Last year, am Oregon elk hunter shot and killed a wolf charging directly at himCheck out the video of his interview with a state game official below. Before we get to the details, a little lupine history via oregonwild.com:
Gray wolves (Canis lupus) were once common in Oregon, occupying most of the state. However, a deliberate effort to eradicate the species was successful by the late 1940s.
In fact, trouble for wolves began almost 100 years earlier, in the years before Oregon became a state. In 1843 the first wolf bounty was established and Oregon’s first legislative session was called in part to address the “problem of marauding wolves.”
By 1913, people could collect a $5 state bounty and an Oregon State Game Commission bounty of $20. The last recorded wolf bounty was paid out in 1947.
After an absence of over half a century, wolves began to take their first tentative steps towards recovery. Having dispersed from Idaho, the native species is once again trying to make a home in Oregon.
Flash forward to October 27, 2017. The Oregonian interviewed below fired one shot from a 30-06, using Hornaday ammunition. The wolf was found to be an 83 pound female. Two other wolves were with the female, initially.
In the interview above, the hunter indicates there likely were more wolves that he didn’t see. No doubt more Oregon hunters will see more wolves in the future.
©2018 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
Scary. Sucks that he had to kill a wolf but hey, sometimes when you’re an apex predator other predators have to be reminded of who’s really in charge.
Nice that the beasts are making a comeback but that will mean more contact with people.
“Nice that the beasts are making a comeback …”
As much as I love canines and wolves, I am deeply concerned about an abundant wild wolf population on the loose. Seems like an abundant wild wolf population could seriously be a huge problem.
It’s really not. Wiping them out causes much bigger problems.
Generally you won’t even see them.
I saw an interesting documentary about the massive problems in Yellowstone National Park due to elimination of wolves — and how the problems fixed themselves after wolves came back. The problems encompassed everything from excessive erosion to excessive forest fire danger to excessive prey populations.
Like everything else, balance is the key. Whether or not our various fish-and-game departments can actually manage wildlife to said balance is the key question.
I saw that same “documentary”. It was widely distributed across social media. It was debunked the day after it was released.
Wolves cause forest fires? From smoking? Carelessly flicking their Bics?
@John McGourty
Without wolves, the populations of many of their prey species exploded due to reduced predation pressure. As a result many areas saw dramatic changes to the plant ecologies; if there are 5 times the number of elk/moose/deer eating 5x the number of a certain species of plant in an area, the balance can shift dramatically. As a result they saw many lakes shorelines change do to changes in erosion pattern, and certain areas saw increased risk of fire due to different types of plants being in greater abundance, etc. Natural systems are a pretty delicate balance and things can change dramatically when you remove a major player form the picture completely.
Humans are apex predators only when in packs ourselves, or when carrying tools. (Guns, yes, but also pointy sticks, rock on a stick, etc.)
Otherwise, our OEM hardware is pretty thin soup against most other high level predators. Not at all surprising that a wolf looked at a lone human and thought “dinner!”, especially if she hadn’t had a lot of exposure to humans beforehand.
Our ability to make tools is what allowed us to become the apex predator.
The natural weapon of the genus homo has always been technology, which is demonstrably superior to built in weapons like fangs or talons. Our capacity to use technology and to use our imaginations has given humans the ability to become the most efficient vertebrate killers to ever walk the earth.
except we’re not – that honor belongs to the common housecat.
She might have been protecting her young from a perceived threat.
I don’t think “man” is the apex predator anymore, humans may have been at one time, but not now, we are weak pathetic examples of what we once were.
I dunno. I haven’t seen any deer readying a thermnuclear warhead. Yet…
Well, not if your indication of the apex is some cocoa-sipping twerp wearing a onesie, hectoring his parents about Obama’s healthcare policy.
I have a very difficult time with such a scenario:
On the one hand —
It was righteous self-defense and there is no reason not to report it, be forthcoming, and go on with your life without any negative consequences.
On the other hand —
The responding conservation officer and/or local prosecutor could be a jerk-wad, confiscate your equipment (including your vehicle), issue a several thousand dollar fine, and send you to jail/prison for poaching or some such silliness.
In other words, regardless of the fact that you were in the right, your future is effectively a lottery where everything comes down to which conservation officer/prosecutor you draw.
