Wolves are causing big problems in Idaho.

[Playboypenguin]

The problem wolves present me is knowing I am gonna have to listen to Mrs.hogdogs griping at rising beef prices as these wolves continue to prey on the beef industry...

She should be mad at the CEO's of the beef companies for lying to inflate beef prices then because all the studies have shown no noticeable impact on herds. In fact the last study I saw said that herds, based on tax information and gathered statistics, lost animals at a rate no higher than before wolves were reintroduced. In fact it was often less.

If you normally lose 30 head a year to disease, weather, and age before wolves and then you lose 10 head to wolves after their introduction but only lose 18 to disease, weather, and age why is that somehow a tragedy? You still lost the same number (or less) of cattle, you just lost them in different ways. For some reason the ranchers love to scream about losing an animal to a wolf, but they completely neglect to mention that it has not had any effect on their overall losses.

[Big Bill]

WOLF ATTACKS ON HUMANS

By T. R. Mader, Research Division

It has been widely discussed whether a healthy wild wolf has ever attacked a human on this continent. In fact, many say such attacks have never occurred in North America.

History states otherwise. Although attacks on humans are uncommon, they have occurred on this continent, both in the early years of settlement and more recently. Here is one report:

“NEW ROCKFORD, DAK, March 7 - The news has just reached here that a father and son, living several miles northeast of this city, were destroyed by wolves yesterday. The two unfortunate men started to a haystack some ten rods from the house to shovel a path around the stack when they were surrounded by wolves and literally eaten alive. The horror-stricken mother was standing at the window with a babe in her arms, a spectator to the terrible death of her husband and son, but was unable to aid them. After they had devoured every flesh from the bones of the men, the denizens of the forest attacked the house, but retired to the hills in a short time. Investigation found nothing but the bones of the husband and son. The family name was Olson. Wolves are more numerous and dangerous now than ever before known in North Dakota." (Saint Paul Daily Globe, March 8, 1888)

Here an account is reported which included an eyewitness and the family name. Some have reasoned the wolves were rabid. That is unlikely as these animals were functioning as a pack. A rabid wolf is a loner. Our research has never found a single historical account of packs of rabid wolves on this continent. Individual animals are the norm. Further, accounts of rabid (hydrophobic) animals were common in that day and were reported as such.

The winters of 1886-1888 were very harsh. Many western ranchers went broke during these years. The harsh winter could have been a factor in the attack.

Noted naturalists documented wolf attacks on humans. John James Audubon, of whom the Audubon Society is named, reported an attack involving 2 Negroes. He records that the men were traveling through a part of Kentucky near the Ohio border in winter. Due to the wild animals in the area the men carried axes on their shoulders as a precaution. While traveling through a heavily forested area, they were attacked by a pack of wolves. Using their axes, they attempted to fight off the wolves. Both men were knocked to the ground and severely wounded. One man was killed. The other dropped his axe and escaped up a tree. There he spent the night. The next morning the man climbed down from the tree. The bones of his friend lay scattered on the snow. Three wolves lay dead. He gathered up the axes and returned home with the news of the event. This incident occurred about 1830. (Audubon, J.J., and Bachman, J.; The Quadrupeds of North America, 3 volumes. New York, 1851 - 1854)

George Bird Grinnell investigated several reported wolf attacks on humans. He dismissed many reports for lack of evidence. Grinnell did verify one attack.

This occurrence was in northwestern Colorado. An eighteen-year-old girl went out at dusk to bring in some milk cows. She saw a gray wolf on a hill as she went out for the cows. She shouted at the wolf to scare it away and it did not move. She then threw a stone at it to frighten it away. The animal snarled at her shouting and attacked her when she threw the stone at it. The wolf grabbed the girl by the shoulder, threw her to the ground and bit her severely on the arms and legs. She screamed and her brother, who was nearby and armed with a gun, responded to the scene of the attack and killed the wolf. The wolf was a healthy young animal, barely full grown. Grinnell met this girl and examined her. She carried several scars from the attack. This attack occurred in summer about 1881. (Grinnell, G.B.; Trail and Campfire - Wolves and Wolf Nature, New York, 1897)

In 1942, Michael Dusiak, section foreman for the Canadian Pacific Railway, was attacked by a wolf while patrolling a section of track on a speeder (small 4-wheeled open railroad car). Dusiak relates, "It happened so fast and as it was still very dark, I thought an engine had hit me first. After getting up from out of the snow very quickly, I saw the wolf which was about fifty feet away from me and it was coming towards me, I grabbed the two axes (tools on the speeder), one in each hand and hit the wolf as he jumped at me right in the belly and in doing so lost one axe. Then the wolf started to circle me and got so close to me at times that I hit him with the head of the axe and it was only the wielding of the axe that kept him from me. All this time he was growling and gnashing his teeth. Then he would stop circling me and jump at me and I would hit him with the head of the axe. This happened five times and he kept edging me closer to the woods which was about 70 feet away. We fought this way for about fifteen minutes and I fought to stay out in the open close to the track. I hit him quite often as he came at me very fast and quick and I was trying to hit him a solid blow in the head for I knew if once he got me down it would be my finish. Then in the course of the fight he got me over onto the north side of the track and we fought there for about another ten minutes. Then a west bound train came along travelling about thirty miles an hour and stopped about half a train length west of us and backed up to where we were fighting. The engineer, fireman and brakeman came off the engine armed with picks and other tools, and killed the wolf."

It should be noted that this wolf was skinned and inspected by an Investigator Crichton, a Conservation Officer. His assessment was that the animal was a young healthy wolf in good condition although it appeared lean. ("A Record of Timber Wolf Attacking a Man," JOURNAL OF MAMMOLOGY, Vol. 28, No. 3, August 1947)

Common Man Institute, in cooperation with Abundant Wildlife Society of North America, has done extensive research on wolves and their history for several years. We have gathered evidence on wolf attacks which occurred in North America.

A forester employed by the Province of British Colombia was checking some timber for possible harvest in the 1980s. He was met by a small pack of three wolves. The forester yelled at the wolves to frighten them away. Instead, the wolves came towards him in a threatening manner and he was forced to retreat and climb a nearby tree for safety. The wolves remained at the base of the tree. The forester had a portable radio, but was unable to contact his base, due to distance, until evening. When the call for help came in, two Conservation Officers with the Ministry of Environment were flown to the area by floatplane to rescue the treed forester.

