"I'm a back door man!"
Posted on 02/26/2006 6:42:20 PM PST by george76
Some ranchers say the wolves in the Madison Valley have grown increasingly brazen and are apparently unafraid of people.
State wildlife officials say such behavior is to be expected, given the federal protection the predators have had in the decade since being reintroduced in the Yellowstone National Park.
Jack Atcheson Jr. said he was spooked on a recent hunting trip, when three men and three mules got within 47 yards of a wolf that was staring right at them.
The Butte hunting outfitter, who books international trips, said he had never seen wolves in Alaska, Asia or other places act so boldly around people.
"It was approaching us with the wind right in its face — we were standing around the animals, but he was focused on us," Atcheson, 55, said. "He was not afraid at all."
The wolf finally stopped when one of Atcheson's hunting partners chambered a rifle, while Atcheson snapped a photo. Even then, the wolf merely lay down and stared at the hunters before eventually walking away.
Sunny Smith, manager of the CB Ranch near the Madison Range, said the wolves are "just like domestic dogs."
And with calving season just weeks away, that lack of fear has ranchers worried about the prospect of the wolves attacking livestock.
Barb Durham, a rancher whose herding dog was killed by wolves in 2004, said if ranchers had had more leeway to shoot wolves when they were hanging around ranches that year, federal officials might have needed to kill only a couple wolves instead of eliminating the whole pack.
Wolves have already wandered around their bulls this year, although none of them attacked, she said.
"They have no fear and that's been our contention all along," Durham said. "We don't hate wolves; we just want them to be a natural, wild predator and to be afraid of humans.
"If you don't let us educate them, then there's always going to be conflicts."
Wolves in Montana remain protected under the Endangered Species Act, but their recovery has led the federal government to turn management of the animals over to the state.
State officials said stories such as Atcheson's are a major concern.
"It's totally inappropriate for wolves to be that close," said Carolyn Sime, wolf coordinator for the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks.
But she added that it's not that surprising. Wolves in Alaska have been hunted, trapped and harassed for years. And if they spot a human, they immediately run away.
Montana wolves, however, have been protected under federal law for years. Most of them have never been shot at or harassed, and none of them have been hunted.
Sime said elk in the valley pastures are also attracting wolves to the area, and thus closer to homes and livestock.
"If you look at where wolves are setting up, it's not in the backcountry, it's in the valley bottoms and foothills where people live and raise livestock and where ungulates spend winter," she said.
Sime reminds ranchers that with state oversight of the wolves, they have more flexibility to kill or harass wolves that are causing problems. It doesn't allow wolves to be killed on sight, but ranchers don't need a special permit to shoot a wolf that's about to attack livestock.
She said officials hope people take more aggressive action when a wolf is acting brazenly. In Atcheson's incident, he could have fired a rifle shot over the wolf's head to scare it.
"If wolves have uncomfortable experiences around people and livestock, that would be a good thing," she said. "By harassing them now, we may prevent problems later."
"I'm a back door man!"
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Guess those cattlemen need to get a Kuvasz or two to guard their herds.
They better have some very good evidence that the wolf was harrassing livestock, becaue they do have to provide proof.
In Wyoming we cannot shoot one unless it is in the act of killing. The feds have not accepted the Wyoming plan because it refers to wolves as "gasp, gasp" predators. To me it is a waste of time and a ton of money to have the states write the plan. It has to be written the way USFWS wants it written, so it would save a lot of time and money to have them write it to begin with. It is going to be to the tune of the enviros anyway.
What caliber do you suppose the rifle was he chambered the rifle into? Must have been a big one! Why don't reporters learn a little something about the things they report on? Is it so hard to look things up?
Kill a few ..gut them out.. skin them...and hang their pelts in the wind for a few days to dry...then the smell of gun powder and man...gives them respect and instills fear.
Fear..keeps them from trying to take man's property or kill man's livestock,pets,or family members..nothing else..being kind to them only inflames their blood lust.
When they have no reason to fear men then men are prey...all predators...wings,fins,four or two legged come for the easy life..
Insane! We protect killers and predator animals and kill human babies.
After Brokeback Mountain, in Wyoming, they're not even afraid of sheep...
Actually, I think yearling wolves are lost and haven't joined up with a pack yet. They hang around cleaning up the snowshoes and neighbors cats; and they are quite disorientated. Usually they are small, only 60-70 lbs. Hardly ever see adult wolves and most that are snared are 90-100 lbers; dumb first winter wolves.
Can't imagine seeing an adult wolf even close to people; but its quite common to see yearling pups around people in august, sept.
Great to have wolves around, just not too many; got to set realistic numbers and practice ariel control once they get grow beyond those numbers.
People get killed when these babies leap into windshields.
The same liberal policies are at work against our boys in the public school system. Any robust society needs its wolves as well as its lap dogs, probably more.
Wolf ping.
"Say, I've found a perfect spot to catch us a bear."
"How can you be sure?"
"I saw a sign that said Fine for Hunting."
Shot guns work well, up close.
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