Yellowstone Wolf Project Report

[Ross]

Yes only the week and old not bulls in their primeWhat a joke if the balance is wolves hunt every day of the year and we get to two weeks I guess that is balanced

 

[Okhotnik]

Its really sad the number of hunters who chime in on wolf subjects and have zero first hand experience with them

Yes only the week and old not bulls in their primeWhat a joke if the balance is wolves hunt every day of the year and we get to two weeks I guess that is balancedView attachment 132714View attachment 132715

 

[N2TRKYS]

Ok now the real question, what are they gonna do with these findings?

 

[WyoBowhunter21]

I would be willing to bet that of the bull elk that were taken, most were not hard-antlered....

I have found a couple wolf kills. The most recent one was a decent bull. I called the game and fish to get the horns and they actually came out. I stood there while they did the investigation. For about 200-300 yards there were pieces of the bull. It was an eye opener to the reality of those apex predators. What was really creepy was the bull was still warm. The warden said what they have found is most of the elk that are killed by wolves are bulls. A bull will try to fight the wolves off unlike cows who try to run away. When the bulls do that, the wolves attack and start removing chunks of the bulls. After the rut the bulls are tired and weak so they don’t last very long before the wolves start eating them. Most of the time they are still alive when the wolves start eating.

 

[ndbuck09]

It could be that we should strike a balance. It doesn't have to be all or nothing.

Problem is that wolves populate like crazy, above that of elk and deer that have to now compete with more people on the land, development that continues to erode winter range and migration routes, roads, and diminishing nutritional value from the land due to so many years of natural fire suppression. The world is not like it was in the early 20th century. This idea that nature has balance is a pipe dream in today's world and it's ignorant to think it, although a lot of "enlightened" east and west coasters love to preach it.

 

[Okhotnik]

I have found a couple wolf kills. The most recent one was a decent bull. I called the game and fish to get the horns and they actually came out. I stood there while they did the investigation. For about 200-300 yards there were pieces of the bull. It was an eye opener to the reality of those apex predators. What was really creepy was the bull was still warm. The warden said what they have found is most of the elk that are killed by wolves are bulls. A bull will try to fight the wolves off unlike cows who try to run away. When the bulls do that, the wolves attack and start removing chunks of the bulls. After the rut the bulls are tired and weak so they don’t last very long before the wolves start eating them. Most of the time they are still alive when the wolves start eating.

thanks for the first hand experience to counter the misinformation on here

 

[TraderMike]

you would be wrong

A few points made about bulls being easy targets certainly has me reconsidering my thoughts on this matter. I also admit I have no firsthand experience with wolves where I hunt in Colorado, as of yet. I rationalized that a bull with no defensive capabilities (hard antlers) would be an easier target. I obviously was short sighted and not taking into account the many other factors at play. I value the opinions from you fellows that have been dealing with wolves as they are about to make their presence felt where I hunt in CO.

 

[slick]

As far as I know.. elk that run tend to be killed easier than an elk that stands its ground.

Not taking into account bulls vs. cows.. just elk in general, if I remember right- if an elk runs it had far less chance of survival then squaring up with them and using their hooves.

Also, as far as the sick and weak comments. Bull elk are by far and away not in great shape after the rut, making them the weak ones post rut, comparative to cows/calves.. no matter the size of their head gear.

Edit: currently looking for the study. Not just spewing out of my butt. I could be wrong, just going off what I remember.

 

[wind gypsy]

I can't believe all of the negative and hurtful comments about Donnie Vincent's mouse eating canine family.

 

[Okhotnik]

As far as I know.. elk that run tend to be killed easier than an elk that stands its ground.

Not taking into account bulls vs. cows.. just elk in general, if I remember right- if an elk runs it had far less chance of survival then squaring up with them and using their hooves.

Also, as far as the sick and weak comments. Bull elk are by far and away not in great shape after the rut, making them the weak ones post rut, comparative to cows/calves.. no matter the size of their head gear.

Edit: currently looking for the study. Not just spewing out of my butt. I could be wrong, just going off what I remember.