When the Conservation Officers arrived, the forester was still in the tree and one wolf, the apparent leader of the pack, was still at the base of the tree. The officers, armed with shotguns, shot at the wolf and missed. The wolf ran for cover and then started circling and howling near the two officers. After a couple missed shots, the wolf was finally shot and killed.

The wolf tested negative for rabies. It appeared healthy in every respect, but was very lean. The Conservation Officers felt the attack was caused by hunger. (Taped Interviews and a photo of the wolf on file at Abundant Wildlife Society of North America.)

This is but one example from British Colombia. Wolves overran Vancouver Island in the 1980s. Attacks became so common that articles were published in Canadian magazines documenting such attacks. (Copies available upon request.)

Wolf Attacks on humans have occurred in national parks, too. In August 1987, a sixteen-year-old girl was bitten by a wild wolf in Algonquin Provincial Park in Ontario. The girl was camping in the park with a youth group and shined a flashlight at the wolf. The wolf reacted to the light by biting the girl on the arm. That bite was not hard and due to the thick sweater and sweatshirt the girl was wearing, she sustained two scratch marks on her arm. The wolf was shot by Natural Resources personnel and tested negative for rabies. (Interview with Ron Tozer, Park Naturalist for Algonquin Provincial Park, 7/25/88.)

Well-known wolf biologist Dr. David Mech took issue with this attack stating it couldn't really be considered an authentic attack since the girl wasn't injured more severely. It was exactly nine years when such an attack would take place.

Algonquin Provincial Park is one of several areas where people are encouraged to "howl" at the wolves in hopes of a response from the wild wolves in the area. In August, 1996, the Delventhal family of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, were spending a nine-day family vacation in Algonquin and joined a group of Scouts in "howling" at the wolves. They were answered by the howl of a solitary wolf.

That night the Delventhals decided to sleep out under the stars. Young Zachariah was dreaming when he suddenly felt excruciating pain in his face. A lone wolf had bit him in the face and was dragging him from his sleeping bag. Zach screamed and Tracy, Zach's Mother, raced to his side and picked him up, saturating her thermal shirt with blood from Zach's wounds.

The wolf stood menacingly less than a yard away. Tracy yelled at her husband, Thom, who leapt from his sleeping bag and charged the wolf. The wolf retreated and then charged at Tracy and Zach. The charges were repeated. Finally the wolf left. Thom turned a flashlight on 11-year-old Zach and gasped "Oh, my God!" "The boy's face had been ripped open. His nose was crushed. Parts of his mouth and right cheek were torn and dangling. Blood gushed from puncture wounds below his eyes, and the lower part of his right ear was missing." Zach was taken to a hospital in Toronto where a plastic surgeon performed four hours of reconstructive surgery. Zach received more than 80 stitches in his face.

Canadian officials baited the Delventhals' campsite and captured and destroyed a 60-lb wild male wolf. No further attacks have occurred since. (Cook, Kathy; "Night of the Wolf" READER'S DIGEST, July 1997, pp. 114-119.)

Humans have been attacked by wolves in Alaska. The late David Tobuk carried scars on his face from a wolf attack on him as a small child. The incident occurred around the turn of the century in interior Alaska. David was playing in his village near a river. An old wolf came into the village and bit David in the face and started to carry him off. Other Eskimos saw the wolf dragging the child off and started yelling and screaming. The wolf dropped the child and was shot by an old Eskimo trapper who had a gun. (Interview with Frank Tobuk, brother, Bettles, Alaska, December 1988.)

Paul Tritt, an Athabascan Indian, was attacked by a lone wolf while working a trap line. Paul was setting a snare, looked up and saw a wolf lunging at him. He threw his arm up in front of his face and it was bitten severely by the wolf. A struggle ensued. Tritt was able to get to his sled, grab a gun and kill the wolf. Nathaniel Frank, a companion, helped Tritt wash the wound with warm water. Frank took Tritt, via dog sled, to Fort Yukon to see a doctor. The arm healed, but Tritt never regained full use of it. Several years later, the arm developed problems and had to be amputated. (Interview with Paul Tritt, Venetie, Alaska, November, 1988)

Two wolf attacks on humans occurred in 2000.

Icy Bay, Alaska - Six-year-old John Stenglein and a nine-year-old friend were playing outside his family's trailer at a logging camp when a wild wolf came out of the woods towards the boys. The boys ran and the wolf attacked young Stenglein from the back, biting him on the back and buttocks. Adults, hearing the boy's screams, came and chased the wolf away. The wolf returned a few moments later and was shot. According to Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) officials, the wolf was a healthy wild wolf that apparently attacked without provocation. The boy was flown to Yakutat and recieved stitches there for his wounds. Later, however, the bites became infected and the boy had to be hospitalized. (Reports and Interviews on file and available upon request.)

Vargas Island, British Colombia - University student, Scott Langevin, 23, was on a kayak trip with friends. They camped out on a beach and, about 1 AM, Langevin awoke with something pulling on his sleeping bag. He looked out and came face to face with a wild wolf. Langevin yelled at the wolf and it attacked, biting him on the hand. Langevin attempted to force the wolf toward a nearby campfire, but as he turned, the wolf jumped on his back and started biting him on the back of his head. Friends, hearing his yells, came to his aid and scared the wolf away. Fifty (50) stitches were required to close the wound on Langevin's head. British Colombia Ministry of Enviroment officials speculate the reason for the attack was due to the wolves occasionally being fed by humans although there was no evidence that Langevin or any of his party fed these animals. (Reports and Interviews on file and available upon request.)

This is but a brief summary of a few verifiable accounts of attacks on humans by healthy wild wolves in North American History.

Biologists tell us that the wolves of Asia and North America are one and the same species. Wolf attacks are common in many parts of Asia.

The government of India reported more than 100 deaths attributable to wolves in one year during the eighties. (Associated Press, 1985) This author recalls a news report in 1990 in which Iran reported deaths from attacks by wolves.