I am thinking that I would immediately create a detailed video record/affidavit of what happened (at the scene showing where I was standing and aiming when I shot, the wolf’s line of approach, and the final position of the dead wolf) and then invoke my Fifth Amendment right to NOT incriminate myself — which includes NOT calling the local fish/game/wildlife department.
Here’s the thing. They aren’t going to bust out the forensics unit for dead animal. That costs a ton of money. Plus no ones going to report dead animal remains. Honestly, if you have to shoot an attacking animal out in the wilderness where no one is around, just roll on out. Coyotes, buzzards, and ants will have the carcass consumed in no time anyway.
The 3 S’s come to mind. Shoot, shovel and shut up. I have no faith in the government forces,( Fish& game, FBI, NSA, CIA and the list continues), to ever be trustworthy
The more wolves the better. Might keep snowflakes out of my woods.
It draws them in so they can take photos of the pretty puppies
There were good and sufficient reasons why our ancestors eliminated the wolves. I don’t care that the snowflakes get all dewy eyed about the re-introduction that they have been foisting on nature there. Eliminate them again, once and for all and be done with it.
I agree – eliminate the dewey-eyed snowflakes once and for all.
maybe put a few of the snowflakes into a big enclosure with a few of their beloved wolves. then watch what happens when the wolves are hungry. make sure it is televised on every channel
AN American Colosseum, throw the snowflakes to the wolves!
While we’re at it let’s eliminate all the Lions, Tigers, Sharks… in fact, fuck it, let’s go whole hog.
If it ain’t human and it’s a predator it’s gotta go. I’m sure we can find “good and sufficient reasons” that will outweigh the massive damage we just did.
Seriously, are you trolling or are you really stupid enough to believe what you said?
Talk about liberal trolls
Do a little research, and you will find strych9 to be far from a liberal troll.
It’s probable the female was protecting her young from someone who strayed too close to her den.
Not likely, Idahoboy, wrong time of the year. By the time elk hunting season rolls around the young are out hunting with the pack. The dispersion that this hunter described is typical of a pack on the hunt.
Actually the snowflakes probably hate wolves too. Keep in mind wolves are predators who eat cute little fuzzy wuzzies daily to survive.
Wait… wait, waitasec:
We should try to achieve a win:win deal here. What do we have to work with here?
The snowflakes want wolves. The wolves want to eat.
Sooooo…. get the two groups of species together. Let’s ship the wolves to urban population centers and turn them loose. Both get exactly what they want.
Both problems will promptly be solved, with the side benefit of hilarity and droll amusement for rural resident viewing pleasure.
I’d worry that all of the wolves would get sick eating snowflakes.
Saw some mighty big tracks in the snow during last falls elk hunt.
Most of the ranchers over east have no love for the wolf.
So you invade wolfs’ territory and then call it self-defense?
Who are you and why are you trying to smear my name? You’re not really retarded enough to believe that ‘invade their territory’ bilge, are you?
Are you really that ashamed of your name so you have to use mine?
I could ask you the same thing.
It’s not the wolfs territory. It’s mans. The entire earth belongs to man through Right of Conquest. In fact, it doesn’t just only belong to man, it belongs to the United States America and its inhabitants by Divine Right, and all the animals on it belong to us for God given right of carnivorous, capitalist and imperial consumption. They exist purely for our nourishment. Don’t like it, go cry in your book of Marx somemore.
Gotta say, expert trolling right there.
Well, if we put aside the issue of divine right, and stick to the leftists’ epistemology (and it is leftists who we are dealing with here), then they hold evolution and natural selection to be settled fact, right?
And it is a settled fact that man is the most adaptable, most versatile and most successful predator species on the planet.
We won, the wolves lost. We sapiens adapted faster than the wolves did. Hell, we even kidnapped some of their relatives and bred them to our purposes – some of those purposes involve turning on their former ancestors. It’s natural selection and evolution in action, twice over.
We won, they lost, game over, fair and square according to Darwin.
I’m pretty sure the wolf didn’t have a deed.
OR a hunting license!
It’s only sad that he didn’t bag all three wolves.
Yeah, because shooting an animal that isn’t doing anything to you is justified if another tries to lunge at you.
I love wolves. I consider them noble creatures worthy of protection. That all said, there are times when you have to shoot them. A similar situation is with coyotes. They are good for keeping the rabbit population down, and usually they keep to themselves. However, every so often, they can attack, or get to be too numerous for their own good.