Based on my experience the wolves typically target solitary animals whether the be healthy or run down and not in their prime. I see larger numbers in the elk herds before the wolves move into an area to feed and they then break up and scatter the larger herds into smaller groups of animals. Then they start picking them off. Solitary bulls seem to be a year target of wolves if not in their bachelor groups.

To me it is amazing that people still buy into the myth wolves only target the sick and the weak. But you'll never convince the urban dwelling bros on here who develop a profound deep spiritual bond with a wolf every time they hear or see one whether it be in the woods or on tv in a Nat Geo or PBS wolf show

 

[slick]

Based on my experience the wolves typically target solitary animals whether the be healthy or run down and not in their prime. I see larger numbers in the elk herds before the wolves move into an area to feed and they then break up and scatter the larger herds into smaller groups of animals. Then they start picking them off. Solitary bulls seem to be a year target of wolves if not in their bachelor groups.

To me it is amazing that people still buy into the myth wolves only target the sick and the weak. But you'll never convince the urban dwelling bros on here who develop a profound deep spiritual bond with a wolf every time they hear or see one whether it be in the woods or on tv in a Nat Geo or PBS wolf show

I absolutely agree. A single animal is obviously an easier target than multiple. There is a survival strategy to both ways- living in herds, and living solitary.

All bulls are in a weakened state post rut. They may be the biggest baddest bull on the mountain, but it doesn’t mean they aren’t the “weak” one come December. Take that same bull and he lives solitary and if wolves come across him, in any amount of accumulated snow and he’s toast. And we all know those old fellas live way up high in waist deep snow, lots of times alone or in real small groups. Makes it easy for wolves to rip them up if they come across them.


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[Jesse Jaymes]

It comes down to which is more important. Wolves or us (hunters). 70 years ago there was a lot more room to escape and a lot less pressure from hunters. We pay to protect the game and now we are asked to share it with the wolves. If they get their way, we won't be hunting period.

That is what you think your $$ paid for the hunting license if for? Protecting the game?

It's been High Cotton for hunters in the US since the early 1900's when the majority of the predators we nearly all beat down with the offering of bounties and heavy control efforts. That was hawks, owls, coyotes wolves...all of them.

Hunting has been "selective wild game farming" since a license was created and required. It's a business. A quick Google was not able to provide me with a number of how many hunters there were in Idaho in 2018. I would expect several hundred thousand licenses sold. Several thousand elk tags sold. For decades hunters have been accustomed to "tagging out" and being successful. It's not that easy anymore. It's rare to be able to be some Phat Phuck tooling down the road with your half gallon of Seagram's and shoot one outta the Side by Side. It now takes work. And due to it now being a Lumbersexual, Mtn Ops, flat brim, Hush Life cool club with Xfit, Cam Haynes wannabes...….even those with great lungs and legs are not successful, as now simply being more fit and out walking the Side by Side crew doesn't guarantee success.

Big game numbers have been out of whack for decades....as they were skewed to allot for the Side by Side Seagram's crew to tag out. Now the wolves (and the cats are a sleeper cell that does not get nearly the credit they deserve for reducing big game numbers) have leveled the playing field back to where it was supposed to be BEFORE we moved Redford and Harrison Ford out of California to the last cool places in the West and developed the shit out of everything.

I am NOT a wildlife biologist. Waiting to read someone credentialed chime in. Not going to throw my opinion in on what eats what. From a simple statistic screen shot......it said Grizzly. Interesting. Could it have been a cub? Caught out in the flats? Already dead? Didn't say. I am personally intrigued by what I see as they lack in focus on deer and the more direct relation to elk, and bison.

Suggestions to rectify: 1. Wind the clocks back to 1954 and sterilize people so the US doesn't expand into the zoo it has become. Stop the development and encroachment into wild places and habitat. 2. Expect tag soup and tagging out is in reality a true Trophy experience, as the days of a 7X being a realistic goal for the ATV hunters and Busch Lite crews are long gone. 3. Hunt harder 4. Poison/Aerial Gunning and mass predator extirpation.
#4 seems very closed minded but I would guess that is the vote most Bubbas would cast.