Rashid Jamsheed, a U.S. trained biologist, was the game director for Iran. He wrote a book entitled "Big Game Animals of Iran (Persia)." In it he made several references to wolf attacks on humans. Jamsheed says that for a millennia people have reported wolves attacking and killing humans. In winter, when starving wolves grow bold, they have been known to enter towns and kill people in daylight on the streets. Apparently, in Iran, there are many cases of wolves running off with small children. There is also a story of a mounted and armed policeman (gendarme) being followed by 3 wolves. In time he had to get off his horse to attend to nature’s call, leaving his rifle in the scabbard. A later reconstruction at the scene of the gnawed bones and wolf tracks indicated that the horse had bolted and left the man defenseless, whereupon he was killed and eaten.

A Russian Linguist, Will Graves, provided our organization with reports of wolves killing Russian people in many areas of that country. Reports indicate some of the wolves were diseased while others appeared healthy. (Reports on file and available upon request.)

Reports have also come from rural China. The official Zinhua News Agency reported that a peasant woman, Wu Jing, snatched her two daughters from the jaws of a wolf and wrestled with the animal until rescuers arrived. Wu slashed at the wolf with a sickle and it dropped one daughter, but grabbed her sister. It was then Wu wrestled with the animal until herdsmen came and drove the beast away. This incident occurred near Shenyang City, about 380 miles northeast of Beijing. (Chronicle Features, 1992)

See next post for balance of article...

[Big Bill]

Continued...

The question arises: "Why so many attacks in Asia and so few in North America?"

Two factors must be considered:

1. The Philosophy of Conservation - Our forefathers always believed that they had the right and obligation to protect their livelihoods. Considerable distance was necessary between man and wolf for the wolf to survive.

2. Firearms - Inexpensive, efficient weapons gave man the upper hand in the protection of his livelihood and for the taking of wolves.

Milton P. Skinner in his book, “The Yellowstone Nature Book” (published 1924) wrote, "Most of the stories we hear of the ferocity of these animals... come from Europe. There, they are dangerous because they do not fear man, since they are seldom hunted except by the lords of the manor. In America, the wolves are the same kind, but they have found to their bitter cost that practically every man and boy carries a rifle..."

Skinner was correct. The areas of Asia where wolf attacks occur on humans are the same areas where the people have no firearms or other effective means of predator control.

But ... "Biologists claim there are no documented cases of healthy wild wolves attacking humans."

What they really mean is there are no "documented" cases by their criteria which excludes historical accounts. Here's an example.

Rabid wolves were a frightening experience in the early years due to their size and the seriousness of being bit, especially before a vaccine was developed. The bitten subject usually died a slow, miserable death. There are numerous accounts of rabid wolves and their activities. Early Army forts have medical records of rabid wolves coming into the posts and biting several people before being killed. Most of the people bitten died slow, horrible deaths. Additionally, early historical writings relate personal accounts. This author recalls one historical account telling of a man being tied to a tree and left to die because of his violent behavior with rabies after being bitten by a wolf. Such deaths left profound impressions on eyewitnesses of those events.

Dr. David Mech, USFWS wolf biologist, states there are no "documented" cases of rabid wolves below the fifty seventh latitude north (near Whitehorse, Yukon Territory). When asked what "documented" meant, he stated, "The head of the wolf must be removed, sent to a lab for testing and found to be rabid."

Those requirements for documentation negate all historical records!

As with rabid wolves, the biologist can say, "There are no `documented' cases of wild healthy wolves attacking humans." In order to be "documented" these unreasonable criteria must be met:

1. The wolf has to be killed, examined and found to be healthy.

2. It must be proven that the wolf was never kept in captivity in its entire life.

3. There must be eyewitnesses to the attack.

4. The person must die from their wounds (bites are generally not considered attacks according to the biologists).

That is a "documented" attack.

Such criteria make it very difficult to document any historical account of a wolf attack on a human!

Biologists assume when a wolf attacks a human, that there must be something wrong with the wolf. It's either been in captivity or it's sick or whatever. They don't examine the evidence in an unbiased manner or use historical tests.

Historically, there are four reasons for wolf attacks on humans:

1. Disease such as rabies.

2. Extreme hunger.

3. Familiarity/Disposition - This is an either/or situation. Familiarity is the zoo setting, captive wolves, etc. Disposition is a particularly aggressive wolf which may not fear man as most wolves do.

4. In the heat of the chase and kill - This is where a hiker, trapper or whoever disturbs a fresh chase and kill by wolves. The person walks into the scene only to be attacked by the wolves.

It is our belief that a predator's fear of man is both instinctive and learned behavior. For example, wolves raised as pets or in zoos are well documented to attack and kill humans.

Alyshia Berzyck, of Minnesota, was attacked and killed by a wolf on a chain on June 3, 1989. The wolf tore up her kidney, liver and bit a hole through her aorta. One month later, on July 1, 1989, Peter Lemke, 5, lost 12 inches of his intestine and colon and suffered bites to his stomach, neck, legs, arms and back in another wolf attack in Kenyon, Minnesota. (Reports on file and available upon request.)

Zoos carry abundant records of wolf attacks on people, particularly children. The child climbs the enclosure fence to pet the "dog" and is attacked.

Zoos and domestic settings are unnatural in that they place man and wolf in close proximity and they become accustomed to each other. Consequently attacks occur.

Today predator control is very restricted in scope, and as a result, attacks on humans by predators are becoming more common. In recent years, healthy coyotes in Yellowstone Park have attacked humans. Similar attacks have occurred in the National Parks of Canada.

On January 14, 1991, a healthy mountain lion attacked and killed an eighteen-year-old high school senior, Scott Lancaster, in Idaho Springs, Colorado. The boy was jogging on a jogging path within the city limits of the town when the lion attacked and killed him. (Report on file at Abundant Wildlife Society of North America)

Copyright 1995, 2000, T. R. Mader, Research Division

Permission granted to disseminate and/or reprint if credit is given to the source.

OTHER REPORTED WOLF ATTACKS IN THE WILD

1. Comox Valley, British Colombia – 1986 - While driving a tractor, Jakob Knopp was followed by three wolves to his barn. They didn't leave, but kept snarling and showing their teeth. Knopp ran to his barn, retreived a rifle and had to shoot two of the three wolves before the third left the area.

2. George Williams, a retired sailor heard a commotion in his chicken coup one night. Thinking it was raccoons he took his single shot 22 rifle and headed for the coup. He rounded his fishing boat and trailer when a wolf leaped at him. He instinctively reacted with a snap shot with the rifle and dropped the wolf. A second wolf came at him before he could reload and George swung the rifle and struck the wolf across the head, stunning it. George retreated to the house until morning and found the wolf he had shot, the other was gone.

