Wolves.... 2.4 miles from my house in E. WA.

[HellsCanyon]

This is taking place on a good friend's ranch just over the ridge of our canyon we live in...

First it started with this:
http://www.wenatcheeworld.com/news/2013/mar/26/chelan-county-may-have-a-pack-pitcher-canyon/

Then today this:
http://m.wenatcheeworld.com/news/2013/mar/27/state-investigating-dead-cow-near-wenatchee/

They also pulled a bull elk that had shed already out of their pond last week that had bite marks on his rear quarters and died in the pond. Wolf tracks all around the pond but WDFW wouldn't confirm wolves had anything to do with it. They said that they thought it got hit by a car then died in the pond because it had a broken jaw....

Mike

 

[Mckinnon]

Hey, one of my best friend is from Wenatchee! Small world. Sucks about those darn wolves though.

 

[fillthefreezer]

wheres the rambo emoticon from the HW board so i can reply aptly

 

[magpie]

I'm on the other side on this, I too live near wolf packs and I must say I think its pretty awesome!

 

[Ryan Avery]

"Awesome!" Hmmm. Magpie, what state are you from?

 

[WonkyWapiti]

HellsCanyon, my hunting partner had a run in with a pack in the Teanaway last summer while he was riding his horse. That incident scared the living crap out of him.

 

[Daniel_M]

We have packs that are local to the Anchorage. They attack people, kill pets, moose calves etc. 13 head I believe in the Eagle River Valley. Yet folks want to stand up and voice protection. Yup, sure.

This is what we deal with. A growing bear population, yet no hunting season.

Eagle River
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tolJbFKJcQ0

Kenai Area..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ap4A2A_3WJY

 

[Shrek]

Magpie , wonder how you are going to feel about wolves when you can't get a tag to save your life because the wolves have wiped out all of the game? Have you looked at the Yellowstone elk herd trends . Before wolves they well over 12,000 strong and now under 4,000 and falling fast. The real purpose of reintroduction of wolves is to eliminate hunting....your hunting included.

 

[HellsCanyon]

HellsCanyon, my hunting partner had a run in with a pack in the Teanaway last summer while he was riding his horse. That incident scared the living crap out of him.

I was in charge of all the state grazing leases when that pack was 'discovered' and eating on one of my lessee's ewes.... one of their female's is part of this Wenatchee pack. Not surprising that they are already eating on livestock.

Magpie, what part of eating a live fetus out of a pregnant cow is "awesome"? That cow had earned the ranch over $10k in her lifetime... not exactly "awesome" in my opinion!

Neither is that 330"+ class bull they're munching on either in the first link... he must've been aweful "sick n weak" for wolves to target.

Mike

 

[Ray]

In AK - where I think magpie is as well - we have much lower game densities than in the L48. This creates a feedback loop that controls wolf populations. The game densities in the states are significantly higher and are more diverse, which removes any self regulating system to control wolf breeding.

I think it's going to be similar to a rabbit/hare and lynx/fox cycle. At some point the game species will crash and so the wolves will follow. Game department failure to the extreme.

That first link is interesting. I wonder why they didn't cite the teacher being killed up here. Strange they don't want to get people stirred up.

http://www.alaskadispatch.com/article/wolves-killed-alaska-teacher-2010-state-says

 

[Shrek]

Boom and bust ! A century of game management out the window.

 

[Darren Best]

Boom and bust ! A century of game management out the window.

This.

 

[Mckinnon]

Boom and bust ! A century of game management out the window.

yup, very sad. I just wonder what all of the people who are screaming to protect them are gonna think when the game levels drop so low the wolves starve to death....

 

[HellsCanyon]

Another funny fact, first time in 18 years of living here we had 6 deer in the draw behind our house this afternoon. They are already dispersing...

Mike

 

[Shrek]

Or game levels get low and they start hunting people on hikes or out for a jog like the woman in Alaska. Unfortunately the folks most likely to be killed are "third world people" living in rural areas not the urban yuppies who pushed them on the poeple who have to live with them. What will be the excuse when the wolves kill and eat some kids waiting for a school bus in the pre dawn darkness ?

 

[mtbshark]

Hey mike, a buddy of mine ran into a wolf few weeks back over near Naneum ridge rd and Dawson canyon rd.
they (my buddys) where on sleds and followed it till they ran outa snow.

 

[Mike7]

In AK - where I think magpie is as well - we have much lower game densities than in the L48. This creates a feedback loop that controls wolf populations. The game densities in the states are significantly higher and are more diverse, which removes any self regulating system to control wolf breeding.

I think it's going to be similar to a rabbit/hare and lynx/fox cycle. At some point the game species will crash and so the wolves will follow. Game department failure to the extreme.

That first link is interesting. I wonder why they didn't cite the teacher being killed up here. Strange they don't want to get people stirred up.

http://www.alaskadispatch.com/article/wolves-killed-alaska-teacher-2010-state-says

Ray, you described it perfectly. Also now here in the lower 48, popullations of game animals have become geographically isolated by freeways and housing developments...and traditional wintering grounds out of deep snow and with good feed have in very many places been filled in with civilization. This all complicates the survival of prey animals even further, particularly if predator and prey are not allowed to be managed. How many animals die or don't reproduce in the Spring because of the stress from wolves when added to the stress of an occasional hard winter and stress of not having a prime wintering ground because it is covered by housing tracts?

Hopefully, trapping and liberal wolf rifle seasons can strike some sort of balance, but I am not completely optimistic. There is a part of me that likes hearing wolves, but I would like for this to be a rare special thing, because a large pack of wolves is an unbelievable coordinated killing machine. They are amazing and have no equal other than humans...and we put rules on ourselves, usually.

When I read some of these news paper articles about all of the inconclusive necropsies done on ranchers' cattle in WA and OR, it makes me wonder if more cattle shouldn't be taking antidepressants because of the high suicide rate in otherwise healthy cattle. And based upon some articles, clearly we are really lucky that wolves are there to make use of this resource which would otherwise be wasted...because no other scavengers are so good. Right.

 

[magpie]

Ryan,
Why does it matter where I live? I never understood the whole kill all the wolves coyotes bears thing. On the flip side I've heard ranchers say the same thing regarding elk deer and antelope.

The mountains do not seem as wild without wolves and grizzly bears. I enjoy hearing them, seeing them and having the chance to hunt them.

 

[magpie]

If you're seriously concerned regarding being hurt/killed/raped by a wolf that is hilarious. i'd be more worried about the teenager texing and driving.....

 

[HellsCanyon]

Ryan,
The mountains do not seem as wild without wolves and grizzly bears. I enjoy hearing them, seeing them and having the chance to hunt them.

The fact of the matter is that reintroducing a keystone apex predator into the lower 48 made ZERO sense from an ecological standpoint. We live in a world where humans are an intrinsic part of our environmental ecology. We have an effect on all wildlife, if this wasn't the case then sure having wolves would make a bit of sense to keep some prey populations in check. That is not the case however. These animals don't kill strictly for food. They sport kill, and they are devastating. Your wanting to hear a wolf howl on the mountain does not trump sound game management strategies...

Mike