Small Town News

The back forty

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They tried, but it didnt work. Biologists attempted everything, but two wolves continued acting like wolves, and wildlife officials finally killed them.

A newspaper story states, "For unknown reasons, the wolves were on their own at a young age, which could have contributed to their inability to survive on wild animals rather than livestock."

These were Baker County, Oregon wolves, and there's no season on wolves in that state. That's largely because there aren't many present, and those that are there have sneaked in from Idaho.

The wolves were yearlings that killed 29 domestic animals in five separate incidents between April and August. This was surprising to folks who didn't realize wolves would do that, but ranchers knew how it might happen.

Biologists tried everything to protect livestock and discourage these wolves. They attached a radio collar to one of the predators so it could be monitored.

Then they installed flagged fencing called "fladry" that is said to be a wolf deterrent. A radio-activated-guard box was used to make noises when a wolf's collar approached.

Biologists tried double-penning livestock, keeping animals near homes at night, and burying carcasses. Even using guard dogs didn't seem to help.

Finally, they decided to shoot the wolves from airplanes, and that seemed to work best. It would have been much less expensive if they had shot the wolves in the first place -- instead of placing a collar on one.

I haven't been around wolves much, but I've noticed other predators can be hard to get along with, too. When the wolves were gone, we should have left well enough alone.

As it turns out, Idaho has opened a season on wolves and Montana plans one for mid-September. There are said to be more than 1,600 wolves in Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. Hunters are hoping to thin them down some.

Idaho plans to kill 220 wolves and Montana expects to eliminate 75. Wyoming would love to have wolf hunts, but the federal government says that state's laws are unfriendly to wolves.

I don't know why folks should be friendly to wolves, but U.S. biologists have adopted that stance. If we want to be friendly, we should be nice to our dog, it seems to me.

Idaho's tags went on sale August 24, and the state sold over 4,000 within a few days. These went mostly to hunters who will be after deer and elk next month.

The Idaho wolf season opened September 1, and the first wolf was bagged by Robert Millage, a Kamiah real estate salesman. He said other wolves were howling and milling around after he shot. (I wish he had some more tags.)



Copyright 2009 The Wilmot Enterprise, Wilmot, South Dakota. All Rights Reserved. This content, including derivations, may not be stored or distributed in any manner, disseminated, published, broadcast, rewritten or reproduced without express, written consent from SmallTownPapers, Inc.

© 2009 The Wilmot Enterprise Wilmot, South Dakota. All Rights Reserved. This content, including derivations, may not be stored or distributed in any manner, disseminated, published, broadcast, rewritten or reproduced without express, written consent from DAS.

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