3. Clarence Lewis was picking berries on a logging road about a mile from Knopp's farm when he faced four wolves. Lewis yelled at them, two left and the other two advanced towards him. He took a branch and took a couple of threatening steps at them. They went into the brush and stayed close to him. Lewis faced the wolves and walked backward for two miles until he reached his car.

4. Don Hamilton, Conservation Officer at Nanaimo went to investigate a livestock killing by wolves. Wolves had killed a number of sheep in a pasture and Don went out to examine the kills. He came upon the scene and saw a large gray wolf feeding on one of the sheep. The wolf looked at him, growled and started running towards him at full speed. The wolf was over 100 yards away and never broke stride as it approached Don. At approximately 15 feet, Don shot the wolf to stop its attack. Don, who has many years experience with wolves, stated that he was convinced that the wolf was going to attack him because of its growling, snarling and aggressive behavior.

5. In 1947, a man was hunting cougar on Vancouver Island and was attacked by a pack of seven wolves. The man backed against a tree and shot the leader of the pack. The pack instantly tore the animal to shreds while the hunter made his escape.

6. Clarence Lindley was reportedly attacked by a 125-pound timber wolf. The incident occurred in early November, 1992 on the Figure 4 Ranch in Dunn County, North Dakota. Lindley was hunting horseback when the wolf attacked Lindley's horse causing it to jump and fall. Lindley was able to grab his saddle gun, a lever action Winchester 94, as the horse fell. The horse recovered its balance and Lindley found himself face to face with a snarling wolf. "My heart was pounding," said Lindley, "I could see those big teeth. He was less than five feet away... He meant business; he wasn't going to back off." Lindley fired his rifle at point blank range and killed the wolf with a shot to the neck. Lindley left the wolf since he couldn't get his horse close to it. On return to his hunting camp, his hunter friends failed to believe the account. They returned to the scene and skinned the wolf. The pelt was a flawless black and gray pelt measuring seven and a half feet from its feet to its snout. Its bottom teeth measured one and a half inches; top teeth - one and a quarter inches. The North Dakota Game and Fish Department (NDGF) confiscated the hide and head of the wolf and took it to the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) for determination of its species. Tests revealed that the wolf was non-rabid. The wolf was thought to have come from Canada. (Reports on file and available upon request.)

WOLF ATTACKS ON HUMANS (domestic incidents)

1. In the 1970s, John Harris, a Californian, toured the nation with “tame” wolves to promote public sympathy for preserving wolves. In July, 1975, "Rocky," one of Harris' wolves, attacked a one-year-old girl by biting her in the face. The girl was brought close to the wolf for a picture, an action encouraged by Harris.

2. In Maryland, a man kept a wolf in his basement and this animal turned and savagely bit and clawed his two-year-old son.

3. In New York City, a wolf bit a woman as it approached her.

4. At a zoo in Idaho, a little girl walked up to a cage housing a wolf and reached through the bars to pet the wolf. The wolf bit the arm. The arm had to be amputated.

5. Mr. Edward Rucciuti, former curator of publications for the New York Zoological Society and author of KILLER ANIMALS, personally witnessed a 12-year-old boy savagely attacked in the Bronx Zoo. This boy climbed a high fence in order to pet the wolves. The wolves (male and 2 females) immediately attacked the boy, ripping at the boy's clothing and flesh. The boy instinctively curled up in a ball, protecting his head, chest and abdomen. He then crawled into the moat in front of the exhibit with the wolves chewing his back and legs. Once the boy made it to the water, the wolves ceased their attack. The boy crawled out of the moat and collapsed. Mr. Rucciuti was amazed that the boy was still alive due to the severity of the bites.

6. San Diego Zoo (1971) A 15-year-old boy climbed the fence and tried to take a shortcut across the exhibit. He didn't know there were wolves in the exhibit and tried to run when he saw them. The wolves grabbed him by the leg attempting to drag him off. The boy grabbed a tree and hung on. Two bystanders jumped in the enclosure and attacked the wolves with tree branches. The wolves did not attack the two men, but continued to maul the boy. Dragging the boy and swinging their clubs, the boy was pulled out of the enclosure. The wolves in the enclosure were all young animals and it was thought that if the animals were mature, the boy would have died before being rescued.

7. A few months after the attack on the boy (#6), a man scaled the fence and swung his arms in the exhibit to get the attention of the wolves and got it by being bitten severely on both arms.

8. 1973 - Another boy tried to cross the same compound and was attacked, a security guard shot and killed one of the wolves, and the other fled as the boy was pulled to safety.

9. 1975 - Small zoo in Worcester, Massachusetts, a two-year-old lad was savagely bitten on the leg when it slipped through an enclosure opening. The boy's mother and 2 men could not pull the boy free. The wolves did not stop ripping the boy's leg apart until a railroad tie was thrown in the midst of the wolves.

10. 1978 -- A wolf bit a child in Story, Wyoming. The wolf was penned at a local veterinary clinic for observation. During that time, the wolf escaped its pen and killed a young calf. Wyoming law prohibits the keeping of wild animals as pets, so the animal was shipped to Ohio, where it had come from. The owner of the wolf went to Ohio and brought the wolf back to Wheatland, Wyoming. It was reported the wolf attacked and killed a child in that area shortly thereafter.

11. September, 1981 - A two-year-old boy was mauled to death by an 80-lb, 3 year-old female wolf in Ft. Wayne, Michigan. The boy wandered within the chain length of the wolf.

12. August 2, 1986 (Fergus Falls, Minnesota) - A 17-month-old boy reached and grabbed the fencing which kept his father's pet wolves enclosed. One wolf immediately grabbed the boy's hand and bit it off. The mother was at the scene and received lacerations freeing the child from the wolf.

13. July 1988 (Minnesota Zoo) - A teenage volunteer reached through the wire fence to pet a wolf and was bitten. The wolf was put to sleep and tested for rabies – negative.

14. May 15, 1989 - 2-year-old Timothy Bajinski was bitten by a wolf hybrid in his mother's Staten Island, New York backyard. Mrs. Bajinski has been charged with keeping a wild animal.