I hunted pretty hard for deer in eastern Washington. Didn't tag out. Was on wolf sign daily. Was sitting in wolf shit on my glassing knob last day. I would have loved to tag a nice buck. Didn't happen. But I make enough money to buy meat if I need it. I had some great adventures. Seen some cool shit.

Other than Washington, which states are NOT managing wolves? I can buy a non res Idaho wolf tag for $31 I think? I have a non res MT General deer. Didn't even look to what a non res wolf tag would cost.

So I see it as the Washington guys can bitch about "Management". MT, WY and ID?? What do you want? They're elusive and not terribly stupid and hard to knock down in large numbers. See tons of dead wolves online and in the sports stores. Some guys are shooting them. So what gives?

 

[Marble]

That is what you think your $$ paid for the hunting license if for? Protecting the game?

It's been High Cotton for hunters in the US since the early 1900's when the majority of the predators we nearly all beat down with the offering of bounties and heavy control efforts. That was hawks, owls, coyotes wolves...all of them.

Hunting has been "selective wild game farming" since a license was created and required. It's a business. A quick Google was not able to provide me with a number of how many hunters there were in Idaho in 2018. I would expect several hundred thousand licenses sold. Several thousand elk tags sold. For decades hunters have been accustomed to "tagging out" and being successful. It's not that easy anymore. It's rare to be able to be some Phat Phuck tooling down the road with your half gallon of Seagram's and shoot one outta the Side by Side. It now takes work. And due to it now being a Lumbersexual, Mtn Ops, flat brim, Hush Life cool club with Xfit, Cam Haynes wannabes...….even those with great lungs and legs are not successful, as now simply being more fit and out walking the Side by Side crew doesn't guarantee success.

Big game numbers have been out of whack for decades....as they were skewed to allot for the Side by Side Seagram's crew to tag out. Now the wolves (and the cats are a sleeper cell that does not get nearly the credit they deserve for reducing big game numbers) have leveled the playing field back to where it was supposed to be BEFORE we moved Redford and Harrison Ford out of California to the last cool places in the West and developed the shit out of everything.

I am NOT a wildlife biologist. Waiting to read someone credentialed chime in. Not going to throw my opinion in on what eats what. From a simple statistic screen shot......it said Grizzly. Interesting. Could it have been a cub? Caught out in the flats? Already dead? Didn't say. I am personally intrigued by what I see as they lack in focus on deer and the more direct relation to elk, and bison.

Suggestions to rectify: 1. Wind the clocks back to 1954 and sterilize people so the US doesn't expand into the zoo it has become. Stop the development and encroachment into wild places and habitat. 2. Expect tag soup and tagging out is in reality a true Trophy experience, as the days of a 7X being a realistic goal for the ATV hunters and Busch Lite crews are long gone. 3. Hunt harder 4. Poison/Aerial Gunning and mass predator extirpation.
#4 seems very closed minded but I would guess that is the vote most Bubbas would cast.

I hunted pretty hard for deer in eastern Washington. Didn't tag out. Was on wolf sign daily. Was sitting in wolf shit on my glassing knob last day. I would have loved to tag a nice buck. Didn't happen. But I make enough money to buy meat if I need it. I had some great adventures. Seen some cool shit.

Other than Washington, which states are NOT managing wolves? I can buy a non res Idaho wolf tag for $31 I think? I have a non res MT General deer. Didn't even look to what a non res wolf tag would cost.

So I see it as the Washington guys can bitch about "Management". MT, WY and ID?? What do you want? They're elusive and not terribly stupid and hard to knock down in large numbers. See tons of dead wolves online and in the sports stores. Some guys are shooting them. So what gives?

You would get a lot more support if the great majority of what you said wasn't slanted bias opinion, mixed with just enough info to make it seem real.

There is much more damage done to much more than hunter success to talk about.

An entire industry, and an entire generation of people are getting the shaft because wolves were introduced into an ecosystem where a sufficient amount of predators already existed. People got involved and through an "on switch" of apex predators into the mix and expected it to all work out.

Point being, everything was working just fine for man and the general ecosystem as a whole when came to the balance of ungulates, predators and live stock.

