Posted on 06/17/2012 1:14:47 PM PDT by null and void
A WOMAN zookeeper was mauled to death by a pack of wolves as she fed them in their enclosure.
Eight of the wolves are thought to have surrounded and attacked the woman, who was in her 30s.
Her body was found by a colleague — but the snarling pack would not let anyone near her. Eventually brave zoo workers formed a human chain and rushed the wolves, forcing them back.
Jan Tengeborg, who organised the attempt to recover the body, said: “We couldn’t get into the enclosure because the wolves clearly did not want us in there. You can’t just walk right into a wolf pack.”
No one witnessed the attack so it is not yet clear exactly what triggered it. The dead woman has not been named.
The same pack attacked TV naturalist Arne Weise when Kolmarden Wildlife Park opened in Braviken Bay, Sweden, in 2007.
He said yesterday: “We have to stop interacting so closely with wolves. It is wrong, the risk is too great. We must recognise they are dangerous animals.”
Armed police were called to the zoo but did not open fire. Mats Höggren, director at Kolmarden — where earlier this year a girl of 15 was bitten on the leg by a wolf — said: “This is is terrible.
“She was alone in the wolves’ yard but had contact with a colleague via two-way radio.
“The colleague thought she had been gone longer than usual, so investigated and found her body.” He said the animals would not be put down.
I did have a 1911 in my off hand, nekkid as a jaybird.
Next thing I know, the dogs rush a mountain lion that had been watching.
Scared me inside. I peed in an empty coffee can for the rest of the night and poured it outside in the morning.
There is stuff out there in the woods that is dangerous.
Best to have dogs and guns. Pants help.
/johnny
They should’ve called Obama.
He eats dogs.
Sweden? No surprise. That’s the nation with laws against men standing while urinating.
"The wolves did not want us there...
Good grief. And these are the heirs of the Vikings?
If you're thinking about the Nobel Peace Prize (can't imagine you're referring to a hard science prize here) - the Norwegians get to pick the 'winner' for that one. (Ironically, they tend to pick total losers...)
We were on our deck at dusk when we heard what sounded like a pack of coywolves chasing through the woods about 20 -30 feet away in the underbrush. Whatever they were chasing was screaming. Loud. They also attacked our next door neighbor’s dog.
One of the pack that has come through our yard looked to be German Shepherd size, but since our deck is 8 feet off the ground it was difficult to be sure of the size and weight. Still, definitely well over 50 lbs.
The Eastern coyote (what we have here in Massachusetts) is a coywolf, a hybrid.
http://www.mass.gov/dfwele/dfw/wildlife/living/living_with_coyotes.htm
You both live in Eastern Coyote territory. Years ago, I read a study done in New Hampshire that found the eastern coyote was a hybrid of the Eastern Timberwolf and western coyote. These coyotes vary in size and have been reported up to 80lbs. I’m guessing that the ratio of coyote to wolf in any given population depends on the prey species for that area. If they’re preying on adult deer that suggests more wolf than coyote.
BTW genus Canis will speciate through hybridization. It’s not a new observation for this genus.
Freeper ScaniaBoy (another Swede) on this “fast food” situation:
Tragic - the woman should never have been there alone. Apparently it is against the zoo regulations, as well as common sense.
Apart from the instance in 2007 there has been no reports on the wolves being agressive or threatening. Under supervision visitors have been allowed inside the fence....
Most, if not all, of the animals have been bred in captivity. That does not mean that they are domestic animals, far from it, but they are used to humans, especially their handlers.
The animals will not be put down, but I expect that safety regulations will be followed stringently from now on.
Both of them will eat you, as will coyotes and housecats.
My next door neighbor up there put a Hav-a-Heart cage in his yard one night, hoping to trap a raccoon which to take to the next village over and release the beast. One night, the cage was at the tree line, mangled. The only thing in the cage was a squirrel with his little paws chewed off. Coyotes are not to be messed with.
Great. I knew that, but the reminder will keep me awake all night. Roasting coffee so I can brew it later...
/johnny
We have coywolves living here on the training center, two breeding pairs. Fish and wildlife spent all of last week trying to shoot them with no success. Apparently they aren’t that dumb, just like everyone on base thought.
I saw one of them a couple months ago - had to weigh over 50 pounds. Big coyote.
I used to be a zookeeper, and yes I cared deeply for the animals I worked with.
But I followed safety protocols. Only a fool goes into a wolf pack unprotected and alone.
That's the problem.
Lets us play. When they get opposable thumbs, I'll show a little respect.
Until then? They are pelts that need cleaned.
/johnny
BTW genus Canis will speciate through hybridization. It’s not a new observation for this genus.
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My husband went beyond the old stone wall at the back of our property last week and found bear scat. We have had a black bear visiting our front yard, and finally gave up on our bird feeders.