15. May 1989 - Lucas Wilken was bitten by two wolf hybrids in Adams County, CO (Denver Area).

16. June 3, 1989 - Three year old Alyshia Berczyk was attacked and killed by a wolf in Forest Lake, Minnesota. The wolf had bitten her severely and had injured her kidneys, liver and bit through her aorta. Alyshia was playing in a backyard when she got too close to the chained wolf that grabbed her dress and pulled her down, attacking her.

17. July 1, 1989 (Kenyon, Minnesota) - Peter Lemke, age 5, attempted to pet a chained wolf and was attacked. He lost 12 inches of his intestine and colon, suffered a tear in his stomach, and bite wounds on his arms, legs, buttocks and neck. While being life-flighted to the hospital, Pete arrested 3 times but was saved by medical personnel. The Lemkes have incurred over $200,000 in hospital bills. Pete has a colostomy bag, but doctors are hopeful they can re-attach his colon and get it to function normally in later surgeries.

18. September 3, 1989 - A wolf and a dog entered a corral belonging to Leona Geppfart of Caldwell, ID and attacked a 6-month-old 400-pound Hereford calf. Geppfart attempted to scare the animals away and they turned on her and she retreated to her house. A short time later, a law enforcement officer arrived and as he approached the corral, the wolf lunged at him. The officer stopped the animal with his shotgun.

NOTE: This list of wolf attacks is by no means exhaustive. They are simply listed to show that attacks have occurred both in the wild and other settings.

About the Author: T. R. Mader is Research Director of Abundant Wildlife Society of North America, an independent research organization. Mader has researched wolf history for more than 15 years and has traveled over 30,000 miles conducting research and interviews on environmental issues.

For more information, contact:

ABUNDANT WILDLIFE SOCIETY OF NORTH AMERICA
P. O. Box 2
Beresford, SD 57004

Permission granted to disseminate and/or reprint if credit is given to the source.

http://www.aws.vcn.com/wolf_attacks_on_humans.html

[L_Killkenny]

I'll agree with you some extent Brent. But the "cost factor" could be applied to all issues I named above. And like I asked, Where do we draw the line? The one thing I forgot to add and was that I think management may be in order and is not a bad thing. I'd love to get a chance to hunt and take a wolf. I'd also like my kids and future grand kids to be able to. Should a wolf pack be allowed to roam the streets of a town? No. But SOME wolves living in the wilds of the states we are talking about is a great thing. Even if it does pose some risk, even to people. I don't believe in absolute protection for anything (including people) but over all I think that game management is ONE area that government has done a decent job. Look at the increase of game populations in the last 100 years. Deer hunters want to cry about wolves killing a few deer, we have been a heck of a lot more detrimental to the deer population then any wolf population has ever been.

But my main point was, there is just not enough issues out for us to come to the conclusion that there is a problem. Especially using INTERNET originated issues.

[Big Bill]

FACT SHEET - WOLF REINTRODUCTION IN THE UNITED STATES

Check out this link...

http://www.aws.vcn.com/fact.html

and this link...

http://www.aws.vcn.com/

[Playboypenguin]

Big Bill

Anecdotes written on paper or on the internet are still just anecdotes. In this case it is just blatant propaganda. Blatant falsehoods written to mislead with a specific intent in mind. This comes from a hunters rights/anti-wolf propaganda website. One that was very poorly/cheaply constructed and has been abandoned since 2004 by the way. Where are the references to case numbers? References to medical records? Etc?

All of these events happened decades ago, even in the 1800's. Where are the supporting documents the information was gathered from? You would really have to be grasping for justification of a preconceived idea to give this any credibility. especially since it is easily discredited.

Falsehoods, lies, and anecdotes. If this is all the anti-wolf segment of the population can come up with they really should just stop trying.

[hogdogs]

But the problem is this...
If you lose 30 per year to typical losses and then 10 to wolves it is a 30 percent increase in losses... That is hard for a rancher to absorb... Then on top of that the cattle under stress have increased risk of typical issues as they are under stress.
I feel that the "shoot, shovel, shut up" control method will continue. I would never hunt wolves for sport but would at the drop of a hat provide the same predator/vermin extermination I provide here under my state of florida permitting. I am listed on our myfwc website as a nuisance animal trapper/hunter.
Brent

[Big Bill]

Wolf Attacks
Posted by admin October 25, 2008

Wolf Attacks by Juanita Amero

My articles in the past have been of the almost romantic type, telling of the legends in the outlaw wild canine world. In the end, the renegade wolves always come out as the persecuted good guy. As much as I would love to, I cannot go out into the field and study these predators first hand and therefore rely on a number of sources to bring the knowledge to me. Over the years I have collected a vast library and savor every bit of it. It has been widely discussed whether a healthy wild wolf has ever attacked a human on this side of the world. Many researchers claim that such attacks have never occurred in North America. Some say they most surely have. Everything I scoured could offer no documented cases of wild wolves attacking us… humans.

Biologists claim there to be no “documentation” either.

But there was a little tidbit that remained hidden between the lines. In order for an attack to be “documented” these four criteria must be met.

1. The wolf must be killed, examined and found healthy.
2. The wolf must have never been in captivity for any part of its life.
3. Must be an eyewitness.
4. The victim must die. Bites are not considered attacks according to biologists and when all four of these are met, then and only then can it be considered a “documented” attack. In retrospect, this would make it very difficult to document for the record any historical account of a wolf attack.

The biologists go on to tell me that the wolves of Asia and North America are one and the same species. I had once pondered if actually they were. The horror tales of Russia, Scandinavia, and India to name a few must surely tell of a genetically different wolf. What would make them such ferocious man-eaters? To this day, wolf attacks are common in parts of Asia. Maybe it can be slightly explained by this quote from Milton Skinner (author/researcher).

“Most of the stories we hear of the ferocity of these animals… come from Europe. There, they are dangerous because they do not fear man, since they are seldom hunted except by the lords of the manor. In America, the wolves are the same kind, but they have found to their bitter cost that practically every man and boy carries a rifle….”

I honestly believe there is some truth to this. The areas where attacks occur on humans are the same areas where the people have no firearms or other predator control. Well it’s a start anyway.

Biologists as well as myself have assumed that when a wolf attacks a human there is something wrong with the wolf. It may have been in captivity or be sick.

