Comments on: A New Kind of Predator

By: Evolution

Evolution — Tue, 29 Jul 2014 01:02:33 +0000

In reply to Lorri Thomas. No one is sacrificing humans, Wolves and other animals are hunters, Like us. We go and kill them, Their family so they don't see a reason to not return the favor. If anything you should keep more guarded, It's your own fault your puppy died.

By: Des

Des — Sat, 01 Mar 2014 15:34:01 +0000

Thanks for sharing this story. I had never seen a black wolf until the image popped up when looking for another animal image. Wow! That thing is huge!
Thanks for sharing these stories, these adventures with your family, all clean so I can share with with my hunting crazed boys.

By: Thomas

Thomas — Fri, 31 May 2013 02:15:21 +0000

i live in manitoba canada and we are having moose and elk hunting zones shut down due to low numbers of game because of wolf kills. I am all for wolf hunting. what these people who are against it don’t realize is that wolves will have from 4 to 10 pups in a litter, where elk and deer have from 1 to 3. So if there weren’t wolf hunters the populations would sky rocket and the deer and elk populations would almost totally diminish. leaving the wolves with no food either. smaller wolf packs mean healthier wolves and healthier big game herds. Great work guys. Unreal photos. keep em comin.

By: Cheri*

Cheri* — Fri, 17 May 2013 01:32:10 +0000

In reply to john.

I totally agree John… Those that don’t live here, don’t have a clue. Go to a zoo and tell me that’s humane… If these activist think that wolves are so fantastic, they need to go live with them….

By: Zach erickson

Zach erickson — Sun, 10 Feb 2013 19:29:25 +0000

i don’t agree with the reasons for wolf hunting. i haven’t seen a good report written by a biologist or other credible source as to why wolves are the only problem for the elk and deer. yes i agree with management but i just don’t understand why the sudden and absolute hatred for the wolves in recent years. if i find a good report not written by hunters and anti wolf groups. i might change my mind but until then i will only take one per year if i get the chance. i get one deer and one elk why should i get 5 wolves.

By: Michael

Michael — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 11:54:51 +0000

I rarely weigh in on these issues but I suppose that is the reason that blogs and websites exist so I’ll make my exception. I find much to agree with and to disagree with here. Chris makes an excellent point. If there had been land and wildlife conservation and management 200 year ago we wouldn’t have had wholesale slaughter of thousands of buffalo, the complete elimination of predator populations in any of the states where this has taken place, or any of the other travesties that exist in our short history in North America. We still are foolish. This is why we are now having hunting drives for boa constrictors in Florida. We kill off anything of value, introduce non-natives into our otherwise healthy native populations of game, and set up nearly unmanageable scenarios and throw rocks at the state and federal agencies who try to make some sense of it. I still hear old hunters in my part of this great country lamenting over the fact that there are no pheasant to hunt here anymore. Well guess what? They aren’t here because they never were supposed to be here in the first place. Ever see a starling? Some moron introduced less than a dozen of them into Central Park in the 1800s and they have all but eliminated several native song bird populations in the Eastern US. Not to mention what impact they’ve had on crops, etc. First we kill off all the wolves, then we reintroduce them into a world that has evolved to exist without their presence. In some cases these non-native wolves are roaming distances very unlike their natural population cousins. All that has happened here is that a hunter, not a murderer or blood thirsty demon, has encountered an animal that has exceeded a population that can be sustained in balance with other populations. So some wolves will be removed from the ecosystem. If the populations dip, we will back off and allow them to maintain their presence. It’s called management. I live in Virginia. I can recall a time when it was hard to find deer to track and a coyote wss unheard of. I now see deer daily on my short commute to work as I drive though my urban landscape. I have seen coyote and fox in my back yard up until the time my own population of two Norwegian Elkhounds was established. It makes sense for wolves, bears, and big cats to be here. It also makes sense for them to be thinned when their population threatens the balance of other populations. I have hunted, though am not hunting at present. I haven’t had the time in my recent years. But hunters are not evil incarnate. They are the reason that many states aren’t over run with unsustainable populations of game animals. And the state and federal agencies that have the difficult task of tracking, counting,and attempting to manage these many populations of predators and prey in a world increasingly being overrun with humans, are to be commended for at least half way avoiding what might otherwise become pure chaos. Hunters,non-hunters, agencies, conservation groups, vegans, meat lovers, and all other groups need to work together to see the world from the other’s point of view, but most importantly, help to keep the balance. We have a dozen plates spinning on a dozen tall wobbly poles, and if any of those plates falls, the show gets a little less interesting. The hunter in this story shot a wolf that had been marked for thinning by scientists who determined that the population needs to be thinned, not placed into extinction mind you, only thinned. Good job, good hunt, and this kill will actually insure that my grandson will one day get to hike in Montana and hear the howls of wolves from his tent. I can remember when I had to hike far to the north to hear such beauty. I have slept, unarmed in snowy woods where bear, wolves, and big cats roamed freely and I lived to tell the tale. We keep them by controlling their numbers. I say we are succeeding, and as much as I love these animals, I will certainly shoot one myself if means we get to have them among us for the long haul. Knowledge is power.

