Wolf hatred????
- Thread starter MadDog
- Start date
In BC you no longer need to buy a tag to hunt a wolf. There is a generous open season in most of the province that comes with the basic hunting licence just like grouse, rabbits etc.
There's a reason for this. The biologists with our ministry of Enviroment have determined that the wolf population is soaring. Dispite what you might think hardly any one purposely hunts them and if you give Foxer's post back there about "access" another read that is the reason that wolves have done so well.
Case in point in my area. Logging began in the Nimpkish valley in the 20s and 30s. It was complete wilderness before that. Old accounts that I have heard and read seem to agree there were oodles of deer in the valley, cougar sightings (and shootings) were quite common, but wolves were as rare as hen's teeth. Seems the old growth jungle kept enough food hidden from them that it wasn't a good habitat for wolves.
So come the 60s and 70s logging with big donkeys and sky lines had taken the easy wood that could be transported by lakes, rivers and the ocean and road building began in earnest. To make a long story short the deer population spiked upward and there's many writings of the fabulous deer hunting in the Nimpkish valley in the 70s. In the late 70s and into the 80s the wolves moved in from the south and experienced a massive population spike as there was tons of food (deer). By 1990 of so the deer population collapsed.
Fast forward to today and the wolves are also lower in numbers as many starved off in the late 90s and early 2000s. But there's still hundreds times more than before the roads came. Deer are making a modest come back but their numbers are no where near what they were before the roads came.
Im not afraid of wolves, nor do I hate them. But seeing what they can do when their packed up seemingly for fun and not for food is not a pretty thing. They'll kill everything they can find sometimes and often not even eat it but instead keep on running on some kind of killing spree. I've seen carcasses just ham strung, throat bit, that's it. So they're not the most endeering critter.
Seems to me its partly our fault that there's many times more wolves out here than there were pre massive road building. Wolves like roads. They can travel 100s of kms in little time and it gives good ambush opportunities. So, although I've never purposely hunted wolves if I see one while hunting other critters I will shoot it.
There's a reason for this. The biologists with our ministry of Enviroment have determined that the wolf population is soaring. Dispite what you might think hardly any one purposely hunts them and if you give Foxer's post back there about "access" another read that is the reason that wolves have done so well.
Case in point in my area. Logging began in the Nimpkish valley in the 20s and 30s. It was complete wilderness before that. Old accounts that I have heard and read seem to agree there were oodles of deer in the valley, cougar sightings (and shootings) were quite common, but wolves were as rare as hen's teeth. Seems the old growth jungle kept enough food hidden from them that it wasn't a good habitat for wolves.
So come the 60s and 70s logging with big donkeys and sky lines had taken the easy wood that could be transported by lakes, rivers and the ocean and road building began in earnest. To make a long story short the deer population spiked upward and there's many writings of the fabulous deer hunting in the Nimpkish valley in the 70s. In the late 70s and into the 80s the wolves moved in from the south and experienced a massive population spike as there was tons of food (deer). By 1990 of so the deer population collapsed.
Fast forward to today and the wolves are also lower in numbers as many starved off in the late 90s and early 2000s. But there's still hundreds times more than before the roads came. Deer are making a modest come back but their numbers are no where near what they were before the roads came.
Im not afraid of wolves, nor do I hate them. But seeing what they can do when their packed up seemingly for fun and not for food is not a pretty thing. They'll kill everything they can find sometimes and often not even eat it but instead keep on running on some kind of killing spree. I've seen carcasses just ham strung, throat bit, that's it. So they're not the most endeering critter.
Seems to me its partly our fault that there's many times more wolves out here than there were pre massive road building. Wolves like roads. They can travel 100s of kms in little time and it gives good ambush opportunities. So, although I've never purposely hunted wolves if I see one while hunting other critters I will shoot it.
Meh - where I go you rarely see wolves. Dense forest, few roads. The only time you see them is in the winter traveling across the ice. I don't have a problem with them, they keep as far clear of humans as possible, when I get my core, I'll let em be.