Historically, the four reasons for attack are rabies, extreme hunger, familiarity (trying to tame wild wolves or zoos) and the “heat of the chase” (interrupting a fresh chase and wolf kill). I think that a predator’s fear of man is both an instinctive and learned behavior, for the most part. Attacks by a truly wild wolf are very real, but wolves raised as pets or in zoos are well documented to attack and kill us. The accounts are numerous and disturbing. A little three-year-old girl was attacked and killed by a wolf on a chain on June 3 1989. The wolf tore up her kidney and bit a hole through her aorta. One month later, a five-year-old boy lost twelve inches of his intestine and colon and suffered bites to his stomach, neck, legs, arms and back in another wolf attack in Minnesota. Zoos carry abundant records of wolf attacks on people, especially little children. The child climbs the fence to pet the “dog” and is attacked. It’s obvious that these domestic settings for wolves are unnatural and once man and wolf become accustomed to one another in close quarters, consequently the attacks occur.

Although attacks in the wild North America are uncommon, they do/did very much exist, both in years of early settlement and today. I stumbled across this excerpt from an 1888 newspaper called the Saint Paul Daily Globe. It sent chills down my spine:

“NEW ROCKFORD, DAK. March 7, 1888 - The news has just reached here that a father and son, living several miles northeast of this city, were destroyed yesterday. The two unfortunate men started to a haystack some ten rods from the house to shovel a path around the stack when they were surrounded by wolves and literally eaten alive. The horror-stricken mother was standing at the window with a babe in her arms, a spectator to the terrible death of her husband and son, but was unable to aid them. After they had devoured every flesh from the bones of the men, the denizens of the forest attacked the house, but retired to the hills in a short time. Investigation found nothing but the bones of the husband and son. The family name was Olson. Wolves are more numerous and dangerous now than ever before known In North Dakota.”

–~~~~~~~~~~~~–
So here we have an eyewitness and a family name. Some say the wolves were rabid, but anyone that knows anything about this fatal disease knows that rabid wolves would not be able to function as a pack. Rabid animals are loners… they suffer their dementia alone and die alone.

The name of George B. Grinnell popped up for he investigated several attacks on humans. Although he did dismiss many reports for lack of evidence, he could verify an attack in northwestern Colorado. An eighteen your old girl went out at dusk to bring in the cows. She saw a gray wolf on a hill and shouted at it to scare it away. When she picked up a rock, the animal snarled and attacked her. The wolf grabbed the girl by the shoulder, threw her to the ground and bit her severely on the arms and legs. She screamed and her brother, who was nearby with a gun, came and killed the wolf. The wolf was a healthy young animal. Grinnel himself examined this same girl. She carries several scars from the attack in the summer of around 1881.

There are other verifiable accounts of attacks on humans by healthy wild wolves in North American history and now that I uncovered the unreasonable criteria required for an attack to be officially documented, it explains the lack of scientific “proof” of these encounters. They most certainly did happen; they do happen.

In 1947, a Vancouver man hunting cougar was attacked by a healthy pack of seven wolves. He shot the leader of the pack and the rest of the pack instantly tore the animal to shreds while the hunters escaped.

In 1992 Clarence Lindley was attacked by a 125-pound wolf while hunting horseback. It attacked his horse causing it to fall. Lindley was able to grab his saddle gun as the horse fell. The wolf proceeded to attack Lindley who fired at point blank range and killed the wolf with a shot to the neck. The pelt was flawless black and gray measuring seven and a half feet from its toes to its snout. The wolf was not rabid and thought to be from Canada. Just a few of the many “verified” encounters.

This has been a topic of discussion in communities both rural and online. Some have questioned whether the poor reputation of the wolf has any background or truth. I always assumed there were some, but didn’t realize to what extent. Does this change my romantic view of the outlaw wolves… not really. Do I believe these tales of horror…. sure do. They are wild efficient predators, vicious and unmerciful killing machines. What makes a number of these animals attack and terrorize humans…. who knows? Doubt we ever will. When we watch the news, it is filled with stories of us…humans, attacking and killing one another, but it doesn’t make us all murderers. I wonder what the wolves must think of us?

This has been an exhausting eye-opening topic for me and I commend those who egged me on, resulting in my last minute change of article submission. But alas…. next issue, I am back remembering my outlaws, keeping the campfires burning and the legends alive.

http://www.angelfire.com/sports/homenest7

[Playboypenguin]

If you lose 30 per year to typical losses and then 10 to wolves it is a 30 percent increase in losses... That is hard for a rancher to absorb... Then on top of that the cattle under stress have increased risk of typical issues as they are under stress.

But that is not what is happening. That is dealing in hypotheticals. The reality is they are not losing additional heads of cattle. Let's just deal with reality and not fantasy or "what if's."

[Playboypenguin]

Big Bill

Links alone would be enough. The reposting of the "stories" (and that is all they are...fiction and non-documented wives tales from unreliable sources) take up a lot of room.

I can post a 1000 internet accounts of aliens or chupacabra preying on cattle too. Do you believe that also?

[L_Killkenny]

If you lose 30 per year to typical losses and then 10 to wolves it is a 30 percent increase in losses... That is hard for a rancher to absorb... Then on top of that the cattle under stress have increased risk of typical issues as they are under stress.

Like PP said, it's all supposition. But for the sake of this I'm willing to call it "fact".

Lets use the same thought process when it comes to deer eating crops. Farmers fight insects, weather, soil conditions, etc. Does the loss of crops that are eaten by deer add to this? Is it a hard pill to swallow? Yes. Should we whack ever deer we see eating corn? hmm.........

Some want to argue that people and the big bad wolf can't co-habitate. BS. We can, they just don't want to. Ya, our fathers thought it was a good idea to kill off the wolves. Not out of danger but out of convenience. Same with bears. They also thought that killing off the buffalo, whitetail deer and elk was a good idea too. Same with killing off whole flocks of ducks/geese. Doesn't make it right.

[Big Bill]

PP - The fact is that wolves are being shoved down our throats as part of a rewilding scheme that the religion of Deep Ecology, which many so called ecologists, subscribe to.

Here is the Rewilding Institute's mission:

Our Organization's Mission

To develop and promote the ideas and strategies to advance continental-scale conservation in North America, particularly the need for large carnivores and a permeable landscape for their movement, and to offer a bold, scientifically-credible, practically achievable, and hopeful vision for the future of wild Nature and human civilization in North America.

