This guy doesn't have to worry about that happening.
Posted on 01/28/2010 2:00:46 PM PST by OneVike
I had just finished my first semester of college at the University of Montana where I am studying wildlife biology. I got home for winter break and have been able to get out quite a bit lately. My friends and I have treed several lions and we have taken two.
Yesterday my friend and mentor Mel, invited me to go with him and another fellow named Jay who has two young dogs and a tag for our area. At about 6am we headed up into the Yaak area of northwest Montana. At about 2pm Jay found a track so he turned out his two dogs (Top & Lilly) and I also turned out my two (Elvis & Earl). They took off through the woods but they lost the track where the cat had crossed the Yaak River and had then doubled back across again. Mel and Jay walked downstream to gather dogs and look for the track while I was searching the far bank. We eventually lined out the track and put the dogs back on it. It was tough going so Mel put in his two good dogs (Brody & Fancy). The cat had made a third river crossing and the dogs were now on a fairly fresh trail. Since part of our plan was to get Jay’s dogs Top and Lilly some experience we grabbed Earl and Fancy and put them back in the rig.
At this point we had four dogs heading up over the mountain. We drove about 2 miles up a nearby road to try and close some of the distance. We finally got bogged down in very heavy snow and the Garmin Astro collars were saying that the dogs were still about a mile above us and that they were treeing. We headed up on snowshoes but the going was VERY difficult due to deep snow and thick alder brush. It took about 90 minutes to hike to where the dogs were supposed to be.
As we were hiking we saw on the receiver that Jays dog Lilly was running. Since she is young he just thought that she was running a back trail. As we continued to get closer we could still not hear the dogs. At about 500 yards the Astro showed that the dogs were still treeing but since we could not hear anything we became concerned that the system was not working right. As we got close we had to get out our lights as the sun had set and we could no longer see.
We hiked on and soon the screen showed that the dogs should be right in front of us at about 50 yards. Eerily there was absolutely no sound in the woods. We found the tree surrounded by tracks where they had put up the lion. We immediately began calling out for the dogs. Jay saw some blood by the tree and we assumed that a dog must have cut a pad. Jay started shining his light down the hill and saw two eyes shining about 30 yards away. He started that direction and seconds later we heard him start yelling. Mel and I ran down to where he was and saw something no houndsman ever wants to see.
There in the snow surrounded by blood were two dead dogs. I instantly thought that one of them was my good dog Elvis. My heart was pounding as I got closer. When we got to them we had to check the collar since part of his head was gone. We ultimately discovered that it was Mel’s dog Brody and Jays dog Top. I could not find Elvis anywhere. I could only imagine that the same thing had happened to him and that he was lying in the brush nearby.
As we tried to get over the shock of it all we slowly pieced together what had happened. It became very apparent that a pack of wolves had attacked our hounds as they were baying at the tree. Brody and Top had been killed instantly at the tree and then drug about 30 yards away where the wolves had started to feed on them. The eyes Jay had seen were those of a wolf eating our dogs. Lilly had obviously run away when the attack occurred but there was still no sign of Elvis.
We were all sick about what had just happened but we needed to get down the mountain and try and find Lilly and hopefully Elvis. It was as tough going down as it had been climbing up, and when I broke a strap on my snowshoe I didn’t think things could get any worse. I have hunted these mountains many times but I have never experienced fear like I did on that hike. The thought of the wolves behind us, the dogs that had just been killed and of the two that we could not find were about all I could handle. With broken snowshoes I had to “posthole” most of the way back to the truck.
We finally got back to the trucks and our missing dogs were not there. Before we got out of that deep snow we had to winch ourselves out about five times. It was getting very late and I was both mentally and physically exhausted by the time we got back to the paved road. We were due for some good luck and right then the collars for Lilly and Elvis lit up the screen and appeared to be about 1 mile ahead of us on the main road.
As we got close I could see Lilly by the guardrail so I jumped out to grab her and began yelling for Elvis. I immediately heard barking down below us by the river. I jumped the railing and began calling to him. With my flashlight I could see Elvis ,and he appeared to be lying in the ice on the bank. As I got closer I realized that he was actually in the water and was too exhausted to pull himself up on to the edge of the ice. I was able to reach out to him and pull him to safety. I don’t know how long he had been there but he was shaking so bad I did not know if he would survive. We warmed him up in the truck as we headed for home which was still an hour away on icy roads.