We saw man interfere with the spotted owl I CA decades ago only to find out they were wrong. They interfered with the cougar and with hound hunting. Finding out now it was a poor choice.

Introducing wolves, poor choice. In 50 to 100 years it may balance out. But why do it? My opinion, ego. The people that want it, want to seem important and all caring for nature. When really they are full of shit and do not see the consequences of their actions.

Sportsman do more for nature conservervation than any other group in existence. Just look at the amount of money given by each group. Last I checked it was multiple times the nearest competitor.

 

[Ross]

What gives is simply time and terrain/habitat.....working stiffs get a selected amount of days to hunt some wolf country lends itself to some success hunting them other country trapping is the only viable method to take out a pack and again time is the number one requirement for trapping with a requirement to check your traps every 72 hours...the bull I posted dead was killed the night of 9/6/19 he was not alone nor weak and old I believe his bugling with another bull on a hot cow brought the four wolves in and that was his demise elk cannot be elk in wolf country plain and simple and for me thankfully who has tagged many bulls I am looking for this mature bull not a raggie and ate two nonresident tags due to this choice and wolves picked off at least one mature bull as season started.

 

[JWP58]

Suggestions to rectify: 1. Wind the clocks back to 1954 and sterilize people so the US doesn't expand into the zoo it has become.

Lost me at the population reduction globalist talking point......

 

[Jesse Jaymes]

You would get a lot more support if the great majority of what you said wasn't slanted bias opinion, mixed with just enough info to make it seem real.

Wasn't trolling for support from anyone
There is much more damage done to much more than hunter success to talk about.

An entire industry, and an entire generation of people are getting the shaft because wolves were introduced into an ecosystem where a sufficient amount of predators already existed. People got involved and through an "on switch" of apex predators into the mix and expected it to all work out.
Introduced? They were here before they were extirpated. You mean REintroduced. And where are you getting "sufficient amount"? There were so many elk/bison in Yellowstone in the 70s and 80s the bears couldn't eat enough of them.

Point being, everything was working just fine for man and the general ecosystem as a whole when came to the balance of ungulates, predators and live stock.

We saw man interfere with the spotted owl I CA decades ago only to find out they were wrong. They interfered with the cougar and with hound hunting. Finding out now it was a poor choice.
Poor choice for the ecosystem or Sportsman?

Introducing wolves, poor choice. In 50 to 100 years it may balance out. But why do it? My opinion, ego. The people that want it, want to seem important and all caring for nature. When really they are full of shit and do not see the consequences of their actions.
What are the consequences? They eat stuff. Lots of stuff. They've eaten stuff for 1000s of years. why expect that to change.

Sportsman do more for nature conservervation than any other group in existence. Just look at the amount of money given by each group. Last I checked it was multiple times the nearest competitor.

Fully agree

 

[87TT]

What about the ranchers that raise all the "meat" you can afford to buy? I guess we should spread
the plague to control our population? Sounds kind of stupid huh? The people who forced the wolves on us are the least affected by them.

 

[sneaky]

As far as I know.. elk that run tend to be killed easier than an elk that stands its ground.

Not taking into account bulls vs. cows.. just elk in general, if I remember right- if an elk runs it had far less chance of survival then squaring up with them and using their hooves.

Also, as far as the sick and weak comments. Bull elk are by far and away not in great shape after the rut, making them the weak ones post rut, comparative to cows/calves.. no matter the size of their head gear.

Edit: currently looking for the study. Not just spewing out of my butt. I could be wrong, just going off what I remember.

I believe elk that run, die tired. Elk that stand their ground, still die.

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[sneaky]

Because for thousands of years prey populations had escape zones and room to maneuver. Highways, fences, cities etc. etc pushed everything into a tighter box. Animal numbers are up, but they are confined. Wolves have a field day now with these restrictions on prey and the deifying of wolves by the urban crowd.

Your rant up above is garbage for the most part. Then again, a 1954 sterilization would probably have saved us all from having to read it.

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[Jesse Jaymes]

If animal numbers are up and confined in tighter boxes....then what's the bitch? Should be shooting fish in a barrel. Everyone tags out