About The Rewilding Institute Logo



The Rewilding Institute logo is based on a representation of a jaguar from an 800-year-old Mimbres bowl. The Mimbres, from southwestern New Mexico, were contemporaries of the Anasazi to the north and known for their distinctive portrayals of animals on their pottery.

We picked the jaguar as our logo because it is a top carnivore and necessary for ecosystem integrity in its range. We also selected it because recent research shows that jaguars once ranged much more widely in North America during the Pleistocene.

Jaguars are not just tropical or subtropical species, but temperate species as well. The jaguar, therefore, represents the idea of rewilding.

Albuquerque graphic artist Joe Adair designed the logo.

http://www.rewilding.org/mission.html

Perhaps, PP, you're a deep ecologist that believes in rewilding the entire American Continent?

As you can see. There objective is to reintroduce, beside wolves, Jaguars and other exotic animals in North America. These nutjobs want large portions of the Americas to be untouched by humans. This is their goal. Their ultimate goal, however, is to reduce the worldwide human population.

Bill Duval said this in 93:

An associate of mine suggests the optimal human population in the long run in North America is the number of people who can comfortably use the hot springs in North America. The carrying capacity of a hot spring is the number of people who can sit together in a hot spring during cold winter nights. An empirical estimate of the optimal human population based on this criteria would involve fieldwork. My associate suggests that we form several teams of volunteers to explore hot springs in various bioregions of the continent. This "research" would certainly be an imaginative way to solve the problem of identifying the number constituting the optimal population of North America.

Imagine that!

Here's another article everyone should read...

Rewilding Megafauna: Lions and Camels in North America?

This is an excerpt:

What do you mean by “rewilding” North America?

Rewilding is about restoring biodiversity.

Barlow: Rewilding is a concept that works with restoration ecology and evolution combined. One type of rewilding deals with restoring lost biodiversity. Restoration ecology is when you look at a landscape and ask how we can bring it back to conditions that are more natural, say, before Europeans arrived in North America. Another type of rewilding has to do with climate change, for example, creating a park corridor from Yellowstone to the Yukon to give movement to animals as climate changes.

Rewilding also attempts to replace species that have gone extinct in North America. In 2005, a top science journal published an article by a dozen prominent conservation biologists proposing a shift in the benchmark that is commonly used for restoring lost wildlife to former habitats.1 Most parklands and wilderness areas in North America will continue to be restored to conditions that prevailed just prior to the arrival of Columbus in 1492 [the “pre-Columbian” benchmark]. But what about rewilding a small portion of America’s natural heritage to conditions just prior to the first human incursion on the landscape some 13,000 years ago? This idea of rewilding from a deep time perspective is going back to a time before the first humans began to migrate to the Americas in the late Pleistocene [about 10,000 years ago] and asking how we can restore the ecological landscape.

Current trends in rewilding North America have to do with restoration of species displaced or endangered since the first European settlers arrived, for example, bringing back gray wolves to Yellowstone, reintroducing the lynx to Colorado, and bringing the peregrine falcon to the Midwest. That is standard practice restoration ecology. What I would like to address is the controversial subject of rewilding North America as proposed a few years ago by looking at a deep time perspective and saying lets not just stop with the wolves. What species were here before humans invaded the landscape, and is it still possible to bring them back?

[taylorce1]

As a son of a cattle rancher any wolf found preying on our livestock would be fair game protected or not; I don’t think Federal protection of a predator trumps a person’s right to protect their property. Now I don’t think that gives ranchers the right to kill every wolf that they see on their property to prevent them from killing livestock. Make no mistake wolves are opportunistic and will kill the easiest animal they can find and domestic animals are usually easier prey than wild game.

No doubt the reintroduction of wolves has had an impact on big game in Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana. How much is of great debate between the hunters and the officials in charge. I'm waiting the day they get them reintroduced into Colorado. I'm going to raise my voice and fight it as much as I can possibly to try and do my part to stop it or at least slow it down.

Can we cohabitate with wolves? I don't think so until as hunters we along with State Agencies are allowed to manage the populations of wolves through hunting. As long as the groups that fought to get wolves reintroduced get Federal injunctions’ even after their population goals have been met and take the management of wolves our of the States hands. I hope that someday I can hunt wolves as a big game trophy animal. When that happens I’ll be more inclined to say that human and wolves can find a balance and I’ll probably be happy for the opportunity to take one in the field when hunting.

[hogdogs]

I am all for a controlled population of wolves in the wilds and they should be controlled by seasons, bag limits and regional regulations...
But I also think, going back to the drunk driver analogy, you missed what I meant. We have a healthy population of 'yotes where 'yotes belong but MOST of the places that have them also have a non-game status and open or liberal bag limits with many being open year around. I also feel that any and all predatory animals should be fair game for land owners or invited "assistants" at his discretion with out any limitations what so ever.
Brent

[Big Bill]

PP said this:

...because all the studies have shown no noticeable impact on herds. In fact the last study I saw said that herds, based on tax information and gathered statistics, lost animals at a rate no higher than before wolves were reintroduced. In fact it was often less.

So, where is you documentation for these statements? Give us links to all these studies; and, we'll determine for ourselves whether they are sound or biased. You can't expect us to just accept your opinion!

[taylorce1]

But I also think, going back to the drunk driver analogy, you missed what I meant. We have a healthy population of 'yotes where 'yotes belong but MOST of the places that have them also have a non-game status and open or liberal bag limits with many being open year around. I also feel that any and all predatory animals should be fair game for land owners or invited "assistants" at his discretion with out any limitations what so ever.

To use Coyotes as an example isn't very good comparison. Yes both are of the canine family but two totally different animals when you compare them. Coyotes are not as social as the wolf and more adapable to their enviroment than the wolf as well. Coyotes seem to be able to live just about anywhere and even though they are hunted without limits in most areas, they still seem to expand their territory.

[Nnobby45]

It's a little different nowadays as you said Nnobby45.

Well, I guess you're right. Never heard of Mountain Lion attacks when I was growing up in Western Nv. I'm talking about nationwide attacks. Lions have since been attacking (and sometimes eating) people from the U.S. to Canada.

Never were much in the way of bears, either, in Western Nv. Now their populations are high.

In recent years, Mt. Lions and bears have been found in the middle of Reno and have been common throughout the entire area from Reno to Carson City.