As I write this, Elvis is still so stiff and sore that he can hardly walk but since he is not yet 3 years old he is plenty strong and will be back on the trail soon. I have no idea how he was able to escape the wolf attack and near freezing to death in a river. All I know is that I am very fortunate to have gotten him back. I have not talked to Jay yet this morning but he had put so much time and energy into training Top I can only imagine how crushed he is. I talked to Mel and he is very frustrated, not just because he lost a great dog but also because he called a local game biologist who told him that our dogs were killed not 500 yards from a known denning site. According to the biologist they don’t publicize information like that because people might disrupt the wolves.
R.I.P. Brody and Top, I hope the hunting is good up there in heaven.
“Wolves Eat Dogs - Martin Cruz Smith”
Sad ping, but one of my very favorite authors. Why ‘Rose’ was never made into a film is beyond me.
I ADORE Arkady Renko. And he knows it! :)
I would melt into a puddle if my dogs were maimed/killed by wolves. Then, I would pick myself up and go HUNTING!
We have a LOT of coyote around here; they leave their scat, but they’re basically chickens. We (the dogs and me) see them in the very early mornings (5-6am) in the summer months; they travel the same trails we do in the morning. They’re around in the winter, but they don’t move all the way from the Back Forty to the Goose Pond on a regular basis in the winter. Plenty-o-rabbits to eat right now; geese are a tasty treat for summer and fall for them.
I’d like to think I could survive in the wild, and I could under normal circumstances, but if I lived anywhere near wolves I would be on edge 24/7...that feeling of being stalked (you, your pets or your livestock) kinda takes the wind outta your sails, you know?
It’s not unusual to see coyote here, but recently my son-in-law saw three in one of the horse pastures in the middle of the day, about 75 yards from his house. We hear them all the time at night, but seeing them in the middle of the day is a bit too bold.
Thanks for the ping!
I rescued a wolf from ASPCA death, fed her up big from bony and then watched her kill absolutely anything that moved.
They’re killers. Cool, bright, beautiful killers.
Jerks (the guys at the Wildlife office). Can’t imagine how the hunters must be feeling. This is a tragic story, no doubt about it.
I’ve yet to see a wolf up here in Northern Wisconsin, but I hear we’ve got a ton of ‘em - as some on the thread have mentioned.
Back in Denver, it was not uncommon to see foxes in the middle of the city. I had a run-in with a mountain lion in my driveway when I lived in Westminster (there was a clear shot straight to the mountains behind my house - only one road to cross, the rest just big fields...
In regards to the wolves not being afraid of people — I can only imagine that those who were raised and bred from pups by the wildlife services do NOT see humans as a threat because humans took care of them. I can’t explain exactly how information is passed down from one generation of animals to another, all I know is that it is. And, I would imagine the memories of people being “kind” would stick with them, which might explain some of the actions of these wolves. I imagine the “kindness” would be seen as a weakness by these animals.
All JMHO - I’m by no means a wildlife expert! LOL
Bunch of years ago I had a coworker transferred to our stamping plant in KY.....
They bought a nice house out in the country with no fences then acquired two huskies......
Eventually the huskies killed a neighbor's cow and that was the end of the husies.
Wolves kill for the sheer hell of it. Mine killed my neighbor’s turtles in their pond! And that was the *least* of her offenses.
That I know of.
Oddly, she was terrified of all the neighbors’ horses.
My son absolutely refuses to part with it. I've tried telling him that he risks loosing everything he has (including his freedom) should it ever get loose and attack someone he but won't part with it. He won't listen and gets defensive. I think its some kind of macho thing with him.
This guy doesn't have to worry about that happening.
A GSD is probably one of the worse mixes, adds instability.
If his hybrid is going to take down anything, it hopefully won’t be a human, more like a $2500.00 Bichon Frise that’s had $5000.00 worth of vet care.
Scare him with that.
This story, and the accompanying photos, are utterly heart wrenching, and infuriating at the same time. I currently have three dogs: A JRT, a JRT/Schnauzer Mix, and an Alaskan Husky (With Akita Cross). In all honestly, the AK Husky is enough “Wolf” for me, and she has all of the amazing characteristics of one, minus the wild/untamed aspect.
I also plan on heading up to AK sometime within the next year or two, and I might bring my Husky with me. I want to start a sled team possibly one day, and I’ve already planned to have any potential kennel set on lockdown like Alcatraz. I have heard far too many insane stories of wolves stalking drivers and their teams, as well as wolves having snatched dogs right out of their chained collars (Even in front of their owners who were armed!). I really cannot fathom losing my dog to a predator, and I swear that if a wolf even gives my dog a cross-eyed glance, I will promptly respond with a magnum round straight to its grizzled muzzle.
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