We live in central MA, cradle of freedom, on five acres that backs up to hundreds of acres of privately owned, wooded land. Most of our land is wooded and untouched, at least by us. We have a six foot chain link fence around about a quarter acre of our back "yard", for our dogs.
There are bear, cougars and wolves out there.
Learned my lesson.
But I DID have a firearm in the off hand, and the dogs were watching out for me. Didn't step far off the porch, and I learned my lesson.
Getting me to wear pants on a regular basis? Meh. It's warm here. ;)
/johnny
Even the gentler animals in zoos have to be treated carefully. Zookeepers often get seriously injured by giraffes. These placid animals are incredibly clumsy and can accidentally kick your brains out. I never had the privilege of working with giraffes, but I’m told they give this goofy “gee, did I do that?” look at the human they just eviscerated with an errant swipe of that long leg.
In the wild, yes. But in captivity it is an advantage if the animals don't feel threatened by the keepers. The dangerous situations often occur when the animals are afraid and don't feel they have anywhere to escape. However, there are situations where the animals attack unprovoked, maybe because they want to assert their dominance, something that soon can turn into hunting/killing behaviour.
The giraffe is noted for its extremely long neck and legs, as well as its horn-like ossicones. It stands 5–6 m (16–20 ft) tall and has an average weight of 1,600 kg (3,500 lb) for males and 830 kg (1,800 lb) for females.
Even a gentle nudge could be lethal.
Moochelle’s picture turned out very well on that book’s cover, I think.
Instead of shooting the wolves, they watched passively as she was mauled to death.In Aristotelian logic, the efficient cause of her death was wolf-pack behavior, while the final cause was a society that values animals above humans.
Since she undoubtedly shared the values of that society (I would assign the probability of her sharing those values at 99%), then we are almost forced to say that she got what she deserved.
In defense of housecats, they usually won't kill you first...
No need to explain it any further or fancier than that.
It’s good the dogs have a fence to protect them. Wolves and coyotes try to kill them when they can. We have a fence for our dogs too. Bears have moved into our suburban area (western PA) and I want a little security that they won’t become bear food.
Yes. They won't eat you unless you remain inert and unresponsive through a couple of feeding cycles.
The coyotes that I have seen are bigger than foxes and have somewhat long legs. I always that the coyotes were just a little bigger than foxes. The animal officers in town tell people to just keep away from them and they will not harm you.
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The original intent of the fence was to keep the dogs in the yard. I now see it equally as a method of keeping other animals out. :)
I love living here, but it does require a firm footing in reality. Wild animals may be beautiful, but we must never forget that they may also be extremely, if not fatally, dangerous.
I don’t have any coyotes down here. We have a lot of small varmint, snakes and we’re not far from a LOT of big gators.
They will, however, lick your eyelids to determine your death state.
Been there, done that.
/johnny
It depends how big you are. The bigger they are the bigger their prey will be but even smaller coyotes can kill (and have done so) small children.
*sheesh*
How stupid can people be?
Since I was reared in the West, I was taught to respect wildlife, but also not to be stupid about approaching any wild species.
Had it been me, I would have gone into the compound with a .357 sidearm, “just in case.”
So shoot me.
Since I was reared in the West, I was taught to respect wildlife, but also not to be stupid about approaching any wild species.
Had it been me, I would have gone into the compound with a .357 sidearm, “just in case.”
So shoot me.
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Me too, but I doubt that was an option in Sweden. I could be wrong..
Darwin Awards are hovering in the netherworld, waiting for the Muy Estupidos!
We have lots of the Coywolves here in NW Connecticut. Unattended dogs are often snatched away and eaten. My next door neighbors dog was a recent victim. They are very large. I walked up to one that had been hit by a car on a side road. It was quite impressive. You can hear the packs at night, which is kind of spooky. I would not walk alone in the woods without my trusty P40, escpecially at night when they are hunting. We have Mountain Lions and Black Bears as well.
You got Gators? Yum. I have recipes. Lotta meat.
/johnny
Sweden is too liberal to pay any attention to...*blech*
I might not try that, thanks.
/johnny
We have quite a few cowwolves here in Illinois. Many a farmer gets up in the morning to milk the family cow- and he’s never seen again. The wife or kids go out looking for him and all they find is an empty stool, an upturned bucket and a cowwolf with a smirk on its face.
Sweden is too liberal to allow sidearms. Which is why Muslims like the place...but you didn’t hear it from ME!
That’s why they’re called wild animals.
Thanks! Life is GOOD!
They hunt continuously (and very effectively) as packs. The sound they make doing so is like someone forgot and left open the Gates of Hell.
Books are okay, but they aren't infallible.
/johnny
/johnny
Granted, I'm a man that pees outside, sans accoutrement, and all of that... But if you open the door and yell at them to shut-the-hell-up!
They do.
For a minute.
And then you can sic the dogs on 'em.
Go figure.
/johnny
If it was cold, why were you nekkid?
Glad you survived that mountain lion.
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