A bear tried to enter a friends home near Washoe Valley (between Reno and Carson City). He heard a noise and when he investigated, a large black bear was standing up trying to push in the window. When he called, the Nevada Dept. of Wildlife told him they get so many "bear" calls these days, they don't answer them any more.

Bears are common around his house (they eat the apples out of the trees), but they don't usually invite themselves in!

[IDAHO83501]

Although we will never completly get rid of the wolves in Idaho ( unless they let us poison them like our grandfathers did). They are too smart and sneaky to ever hunt to minimal numbers. The wolves have been taking a terrible toll on elk and deer in the Clearwater Region of North Central Idaho... Some cattle, and other livestock have been killed by wolves, but our wildlife has really paid the price for this liberal idea...The road to hell is paved with " good liberal intensions". The VERY FEW who thought re-introducing a foriegn species into the eco-systems of Idaho, Montana,and Wyoming was a good idea are not around to deal with the problems that they cause. They watch some bull**** T.V. show with some wolf pups running around and must think " What a wonderful thing". As a lifetime resident of Idaho who enjoys the outdoors I cant tell them there is NOTHING wonderful about it. People who live in wolf country (now) are seeing Elk numbers drop at a terrible rate, fewer deer, and sometimes their pet dissappear. We find animals just bacically killed, some of their asses eaten a little, sometimes some of their guts eaten, and the rest left to rot. It may not be warm and fuzzy to say, but, somtimes wolves kill just to kill, not to eat. We need to to kill them all,,,,they are a land shark that kills for the sake of killing, sometimes to eat, somtimes not. Our grandfathers got rid of most of them, now, we will be lucky to eliminate half of them.....Our wildlife will never be the same,,,,,and that is sad...........

[Playboypenguin]

Although we will never completly get rid of the wolves in Idaho ( unless they let us poison them like our grandfathers did). They are too smart and sneaky to ever hunt to minimal numbers. The wolves have been taking a terrible toll on elk and deer in the Clearwater Region of North Central Idaho

I asked before and got no response, so I will ask again. Is there now a shortage of elk and deer outside of normal peak and low point herd populations? I am pretty sure there isn't. We know the wolves are not having a negative effect on livestock. So what is the basis for these claims of wolves taking such a terrible toll on the elk and deer herds?

[taylorce1]

We know the wolves are not having a negative effect on livestock.

I disagree, although I don't have any numbers on livestock killed by wolves. Any livestock lost to wolves, coyotes, weather or disease has a negative effect to the owner of the livestock. Any loss is still a loss on the books and one less productive animal to help the ranchers pay their bills with. Some loss is unavoidable, however the ranchers always strive to have zero loss of all their animals during any given year. To say a lost animal has no negative effect is a little presumptuous.

http://forums.accuratereloading.com/...3/m/4301080401

Take a look at the pictures here and tell me there was no negative effect on livestock?

[Playboypenguin]

I disagree, although I don't have any numbers on livestock killed by wolves. Any livestock lost to wolves, coyotes, weather or disease has a negative effect to the owner of the livestock

No, if the wolves are not taking any livestock that would have not been lost to disease or age anyway they are NOT having any negatiove effect. That is the reality of the situation.

It puzzles me that gun rights supporters that so often balk at anti-gun people saying things that are not supported by facts turn around and do the exact same thing.

[taylorce1]

Obviously you have no experience raising livestock or the effort a Farmer or Rancher puts into keeping their animals alive. Wolves don't always single out the week and sickly animal to kill, if you believe that then you are pretty ignorant in the ways of predators.

Besides when an animal becomes non-productive because of age it is usually because the animal will not breed regardless of male or female it is sold so it still has monetary value to the owner. We don't keep animals until they die on our property we would rather salvage what we can. Far better to get a little value out of them that leave them for wolf fodder.

We vaccinate for disease sure some will get sick. Hopefully we catch them in time and we are able to save them. Sometimes we don't but that can't be avoided as well.

I guarantee you regardless of the healthy, sick or old if a cow, sheep, or other herd animal gets separated from the rest it will be taken by wolves or other large predator that has decide to make it lunch. Besides where are your facts?

It puzzles me that gun rights supporters that so often balk at anti-gun people saying things that are not supported by facts turn around and do the exact same thing.

[Playboypenguin]

Obviously you have no experience raising livestock or the effort a Farmer or Rancher puts into keeping their animals alive. Wolves don't always single out the week and sickly animal to kill, if you believe that then you are pretty ignorant in the ways of predators.

No offense, you seem to not have much experience with math...or you are just refusing to recognize the facts. The numbers do not support any losses being suffered by ranchers since wolves were introduced. There are tons of studies and tons of government reports on the subject. if even one official scientific report supported the anti-wolf claims you would never hear the end of it from the hunter's rights groups.

[taylorce1]

I have no hard numbers that is for sure on livestock killed by wolves in Montana, Wyoming, or Idaho. However to state that there is no significant loss to wolves because of Government studies is plain BS. What the Government finds significant and what the owner of the livestock finds as significant is two different things. I'm just telling you with a family that has been farming and ranching in Colorado since the 1920's that any loss to predators is not an acceptable loss. So go ahead and stick with your Government studies and believe them to be gospel if you want. However I'll stick with what I know from experience that I've gained by living a lifestyle you obviously don't understand. Wolves will kill livestock plain and simple just as they will kill any animal they deem worthy of being their next meal.

I totally agree with you however, that wolves haven't driven up the price of beef, the price of fuel had more to do with that than anything else during the last couple of years. In the long run wolves will have very little effect on the price of beef, because what the farmer/rancher gets per pound of beef is a very small percentage compared to what the packer gets per pound. If you feel you are getting ripped off at the meat counter blame the packers not the wolves.

[Playboypenguin]

I have no hard numbers that is for sure on livestock killed by wolves in Montana, Wyoming, or Idaho. However to state that there is no significant loss to wolves because of Government studies is plain BS.

No, it is not. To say otherwise despite multiple independent and government studies is BS. Especially with no bases for the statement. In fact that type of action is downright ridiculous and shows nothing but a severe bias and willingness to disregard reality in favor of prejudice...just like anti-gunnies.

This topic has been covered on this forum multiple times and not once has anyone been able to provide any credible evidence to support the anti-wolf movement.