Whaaaaaatttt???
Well Nat. Geo. had a special about a 'man eater of India' which ended up to be a female wolf whose pups were killed by local children who found their den and lit it on fire. I think their wolves are far worse off food wise then the wolves of NA, leading to more attacks.
Wolves, bears and deer were wiped off PEI. Now we got coyotes and wolf-coyote hybrids. Seriously, some of the coyotes I seen are huge.
And these coyotes are apparently alot damn harder to get rid off.
-
Anyone see the Canadian Geo. special about the rain forest wolves? They had no fear of the camera crew and would camp outside their tent at night, and all the crew could do was to call them bad wolves and tell them to go away lol. And in the day one wolf kept trying to eat the remote mic.
Last edited:
Well the fact is, there is ZERO chance under normal conditions of wiping out wolves from an area by hunting. You pretty much have to use traps, poisons or aircraft/other techniques.
But thining 'em out doesn't hurt
Actually I believe its more like 80% losses, they breed more to replenish the packs.
From Wiki:
"Studies in Algonquin Provincial Park showed that three species accounted for 99% of the wolves's diet: Moose (some of which is scavenged), White-tailed Deer, and Beaver (ca. 33% each). The wolves tend to prey more frequently on American Beaver in the summer, and on White-tailed Deer in the winter."
And more pertaining to this thread :
"One wolf that was radio-collared in Algonquin Park in July 1992 was located in October in Gatineau Park (north of Ottawa), which is 170 km from Algonquin Park. By mid-December it had made its way back to Algonquin ,and then, in March 1993, this wolf's severed head was found nailed to a telephone poll in Round Lake by a man who hated wolves."
[edit] Diet
Well i'll admit, it can be hard. They zig and zag a lot. But just practice, you'll get it.
I remember seeing that on tv. Didn't tell the wolf's background though. I think the government was suspending hunting or something like that in the area. So the first thing that happens is someone does the thing above.
I hunt them every chance I get for every reason other than hate and fear...
They are an animal that is listed in the hunting regulations thus there is a legal hunting season for them so I hunt them...
Here are a couple of pic's of me from Feb of this year with a wolf I had just shot.
They are an animal that is listed in the hunting regulations thus there is a legal hunting season for them so I hunt them...
Here are a couple of pic's of me from Feb of this year with a wolf I had just shot.
Wolves and coyotes will respond to hunting pressure losses by altering their reproductive rates accordingly. This is a well documented biological fact so it really doesn't matter what your motivation is for killing them.
I will stake the Beavers out the kitchen window again this year and shoot every coyote/wolf I see.. I know I can't kill them all... but I am still going to shoot them anyway. I love the way they look... laying dead on the snow...
I will stake the Beavers out the kitchen window again this year and shoot every coyote/wolf I see.. I know I can't kill them all... but I am still going to shoot them anyway. I love the way they look... laying dead on the snow...
Personally the only way i would kill a wolf, is if it's attacking a human or any livestock i own. Otherwise it would get a warning shot, unless its mange-y or sick looking. Those ones are dumb and dangerous - and will probably starve anyways.
I have snared a few wolves on the trapline, but I tend to set a self imposed limit based on what I had seen that year. I'll bet I could get 30 in a season but I stopped at 5.
There are a large number of wolves in northern Alberta. There are 8 different packs that I know of just north of Worsley as a matter of fact. And that is just my sightings.
But wolves are wolves. Even where there are many of them you don't get a chance to see them often.
Many nights I slept in the mountains near Nordegg and fell asleep to the sound of wolves howling. I hope we never lose that. But to cull some is not going to make a difference overall. Not enough guys shoot wolves around here to make any impact.
Trappers can usually get two good consistant catches of wolf per season. Sometimes you get the odd straggler here and there. They travel and you can get them in the same area twice while the pelt is prime. Kinda like lynx. (about every 30 days or so)
There are a large number of wolves in northern Alberta. There are 8 different packs that I know of just north of Worsley as a matter of fact. And that is just my sightings.
