Idaho, Montana wolf hunts back on
POSTED BY: Niki2
UPDATED: Friday, September 9, 2011 02:41
VIEWED: 2234
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Yeah, I'd like to try bear, but I hear its an acquired taste and they don't taste very good if you get them right before they go into hybrination, they're greasy and yucky then. But I'd like to try bear, I watch those shows on the travel channel where they try all sorts of foods from other places and cultures, some of them look really yummy.
"A completely coherant River means writers don't deliver" KatTaya
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Makes sense, before they hibernate they'd have put on a lot of weight for the winter.
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Frem: Convincing a skunk to hang around where you put him is pretty tough; animals go where the food source is, among other things. And wolves are quite sensible enough to go around a skunk, which will just stand there and raise it's tail if they come across one, so poses no threat.
We had most of this conversation before, when that kid thought he'd chased away two wolves somewhere in the Scandinavian area. At that time, some guy was working on a recording project; play the howls of a wolf pack and no other wolf pack will encroach on what they consider "their" territory (some wolf urine here and there would solidify the situation). I often wonder what happened to his work...
I don't think ranchers are that stupid. I think most humans would think the same way, if they had something to guard and thought wolves were attacking it. It's pretty human nature to blame something already hated for problems, I think you'd find it about anywhere.
Hippie Operative Nikovich Nikita Nicovna Talibani,
Contracted Agent of Veritas Oilspillus, code name “Nike”,
signing off 
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Riona, it's more complicated than that. They're taken for pelt, up, but mostly to keep them away from cattle and sheep, etc.--or at least that's the excuse. In actuality, ranchers are paid for every lost animal that can be proven to be taken by wolves, and there aren't that many. It's more the human nature thing; we never DID abide competition from whatever predator lived in the area. Our cougars in CA were all but wiped out long ago, made a comeback once protected, and now there's constant pressure to open up hunting again. Our species brooks no opposition, even when it's only imagined.
Remember, too, up in Alaska good old Mrs. Lookatme has been hunting them (dunno if she does it from airplaes, but others do) for ages, as have many others. Up there, all they want as proof is a tail, and they used to have a bounty on them.
Shouldn't surprise you people are more afraid of wolves. Look at our mythology...how many "evil cougars" do you see in movies, TV, fairy tales, etc., etc.? Not many. We have a long history of fearing wolves, and it hasn't changed for many people. Occasionally I get people asking if my huskies are wolves (!), tho' neither looks even slightly like one!
We had a looong thread about this problem and about wolves attacking people (there are few, if any, documented incidents of same, especially here in America). There were accounts of wolf packs attacking humans in ancient Europe, most of which were found to be rabid dogs or some other cause when investigated. There were actual documented cases in Russia ages ago, but wolves have been pretty much wiped out in most places man inhabits.
The current concern is that we've invaded their habitat so much that they've grown accustomed to us, so fear is they'll attack humans (like bears do). Hasn't happened, or not more than once or twice, and wolves (like cougars) keep a low profile. We've had joggers, as mentioned, attacked by cougars across the Bay, but that's because the cougars come across them and, of course, they're RUNNING. But we've got them here with no problems, and down on the Peninsula they're spotted fairly frequently, again with no problems.
The first reason I hated Palin was her stand on wolves; she's been ACTIVE in lobbying to get their protection lifted for years, and of course is tickled pink to hunt them. Bitch. Never heard of anyone eating them, tho' certainly some may, mostly they're taken for their pelts, bounty or just to get rid of them. It's a continuing controversy wherever the are (and to a lesser degree, where any predator encroaches on mankind). Part of the controversy in the Lower 48 is that we wiped out our own wolves, so when they re-introduced, they did so with Canadian Greys, which are bigger and more aggressive than our own Greys were. There's fear that familiarity with humans combined with that will cause trouble. It may, in fact; we encroach on everything's habitat to a point where they're pressured beyond normal ability to survive. I hope not, but in the states where hunting has been opened again, they hunt them for sport...with the argument that they're dangerous to stock. That's the excuse, anyway.
Hippie Operative Nikovich Nikita Nicovna Talibani,
Contracted Agent of Veritas Oilspillus, code name “Nike”,
signing off
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Quote:
Originally posted by RionaEire:
Do they just want to hunt the wolves for their pelts?