This shooting was in self defense, or certainly sounds like it. I haven’t seen the video. I don’t want to. It’s justified. Even the most diehard wolf lover would reach for a gun, if one was given to them, were they in the same place.
Wow I have not heard such bull shit in a great while. These are not native wolves but a larger gray Canadian breed the government introduced to north America. The government broke it’s own law of introducing a non native species. These wolves have cleaned house in yellow Stone the Elk herd is down to 5k from 17-19k, they dont eat grass or make great pets, all they do is eat meat and multiple. What a great experiment. NOT. My plan is SSS
Canada is no longer part of North America? Who knew!?
Canada has always been just ‘Canada, not ‘North America.” North America belongs to the United States, and is pretty much everything physically north of the Mason-Dixon Line up to the Canadian border, south of the M-D Line to the Gulf of North America and the Rio Grande, and everything west of Canada. Until you get to Japan. That’s ‘Japan.’
Everything physically south of the Rio Grande is ‘South America.’ ‘South America’ is comprised of Mexico and all of those other countries down there that are not called ‘Mexico.’
Until one gets to Antarctica.
I hope that clarifies matters for you.
WRONG! You forgot Central America!
I do hope you weren’t responding to my comment.
I wondered what happened to my Malamute.
In reality, I am almost more worried about the coyotes than the wolves.
Coyotes just do not have that much fear of humans.
Very brazen. I have seen them stand on or next to the road looking at cars go by as a domestic dog would do. I first thought they were dogs. Nope. Gray colored coyotes.
Where I live, coyotes won’t get within 200 yards of any human. If they wander into my yard ( they do constantly cause there are probably a septillion of them in my neighborhood ) they scatter immediately. I hear they keep rabbit populations down, yet I I have a family of rabbits the live under my girlfriends old car, and eat everything in sight. The coyotes howl all friggin night and every time a train whistle blows, or a cop/ambulance/firetruck/car alarm goes off. I live inside of city limits, so no pest control for me, although I may or may not have heard some of my neighbors shooting at them. I’d seriously be ok if the coyotes would cull some of the skunk population, it would be worth all the howling and carrying on all night to not have to endure that stench. The possum and raccoons could get culled by coyotes too, that would be awesome. I keep hearing how coyotes do all this stuff for us, I just don’t see it. My house is surrounded with varmints, yet I never find any corpses, other than the mouse “pellets” that owls belch up. My neighbors don’t have any stories other than one of their pomeranians got whacked by coyotes ( a blessing for me, they bark all night too ) Perhaps things would be much worse without the coyotes. I dunno.
Aren’t you tire of living in San Fransisco yet? Or is that LA?
There should be an active sport 24/7/365 of painting predators with garlic paint balls! Fear of man is a learned behavior!
When the day comes that I fear coyotes I will hide in a corner. I’m more afaid of racoon’s, I have killed three in the last two years that had the “dumb rabies” walking sideways, and stuff
The yuppies in Portland and Salem put wolves back in the system. And they wonder what will happen to the deer and elk populations which are already down. They love wolves until one shows up by there home or kids school. It was a terrible idea to bring them back. I didn’t vote for it but I have to help pay for it.
If forced to shoot a predator in self defense I would think long and hard about saying anything to anyone with a badge or collecting a .gov paycheck. While to YOU the
necessity of such an act would be obvious to anyone not with you at that moment the
necessity would be subjective. And nobody loves to ‘Monday Morning Quarterback’ like
a bureaucrat. Reporting such an act exposes you to the vicarious and unpredictable whims of people with a MASSIVE amount of power over you and who face essentially
ZERO accountability. Many a person with a badge has the “arrest them all and let the
judge sort it out” mentality. The problem is the system has UNLIMITED resources to
persecute you. And unless you are a billionaire you have very limited resources with
which to defend yourselves. And even if the badge on scene KNOWS you are innocent
often they don’t care. They know that you will be acquitted….they just don’t care.
To far too many of them “THE PROCESS IS THE PUNISHMENT”. And when it can cost
tens of thousands of dollars to successfully defend yourself from frivolous and punitive
persecution that statement is a reality.
Sadly, this is true. However, one must say something to someone. Otherwise, we continue to believe that wolves are just misunderstood really big dogs instead of the majestic, but very much wild, animals they are.
Actually I believe that this video is a propaganda gimmick to sucker hunters into turning themselves in!