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The ping was for SJackson and his upper midwest list on resource issues. Yeah, I also know it was a wolf-dog cross.

There are many outdoorsmen (and women) who do not share the all too common belief that wolves are harmless icons of wilderness purity. In the last year, alone, one Canadian man was attacked, killed and partially eaten by wolves and two other wolf attacks have been documented. Farmers, ranchers and others that make their living in the northern woodlands are quite often not as fond of the wolf as many urbanites are. For many of us in the Minnesota, Wisconsin and UP area, the concern over coexistence with wolves is real.

The problem with wolves today is that they are not afraid of humans for a wide range of reasons. Chiefly, they have been fostered and protected under the ESA to the point where they are danger to pets, livestock and now, humans. In the past, they were hunted relentlessly and had a very justified fear of humans. Even so, many accounts of wolf attacks exist in the personal accounts of frontier men and women. Too bad science won't accept testimony of first hand observers unless they are "scientifically trained".

Even today, the arrogance of certain strains of DNR and academic biologists will not accept first hand reports of anything that does not fit their personal beliefs and agendas. Case in point: For over a decade in Minnesota, hunters and those who live in deeply rural areas reported cougar sightings to our DNR. Fat chance, said the DNR. Finally, one was killed when hit by a vehicle. The DNR was forced to admit that the local reports were true. Still, no bounty was set and the animals are protected. In the last few years, one cougar was actually shot in a metro park connected with the local riverine system. Another was photographed in the same water shed in the TC suburbs. At some point, a cougar is going to kill and eat some shlub, like they routinely do out west where their populations are much higher. Of course, the environmentalists and many entrenched natural resource agencies in the urban core will poo-poo such an incident and call for protection of the poor cougars.

For my money, I'd like to see large predators put on bounty lists again. In lieu of that, let the conscience of the individual dictate the course of action when dealing with these predators. Usually that means SS&S.