That's what my brother-in-law wants - to go with his other trophies. I can't really see the point of hunting what you can't eat, but whatever.
BTW, I believe in many states, farmers or the state wildlife guys can already kill wolves identified as threats to livestock.
"Keep the Shiny side up"
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Quote:
dunno if she does it from airplaes, but others do
Having been up there just recently, TECHNICALLY that's supposed to be illegal. There's a law that you can't go hunting on the same day you've been in an airplane that's supposed to stymie this a little. But I imagine it's difficult to enforce.
BTW, Niki, you might be interested in a story I heard up there about a wolf named Romeo. He loved to play with domesticated dogs, though he turned away or scared off the little dogs (without hurting them, I might add).
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28381818/ns/travel-seasonal_travel/t/black
-wolf-juneau-back-winter/
http://www.adn.com/2010/06/02/1304516/juneau-mourns-loss-of-lovable.ht
ml
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Oh, I hadn't mentioned this cause it slipped my mind, but the management of site three did find out about the coyote and was a mite concerned...
To which my exact comment was "Oh leave him alone, he ain't botherin nobody and he eats them damn groundhogs.."
Meh, if only most folk were so easy to convince, although the maintainence guys rabid hatred of them groundhogs prolly had a lot to do with the sudden attitude change. 
Not to mention why call in and pay for someone to remove the coyote, and the groundhogs, when one will do for the other and move on, nature does work, if you only let it.
Of course, my current "hunting" task is much more benevolent - one of the residents indoor cats slipped out while they were bringing in groceries, and now they're quite distraught and have appealed to the site management since there's only one chance of tracking a frightened housecat down in the dark and lousy weather we've been having - this isn't the first time I've done it, you see...
While not exactly technically any part of my job responsibilities, having recently lost a dear kitty myself I know all too well what a crushing blow that can be, and I mean to rescue the poor critter if it can be at all done - not to mention it's good practice, and really, there's not much else to do since the folks I am paid to scare off ALREADY avoid this place like it's cursed.
Wish me luck, ehe ?
-Frem
I do not serve the Blind God.
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Aw, you lost a kitty? :(
I saw a coyote recently too.
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I sure wish you hadn't included that second link, Byte. As I read the first I thought to myself "yeah, well, he'll no doubt be killed soon enough", and there it was in the second one. Wolves who frequent humans never last long. It was a neat story, but I'd have enjoyed it a lot more without the ending.
Lone wolves aren't that unusual, whatever the reason. It's usually a juvenile male excluded from the pack by the alpha male, and they usually join up with another pack or start their own...the length of time he was alone isn't common, but not rare. I'm sure he wasn't "mourning" anyone, certainly they form connections and have been seen "mourning" over loss of pups, but he wouldn't hang around that long. Given their social nature, I would assume it's because he sought out some kind of kindred spirits, and perhaps the dogs in the area provided that for him. I'm sorry he went the way of what I imagine is 99% of the way wolves die.
And yes, Geezer, there's never been any question; a wolf who is proven to have taken livestock is eradicated, as is a lion or tiger who goes after humans. That's not what this thread is about, it's about sport hunting.
Wolf (and bear) hunting from the air may be technically illegal, but nobody's bothering to stop them, because you hear about it a lot.
Hippie Operative Nikovich Nikita Nicovna Talibani,
Contracted Agent of Veritas Oilspillus, code name “Nike”,
signing off
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Quote:
Originally posted by Fremdfirma:
Of course, my current "hunting" task is much more benevolent - one of the residents indoor cats slipped out while they were bringing in groceries, and now they're quite distraught and have appealed to the site management since there's only one chance of tracking a frightened housecat down in the dark and lousy weather we've been having - this isn't the first time I've done it, you see...
While not exactly technically any part of my job responsibilities, having recently lost a dear kitty myself I know all too well what a crushing blow that can be, and I mean to rescue the poor critter if it can be at all done - not to mention it's good practice, and really, there's not much else to do since the folks I am paid to scare off ALREADY avoid this place like it's cursed.
Wish me luck, ehe ?
-Frem
Now I'm imagining Frem creeping through the housing development late at night, in his tactical gear with artificial bits oiled into silence, bowl of milk in hand, whispering "Here, kitty, kitty, kitty, damn it."
"Keep the Shiny side up"
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