But wolves are wolves. Even where there are many of them you don't get a chance to see them often.
Many nights I slept in the mountains near Nordegg and fell asleep to the sound of wolves howling. I hope we never lose that. But to cull some is not going to make a difference overall. Not enough guys shoot wolves around here to make any impact.
Trappers can usually get two good consistant catches of wolf per season. Sometimes you get the odd straggler here and there. They travel and you can get them in the same area twice while the pelt is prime. Kinda like lynx. (about every 30 days or so)
- Location
- Saskatchewan
I didn't vote. Hate being "pigeonholed"
We have some wolves at our hunting camp. Saw them a few times while hunting, never gave thought to shooting one, just enjoyed their company. they are a sign of healthy game country IMHO. But three years ago a lone black wolf set up housekeeping just a mile from camp. He's been seen many times since, but one day when hunting deer I saw him chasing a cow and calf elk across a beaver dam. Call it protectionist instinct or what you will, I took a shot at him ( missed!) since then we see evidence of his kills, and elk have moved a couple miles away from their usual spots. If I saw him again I would kill him, just to get our local elk back to using ther normal feeding/bedding areas. Nothing against wolves in general, or even this one individual if he'd move off, just practical considerations. It is legal to hunt them at our camp and I would like one rug to lay over the couch. No urge at all to shoot a bunch of them.
We have some wolves at our hunting camp. Saw them a few times while hunting, never gave thought to shooting one, just enjoyed their company. they are a sign of healthy game country IMHO. But three years ago a lone black wolf set up housekeeping just a mile from camp. He's been seen many times since, but one day when hunting deer I saw him chasing a cow and calf elk across a beaver dam. Call it protectionist instinct or what you will, I took a shot at him ( missed!) since then we see evidence of his kills, and elk have moved a couple miles away from their usual spots. If I saw him again I would kill him, just to get our local elk back to using ther normal feeding/bedding areas. Nothing against wolves in general, or even this one individual if he'd move off, just practical considerations. It is legal to hunt them at our camp and I would like one rug to lay over the couch. No urge at all to shoot a bunch of them.
Last edited:
I've not had a wolf bother me & in fact, I do really enjoy hearing them howl when I'm out camping. It's such a primal thing.
The only times I've seen them when hunting, they weren't bothering me, and kept their distance, so I didn't bother them.
Mind you, I prefer to eat what I shoot & I'm not into having a close to authentic version to "Chow Mein" as some folks like.
That said, if they came too close, I'd give em a warning shot. And more if that didn't clue them in to back off a bit.
L
The only times I've seen them when hunting, they weren't bothering me, and kept their distance, so I didn't bother them.
Mind you, I prefer to eat what I shoot & I'm not into having a close to authentic version to "Chow Mein" as some folks like.
That said, if they came too close, I'd give em a warning shot. And more if that didn't clue them in to back off a bit.
L
i can honestly say that wolves really do scare me. (they have since i was very young) i think the only times id shoot them is self deffence, or protecting my farm animals.
i think they are beutiful and smart animals (dont go off on a tree hugger bit, i love all animals, but know there are times things need culling, i also apreciate animals when i have shot them) that seem to keep their own numbers under controll. here in ontario i can honestly say i have never seen a wolf outside of a zoo. only things i have seen are yotes and wild dogs, both seem to be a bigger threat from over population and agressive tendancy's to humans/livestock than wolves.
i think they are beutiful and smart animals (dont go off on a tree hugger bit, i love all animals, but know there are times things need culling, i also apreciate animals when i have shot them) that seem to keep their own numbers under controll. here in ontario i can honestly say i have never seen a wolf outside of a zoo. only things i have seen are yotes and wild dogs, both seem to be a bigger threat from over population and agressive tendancy's to humans/livestock than wolves.
