Are there wolves where you live?

I don't mean necessarily near where you yourself live, but how about in your state, or area where you live? When I was posting the story about being lost in the woods and followed by the coyotes, it made me think about the coyotes and wolves that we had in Idaho. The coyotes were pretty common, and since I lived out in the woods in the country at that time; the coyotes would come right up into my yard.

I had small dogs, and when I let them out, I had to be sure to go outside and stay with them. Around dusk in the evening, the coyotes would start getting closer to the house, and you could here them calling in the woods nearby; so I had to be sure that any small animals were safely inside or locked away where the coyotes could not go. Sometimes, there were wolves, but they did't seem to come up into the yards like the coyotes did. In the winter, you could see the larger tracks in the snow.

I was reading a story about a man who was cycling from Sandpoint, Idaho and up to Alaska as part of a fund-raiser. A wolf actually attacked him on his bicycle as he was riding down the highway. Thankfully , a passing motorist rescued him and helped to scare the wolf away. Normally, they are pack hunters; so this must have been a very hungry animal to attack a person on a bike like this.

http://www.montanaoutdoor.com/2013/07/wolf-attacks-bicyclist-in-idaho/

 

We don't have any wolves but we do have a lot of coyotes. My boyfriend hates them and threatens to shoot them if they come near the property, but I enjoy hearing them at night. They can be a problem because we may be raising chickens and such on our property when we get home, but I think as long as well properly fence them up... the coyotes shouldn't be able to get to them. My biggest worry is that if one comes near when our dogs are outside that our dogs will go after it get themselves killed.

 

No we don't have wolves in our area but we do have lots of coyotes though. They are everywhere, you can hear them howling at night. I know people who have had their chickens taken in the right as well as family pets when they were out in the yard. They can be very dangerous when they are hunger. I can see why your boyfriend would want to shoot them though.

 

Algonquin Park fosters the care and nurtures wolves as does Haliburton Forest [they actually have a compound for one pack and it is used for study]. There are about 30 packs within the Algonquin Park. I learned this week that there are about 22,000 black bears within the park as well.

Yes, I have seen wolves up close and I managed to pat the tummy of an Eastern Arctic Timber wolf that had been interned in a wildlife sanctuary.

I have no fear of wolves and find it sad that much of the information circulating is wrong and not incorrect.

Love em - canis lupis.

 

Admittedly I was taken back by that figure and challenged the Ranger. Apparently they now have an issue in the Park. The range he gave was 20 to 28 thousand. I agree that is astounding. I asked why that might be and part of the answer was that hunting has been curtailed.

 

Bigger than some countries and it is right here in our own back yard.

 

Many wolves in my usual camp spots, haven't seen one in a few years but I see their aftermath and lot's of scat.
Hear some howling but their howls can be heard a few (to many depending on location) kilometers away so I don't worry.

 

Now that the wolves have started taking over the forests in northern Idaho, many of the other wild animals have moved closer to town, and even into the town itself where I grew up. My friend, who still lives there, said that the moose will come right into Sandpoint and wander through people's yards, eating their plants and gardens.

She said that the wolves have gotten so numerous that you can see them killing and eating the deer and elk right along the highway near town; so they are no longer just staying in the forest to hunt, and they have pretty well lost their fear of humans now, too.

When I lived there, I had to always be outside when I had my little dogs out of doors, and the coyotes would still be howling and crying just past the edge of my yard and into the trees. I do not want to see all of the wolves wiped out; but at the same time, people, livestock, and wildlife need to be protected as well. Ranchers that are losing their lambs and calves to attacking wolves need to be able to shoot them when they are on their property and near the barns.

 

These kinds of discussions have gone on in every place the wolf appears - BUT most of them are simply untrue. Study after study in various countries have documented the wolf but people still do not have a clear picture of these creatures. We still get the Little Ride Riding Hood stories that have no fact at all.

OFFICIALLY? In a country the size of Canada there has been no official documentation of any human being attacked and killed by a healthy wolf.

But we are beginning to have trouble with wolves that were pets and have been let go into the wilderness such as Algonquin Park.

The life expectancy of a wolf in the wilderness is about 2 and a half years at best. My dog is 15 years old - and as we know it comes from the wolf.

Coyotes are not wolves and they are a different story - and they are becoming a problem and will gang attack.

 

No wolves in WV, but we do have coyotes. My husband's aunt swears there is panther on her property. Panthers in WV seem to be a rural legend, alas. There are bobcats, though.

 

There are parts in this country where wolves have been extinct. But then again...there are a lot of species extinct destroyed by humans for whatever plausible reason that comes to mind. Humans are natural killers it seems, and we will not be happy until we have destroyed ourselves.

 

Care is the key; speaking of which...Reese at 15 is not doing well these days. This was the first year that he did not join me on any excersions.

 

No wolves in my area either, not really much in the way of coyotes either. They are beautiful animals but I'm fine to admire them from a good, safe distance.

 

The reality is that a human will hurt you a lot more and faster than any wolf you may encounter. In fact the chances of you being hurt by a wolf are about 1 in a million. I was disturbed by the book "A Walk in the Woods" (that I read on my last trip) when Bill Bryson talks about the dangers of hiking the Appalachian Trail and then says, "An if you are an American there is a chance you could be murdered..." That comment left me chilled.