By: Chris

Chris — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 22:17:56 +0000

Nobody’s going to take away hunting. That’s an extreme and paranoid statement. I’ll be at the front of opposition if it was. Had it not been for the irresponsibility of hunting in the first place though, we wouldn’t have this issue with wolves, nor the myriad of other wildlife that is now extinct. Blaming FWP is just a scapegoat for man’s mistake. Sure, they need to get their shit together with wolves, but like I said before, it’s not wolves that are the problem, it’s man. Of course it was a mistake to re-introduce wolves but it was a far greater mistake to kill everything that breathed 100 years ago. Believe me, I wish the re-introduction never happened because wolves were already coming back on their own terms. I’m completely fine with hunting wolves, but some of the comments here and anywhere else that’s anti-wovles are truly ignorant. Our generation is paying the price for the previous generations’ mistakes. Everyone wants to blame FWP, Obama, liberals, prius drivers or whoever else for shit that truly happened 100-200 years ago when whites conquered the west with a rifle. We’re all looking for the same thing: a healthy and prosperous environment to hunt and play in. This comment has nothing to do with Montana Wild, because I’m a fan of your work, and applaud your successful wolf hunt, it’s just that some hunters really need to clean up their act because we’ll never get anything done quoting the bible or blaming democrats for the predators in the wild.

By: Montana Wild

Montana Wild — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 16:37:19 +0000

In reply to Chris.

No one’s saying they need to be dropped off the face of the earth. That’s far from where we stand on wolves. What we care about is that FWP does their damn job and starts doing a better job of it. The wolves that they introduced aren’t native to Montana. They introduced an invasive species essentially and can’t seem to manage the number of predators to prey. I’m all for wolves but their numbers are far to high to continue to have stable elk and deer populations without some change. And the way this country is going it’s just another step towards taking away hunting.

-Zack

By: Chris

Chris — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 08:14:11 +0000

I’m all about fair chase, so congrats on the hunt. Although, it’s pretty messed up how humans continuously try to admit to themselves that wolves are the sole problem here. It is not wolves that are over-populated, it is humans. Humans are by far the most invasive species the planet has ever seen. Some folks are so unwilling to co-exist w/ wolves that it seriously breaks my heart. I’m a hunter and fisherman born and raised in Montana but feel like I’m the only one who truly believes that wolves have a damn right to be here. It’s a special thing to have predators among the wild. Yes, it’s more challenging but it also makes it more real and far more rewarding. If wolves and grizzlies weren’t here it’d be called California. Again congrats on the hunt, but to anyone who thinks wolves should be dropped off the face of the earth, you may need to re-evaluate what it really means to hunt in the wild.

By: Chad

Chad — Tue, 01 Jan 2013 22:03:21 +0000

Zack if you guys bag a cat you aught to try eating them. I found the meat quite delicious. It is tough meat so cook it wisely but it’s good!