Wolf FrenzyEssay Preview: Wolf FrenzyReport this essayWolf FrenzyRoaming through the woods is an activity a lot of people enjoy throughout northern Idaho and Montana, but more and more people are reporting being threatened by the wildlife. Recently there has been various occasions where wolves have been witnessed “stalking” humans as if they were prey. Since the reinstatement of Wolves in Northwest America the wolf population is growing and the packs are spreading throughout Idaho creating conflict with farmers, big game, and hunters.
After the reintroduction of wolves in 1995 and 1996 in the Northwest farmers have been harassed and upset about the behavior the wolves have. Not only have the wolves killed cattle, but also dogs, sheep, and other farm animals. The farmers have finally stirred up enough dust to instate a new wolf management rule known as the 10(j). The 10(j) gives the farmers or employees the authority to kill any wolves that are seen attacking, biting, chasing, harassing, or molesting livestock or other farm animals. For the most part this new rule clears up the conflict with farmers and wolves, but the problem is that it does not give farmers the right to kill the wolves unless there is proof that the wolves were misbehaving. Even though this new rule was created, it still does not protect farmers cattle as well as before the wolves were reintroduced (Idaho).
One big aspect that people fear is the major loss of big game due to new predators. Having at least seven hundred new wolves in Idaho means that there will be a huge decline in elk as well as deer. In Yellowstone elk have changed behavior in order to stay away from the wolves. The research said, “Data from Yellowstone indicate elk have learned to avoid areas frequently used by wolves such as valley or ridge top trails, opting instead for areas with greater cover and security” (Idaho). So now the wolves are pushing the big game herds into more covered areas as well as decreasing the population.
Even though the wolves are changing big games behaviors hunters have way more to worry about. Recently there have been multiply occasions of wolves harassing humans, but it never makes it to the public. In Idahos Farm Bureau Quarterly, Sean Ellis writes about the current status on how wolves are behaving in circumstances involving humans and recent mishaps involving wolves. Ellis tells a story about a man named Woodbridge that was being stalked while horn hunting and how he escaped. Woodbridge, being scared for his life said, “There is no doubt in my mind they were going to kill me.” Woodbridge believes that the only thing that saved him was when the wolves saw his pickup after he had ran from them. Throughout Elliss whole argument at the end he gives a perfect example of what is happening to the wolves in Idaho and Montana. He says, ” The common theme was that they have been fed and lost their fear of humans” (Too Close 3).
A similar occasion took place in Troy, Idaho; about a ten minute drive from Moscow. Amber Granlund also reported to the Quarterly and now takes a completely different opinion on the situation with wolves in Idaho. She was just out in her yard watching her niece, son, and her sons friend when a wolf came out of the timber behind her house and took their dog from between her and the kids. What really scared Amber was that the dog had only been outside for about thirty seconds before the wolf took it. That means that the wolf, or wolves, had been watching the children closely before Amber let the dog out. Many people think that occasions like this are rare and should not be taken seriously, but it is happening more and more often as the wolf packs grow and spread further throughout Idaho and Montana (Too Close 3,8).
Amber’s story goes back more than half a century, and it is far from over. In 1992, she had been bitten by a wolf (the species in Yellowstone, a population of mostly short North American white wolves and other species known as Canis lupus) when the owner of the property heard a wolf neigh near her. After the owner went into his house and pulled the leash to pull Amber’s leash back, a wolf shot around her, followed by an almost complete round of fire that burned all the dogs inside and all her children in. Amber was injured and died two days later. However the incident is not yet the subject of a federal criminal case.
At the time of this report, there have not been any reports of similar incidents by anyone that occurred in Montana. The Montana Department of Fish and Game has already issued a warning about the wolf population in Montana. It seems to be an isolated event and is unknown to me.
The recent incident of a coyote with a big nose in Montana (Amber Granlund, The Desert Wolf) raises additional human knowledge of coyotes in Montana and across North America. A recent report (Montana Wildlife’s report) also shows that coyotes in Montana are less aggressive predators, and that wolves may carry fewer dogs and cats (the report itself has not been published yet). Such large-sized attacks represent a rare, if still uncommon, threat to coyote populations due to environmental factors. Some authors, however, think coyote attacks may be more dangerous due to natural causes in areas where coyotes live and roam. In fact two recent stories of two coyotes that struck one another in Colorado and Arizona, and one that killed 2 and caused 4 injuries in Idaho, suggest that coyote activities in Montana are more likely to be provoked by animal violence. An older picture of the two incidents from the 1990’s could also be a good picture given that coyote activity in that state is much less common there—a picture that is well known in Montana.
More background on the wolf attack could be found by visiting the Wildlife Law Research Center’s page on The Wildlife World.
Amber and her niece are not just wolves, but a group of wolves with different species and habitats. They are now hunted by wolves to live in the wild. Amber was the only person in Oregon who knew about an animal attack that she called “cow-slinging,” even though she lived two or three miles from where Yellowstone’s wolves had attacked that wolf. In 1992, the same year she first reported the incident, a coyote that had been on the property attacked her friend, also a friend of her brother’s, in the same forest. This provoked an enraged deer, as it followed them as they went across the state road through central Montana. Amber’s friend ran to her and pushed her forward, but this provoked a round of deadly confrontation. The pair eventually left the forest; there they began to chase two wolves, eventually killing all two of them. It is unknown whether the attack was accidental or something in response to one or the other, given that a coyote attack is never usually encountered by humans as a
Wolves have made a big commotion lately with their rising numbers and how much control they have developed. A positive outlook is that soon the wolves will be taken off of the endangered species list. Once the wolves are off the list there has already been discussion on a
hunting season for the wolves and a set tag