Grey Wolves

Status
Not open for further replies.
I'm mixed on that. There is a real thrill to hear a pack respond to your howl. Or to see a wolf track on top of yours in the snow. But elk hunting may never be the same 10 years from now when they are well established.
They do provide for another hunting opportunity.
 
The city dwellers voted to dump wolves on rural people on the western slope. The state wildlife agency thinks it is a poor idea. I am pretty sure I know how this one ends, and it involves three words starting with "S." Unfortunate all the way around.
 
Here's hoping the wolves procreate faster than those that practice the three S's can succeed. I wish I had such large predator's on my hunting property but that is unlikely to happen.
 
People who say they 'want wolves' for whatever odd reason tend to be the same ones who want those who venture into wolf territory unarmed. I've been lucky the two times I've sighted wolves. They were both alone, and left me alone. I was also armed both times. I am more worried about single cats (cougar, bobcat, lynx) than one wolf. The cats are silent. I would not want to confront a pack of wolves, I 've helped fight off a pack of feral dogs, and I'm glad we were not on the ground when we did it.
 
I recently watched a documentary on the wolves around YNP. "The Trouble With Wolves". Legal hunting alone in Montana has been unable to keep the population in check, nevermind reduce it. So they had to resort to allowing trapping, which still hasn't proved as effective as they'd like. Wolves move around a lot and aren't as easy to find as some may think.

Now I'm an advocate for wild wolf populations. But, once a population becomes large enough that packs are willing to be in relatively close proximity to people and predating on cattle, I'd say that population has become too large for the available space. In that case, I think a legal version of SS&S isn't a bad idea. Basically allowing rancher (via a year-long permit) to shoot on sight when wolves are present on their property. Or some variation there of, providing it is reported.

However, what has been noticed in Montana, is that when a local pack adopts ranching land as part of it's territory; if those wolves can be conditioned to avoid cattle rather than prey on it, they prevent another pack from moving in. If a pack is outright killed, another will adopt the territory, and the whole cycle begins again.

As far as CO goes, I think it wouldn't be a bad idea to introduce them to RMNP. I'd love to see some wolves chasing the elk across the Estes Park golf course! But I don't think that's the plan.
 
WrongHanded said:
I recently watched a documentary on the wolves around YNP. "The Trouble With Wolves". Legal hunting alone in Montana has been unable to keep the population in check, nevermind reduce it. So they had to resort to allowing trapping, which still hasn't proved as effective as they'd like. Wolves move around a lot and aren't as easy to find as some may think.

Now I'm an advocate for wild wolf populations. But, once a population becomes large enough that packs are willing to be in relatively close proximity to people and predating on cattle, I'd say that population has become too large for the available space. In that case, I think a legal version of SS&S isn't a bad idea. Basically allowing rancher (via a year-long permit) to shoot on sight when wolves are present on their property. Or some variation there of, providing it is reported.

However, what has been noticed in Montana, is that when a local pack adopts ranching land as part of it's territory; if those wolves can be conditioned to avoid cattle rather than prey on it, they prevent another pack from moving in. If a pack is outright killed, another will adopt the territory, and the whole cycle begins again.

As far as CO goes, I think it wouldn't be a bad idea to introduce them to RMNP. I'd love to see some wolves chasing the elk across the Estes Park golf course! But I don't think that's the plan.
Click to expand...
As a Montana resident I have my Wolf tag in fact I can pull 5 tags total.
We have iirc 21 packs totaling 638 wolves. the are definitely affecting the Elk population especially in our area NW Montana we have plenty of sign and tracks out back.
 
Being a staff member I can’t adequately express my feelings towards the new comer urbanites who have moved here and subsequently and profoundly changed this state. So I’ll just say that this not the same state that I moved to 20 years ago. Wolves were just one ballot initiative that made my stomach turn during this election cycle.
That being said I won’t condone any illegal activity on this site. While I am fully aware of the issues with wolves, what got a buddy of mine in trouble wasn’t that he took matters into his own hands in regards to a wolf problem. What got him indicted by USFW was some posts he’d made on a public website talking about it several years before.

Just some food for thought here.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

Dog Soldier
  • Locked
Obama era law over turned
Replies
16
Views
1K
JeffG
JeffG
M
  • Locked
Wolves in Wisconsin
Replies
3
Views
449
Robert
Robert
T
  • Locked
Wolves in "The Grey"...behavior question
Replies
11
Views
676
Robert
Robert
B
  • Locked
Has anyone tried using wolf hybrids for coyote hunting?
Replies
17
Views
614
Fine Figure of a Man
Fine Figure of a Man
C
  • Locked
Wolves: A New Target?
2
Replies
26
Views
1K
Caimlas
C
Back
Top