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SWANTON ­­ Tim Kougias has a mystery on his hands, and he knows it may remain unsolved, but it has added a touch of excitement to his life nonetheless. On Tuesday, the Swanton resident and his wife, Maria, had just returned from a lengthy trip to Greece, Tim's homeland. As they settled back into their Country Club Estates home, Tim set his video camera on the kitchen counter. "What is that?" Maria asked suddenly, pointing to the edge of their backyard, which straddles a wooded area. Roaming along that border was a dog, or so Tim thought, until he noticed...

DES MOINES (DTN) -- When gray wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park during the mid-1990s, it started a heated debate between wildlife enthusiasts and ranchers that has never cooled down. The ongoing clash of opinions recently hit the airwaves. Residents in Bozeman, Mont., are the first in the nation to hear anti-wolf radio messages paid for by the Montana Stockgrowers Association. The messages, which will air for the next 60 days, were created to call urban attention to the economic impacts on ranchers caused by wolves, said Steve Pilcher, executive vice president of the Montana Stockgrowers Association. Bozeman was...

OROFINO, Idaho -- There are Idahoans who like hearing the howl of wolves in their state. There are Idahoans who are ambivalent about federal efforts to restore the predator. Those folks were scarce Saturday, when about 300 people gathered at Orofino High School for a fund-raiser aimed at making Idaho wolf-free. The money raised is for lobbying the state Legislature to sue federal agencies over wolf reintroductions that have led to a booming population. "Save State's Rights, Kill A Wolf!" read a bumper sticker available at the event. Of course, to kill a wolf without good cause is a federal...

BOISE - If the saying is true, that only the strong survive, some fear the Canadian Grey Wolf, will be the only one left standing in Idaho's backcountry. "We're headed for the worst wildlife disaster in the history of this state," says Ron Gillette. He's been an outfitter near Stanley for 34 years. Since wolves were reintroduced in Idaho in the mid 90's, Gillette believes the environment has changed. "Once you put these Canadian Grey Wolves into an Eco-system, they kill everything. They kill the prey first, then they kill the other predators, and when they get down to wolves...

Wolf Kill Has Ranchers Demanding Re-introduced Wolves Removed By Jon Hanian Burgdorf, ID - The aftermath of a wolf pack attack that occurred last month north of McCall near Burgdorf has left 55 sheep dead and more than dozen maimed. The attacked, which has been confirmed by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, has also galvanized groups opposed to the federal government's efforts to re-establish grey wolves in the state. Ron Gillett heads up the Anti Wolf Coalition of Central Idaho. Gillett says a band of 100 sheep were attacked on September 18th by that wolf pack. "Where they...

GAMONAL, Spain (Reuters) - On a hill outside Gamonal in central Spain, a cross marks the spot where a young boy was believed to be eaten by wolves about 90 years ago. Folklore or not, hatred of the wolf and its status as vermin caused Spain's Iberian wolf population to plunge to about 400 by the late 1960s. But a 1970 hunting law, human exodus from the countryside and greater ecological awareness among Spaniards have helped boost the wolf population today to between 1,500 and 2,500 -- the biggest in Western Europe. "There were no signs of the wolf here...

Rancher accuses federal wolf agent of trespassing By the Associated Press with staff reports Saturday, February 28, 2004 CODY -- A western Wyoming ranch is accusing the federal government of trespassing earlier this month to collar four wolves. Larsen Ranch Co. owners are considering asking Park County Attorney Bryan Skoric to file criminal trespass charges against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service over the alleged violation. "It's aggravating and upsetting," said Randy Kruger, a ranch stockholder and employee. "It's causing me loss of sleep. It's a matter of terrorism." He made his comments to the Cody Enterprise. Wolf biologist Mike...

GRANTS PASS, Ore. - A federal judge ruled Tuesday that the Bush administration violated the Endangered Species Act when it relaxed protections on many of the nation's gray wolves. The decision by U.S. District Judge Robert E. Jones in Portland rescinds a rule change that allowed ranchers to shoot wolves on sight if they were attacking livestock, said Michael Robinson of the Center for Biological Diversity, an environmental group. In April 2003, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service divided the wolves' range into three areas and reclassified the Eastern and Western populations as threatened instead of endangered. The Eastern segment...

Next week, Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne and U.S. Interior Secretary Gale Norton are expected to sign an agreement that would place management of an estimated 500 grey wolves into state, rather than federal, hands. The agreement would give ranchers permission to eliminate wolves that harass livestock. It also would empower state wildlife managers to pick off wolf packs that make a dent in the state's deer and elk populations. The wolf's revival in Idaho started a decade ago when officials released 35 wolves into central Idaho. Their numbers have grown steadily since then. Federal rules have carefully prescribed when ranchers...

Four gray wolves released near Meeteetse on Feb. 14 may have been illegally captured on his land. The rancher, Frank Robbins, was among more than 40 people attending a March 2 Hot Springs County Commission meeting to lodge objections to the way federal agencies have managed wolves in the area. The group ..."to tell the feds that monitoring wolves on private property would be considered trespass," ... "We were caught unawares," ... the commissioners "are concerned about what (wolves) could do...We don't see any of the plus side." whether any laws may have been violated in the case of low-flying...

