves, less deer, and more government intervention. Coincidence?

 

[Bucnutz.wis]

TOMAH (Wisconsin) -- The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has killed a pack of wolves in western Wisconsin because the animals were becoming too accustomed to humans.

The state Department of Natural Resources says the agency killed six wolves that had staked out a territory in Jackson, Monroe and Juneau counties.

DNR biologist Adrian Wydeven says the agency is looking for one or two more wolves from the pack, known as Bear Bluff. Wydeven says the wolves were showing a lack of fear toward people. He says no human has been attacked, but wolves from the pack have killed three dogs and injured four others this year.

Wydeven tells the La Crosse Tribune that once wolves lose their fear of humans, it's very difficult to change that behavior.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Imagine that... Open season ???

 

[Bucnutz.wis]

The first thing I saw this morning on the local news..... funny how this all surfaces just before the 9 day gun deer season....

EAGLE RIVER (Wisconsin) -- Her name is Honey. She's a 6 year old Golden Retriever. She loves to run and play, and if it weren't for a few visible scratches and stitches, you wouldn't even know this playful pup was just in a fight for her life.

"She had one canine puncture that went in by her eye and went down to her nasal cavity," explained her owner Cory Arp. "She also had a small gash on her foot. "



Cory says his best friend's chest was ripped open when she was attacked by a wolf. It happened last Wednesday. Cory was at work at the time, but his two little brothers were getting off the school bus. One heard a yelp. It was over in a matter of minutes.


"He came and found her all torn up against the fence and bloody," he explained. "Then they went to the hospital got her all stitched up and had to go into emergency surgery."

Residents say this is the second suspected wolf attack on a dog on Highway G in the last 6 months. Now neighbors are on edge."

"As a citizen and a resident here I'm concerned about it," a neighbor commented. "I had a neighbor who had an animal attacked. I have pets and I have children. It's only a matter of time before it's a human being. What's it going to take?"



According to the DNR, it's going to take a change in federal law. A Northwoods Wildlife Biologist tells Newsline 9 there are currently more than 700 wolves roaming the state. And because they're still considered endangered species, their hands are tied. There's nothing they can do.

Unfortunately for Cory, Honey, and the rest of this Eagle River neighborhood, all they can do is keep on their toes.


"We're walking the kids out to the bus stop, everywhere they go out in the yard," Cory said. "They're pretty scared right now. Some people aren't letting their dogs out anymore. It's just unfortunate that it has to be like this."

Honey's family is now stuck with a $1,000 vet bill. The DNR typically pays for the bills of animals attacked by wolves, but says in this case, there were no witnesses to the attack.

Also, the DNR biologist says the state is involved in a petition at the federal level to de-list wolves from the endangered list. No word on when a decision will be made.

 

[hansontyrel]

This problem hasn't gotten any better. Wolves have been and will continue to be a problem in WI until we're allowed to hunt them. Personally, I can't wait for the possibility of drawing a resident tag!