MARSHALL: Dogs not vaccinated for disease should be euthanized. A wolf killed during an attack on sled dogs in the Yukon River village of Marshall last week has tested positive for rabies, and state officials Wednesday night said unvaccinated dogs in the village should be euthanized. The wolf was part of a pack that killed a half-dozen dogs the night of Oct. 24 before villagers chased them out, killing the one wolf and wounding others. Tests returned late Wednesday showed that animal had rabies, and the state's wildlife veterinarian said it's possible other wolves in the pack also have the...

'They were not afraid of us,' woman says. Neither the three women nor their dogs heard the pack of wolves creeping up behind them as they jogged on Artillery Road in the frigid morning air. One minute it was peaceful. Then she glanced back and saw the pack of about eight wolves spanning the road, only a few feet behind. A melee ensued, accompanied by screaming, snarling, blood and pepper spray. "It was the most terrifying thing I've ever been through."... The increasingly emboldened Elmendorf wolf pack is blamed for killing one dog and wounding another in Eagle River this...

Wolves roaming the outskirts of Fairbanks are making pet owners nervous... What the story calls a “pack of bold, hungry” animals made lunch of two dogs recently - one in North Pole and one about 20 miles out Chena Hot Springs Road. A number of callers to the Department of Fish and Game have reported spotting the pack. Cathie Harms, a spokesperson with the state Department of Fish and Game. “Everybody is used to seeing moose on the road, but not everybody is used to seeing wolves in their yard.”

PRAY - For rancher Randy Petrich, the removal of gray wolves from the endangered-species list - a move that would open up the animals to hunting in the Northern Rockies for the first time in decades - couldn't come soon enough. Petrich has seen fresh wolf tracks almost every morning this fall - close enough to threaten his cattle. "I believe that any wolf on any given night, if there happens to be a calf there, they will kill it," ... Just 12 years since the wolves were reintroduced into Yellowstone National Park ... federal officials say the sharp rise...

The father of an Ontario man killed in a wolf attack in northern Saskatchewan says it's a relief to finally have the truth come out. A coroner's jury in Prince Albert ruled Thursday that wolves killed Kenton Carnegie in November 2005. The 22-year-old University of Waterloo engineering student had been on a work-term ... An expert, who prepared a report for the coroner's office, said it was more likely a bear killed Carnegie. But in the end, the jury dismissed that notion, declaring it a wolf attack. "Kenton was an honest man," he said. "His life was honest, we didn't...

Last week, the body of 22-year-old Kenton Joel Carnegie was found near Wollaston Lake in Northern Saskatchewan mauled to death by what is suspected to have been wolves. "All of the injuries discovered in the autopsy are consistent with animal bites. But you can't completely rule everything out until the investigation is complete," Heather Russel, spokesperson for the RCMP told CBC. Although the type of animal bite has not been confirmed, suspicions run high that they were that of wolves. Tracks were found near the body, and locals have been reporting a growing number of close encounters with wolves. Carnegie...

A kayaker's life-and-death struggle with a hungry wolf on B.C.'s remote north coast... has prompted a conservation officer to warn against taking wolf encounters too lightly. "This was a predatory wolf attack," conservation officer James Zucchelli confirmed in an interview from his Bella Coola Valley office. "That fellow was perceived as a prey source. He was attacked with intent to eat. The wolf saw him and took off running at him." the attack reinforces the fact that wolves are predators and capable of attacking humans under certain circumstances... The fit, 31-year-old Port Moody kayaker was setting up his tent on...

Thousands of vacationers in the West will likely see wolves in the wild for the first time this summer, often from the road but sometimes while camping or hiking. The federal government and state agencies that manage wolves have concise rules on what is legal in these encounters, and experts who study wolf behavior offer advice on how to handle what is likely to be an unforgettable experience. "Wolves don't turn and run away immediately like we're used to with other animals," said Carolyn Sime, gray wolf program coordinator with the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Department. "The other thing...

There are now at least 1,300 wolves prowling Montana, Idaho and Wyoming, far more than anyone imagined when the species was reintroduced in the Northern Rockies 12 years ago. The wolf population has, on average, grown by about 26 percent a year for the past decade. The latest estimates, which summarize counts completed at the end of 2006, show they aren't slowing down. "I keep thinking we're at the top end of the bubble," said Ed Bangs, wolf recovery coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. "I can't see that there's room for any more, but we'll see." As...

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. - Chased into the Lake Superior shallows, mauled and left for dead by fellow wolves, the young female struggled to shore and collapsed. A lone male came to the rescue, licking her wounds and staying on as she recovered. Together they formed a successful and prolific pack, with the female bearing at least 19 pups. But their love story has ended tragically: A rival pack killed the female this winter, a year after fatally attacking her mate as he munched on a moose carcass. "All we found were the skull and a radio collar," Rolf Peterson, a...