One of my favorite pilgrimages in Northwest Montana is the jaw-dropping drive up the Trout Creek to Hoodoo Meadow. Located in the historically gold rich Cedar Creek Mining District, the Trout Creek drainage proved very productive to the hundreds of miners that "rushed" this pristine canyon.
Double checked that the gas tank was topped off. Very few journey on this mountain road; requires an all terrain vehicle or four wheel drive. I am grateful for my old 1991 Jeep Grand Wagoner - a work horse that
that guzzles gas. Just had a tune up but still gets less than 10 miles to the gallon. Dependable, rugged and built to last, the old jeeps are like the Energizer bunny, they just keep going and going.
"Jessie" the Jeep has been my mining partner since I bought her new in 1991 - together we have shared some incredible experiences - flash floods in Colorado, tornados in Oklahoma and a few mountain roads that would challenge a goat. Jessie has got me out of some real predicaments and transported me on some great adventures.
A portion of the road was washed out, but we got over some major pot holes and fallen rock and reached Hoodoo Meadow in the late afternoon. Resplendent with wildflowers, the meadow is breath-taking. Early autumn frosts have touched the meadow and the huckleberry brush lies in vivid red splashes across the hillside.
Witnessed two magnificent bald eagles in glorious flight across the canyon. If you look carefully, you can see their nest on the crest of the peak to the left. Not only is Trout Creek famous for its gold, there are some really fine fishing spots both on Trout Creek and beyond Hoodoo Meadow at Kelly Creek.
The road across Freezeout pass was open, pretty rough in spots, but we made it through without incident.
We then journeyed down Snowshoe Gulch to rejoin the Cedar Creek Road and return to civilization. A spectacular, happy day at Hoodoo.
Montana is home to one herd of wild horses which is located in the Pryor Mountains south of Billings along the Montana-Wyoming border. There are no wild horse herds in the Dakotas.
For more than a century, the Pryor Mountains have been home to free-roaming bands of wild horses. In 1968, interested individuals and groups convinced Interior Secretary Stewart Udall to set aside 31,000 acres in the Pryor Mountains as a public range for the wild horses living there. Subsequent to the Udall's order, the passage of the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act in 1971 allowed for expansion of the range to areas where horses were "presently found."
The Pryor Mountain Wild Horse Range is unique in both its setting and for the wild horses that inhabit it. Many of the horses have primitive striping on their backs, withers, and legs and are reputed to be descendents of "colonial" Spanish horses.
The Pryor Mountains were named after Sergeant Nathaniel Pryor of the Lewis and Clark Expedition which traveled down the nearby Yellowstone River Valley in 1806. The Pryor mountain range is actually an extension of the Bighorn Mountains but is separated from the Bighorns by the Bighorn Canyon. For centuries, the Pryors were home to small bands of American Indians.
Click here for more information about the Pryor Mountain wild horses.
Today, America's wild horses and burros are found in 10 western states. It is the BLM's responsibility to preserve and protect healthy herds of wild, free-roaming horses and burros as components of the public lands. The Wild Horse Annie Act of 1959 and the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971 gave wild horses and burros a legal right to live on public lands without harassment. The Adopt-A-Horse or Burro Program was initiated in 1973 to meet the challenges of balancing the health of public lands with the health of the wild horses and burros.
Fort Worth, Texas, April 1 – Wild horse and humane animal advocacy groups from across the nation are joining forces for a single cause: to encourage the American public to consider and act on the adoption of a wild horse or burro. A goal of 1,000 adoptions has been set for the first National Wild Horse Adoption Day to be held September 26, 2009.
Nearly 33,000 mustangs roam federal lands across the West. In order to manage the herds and maintain both land and herd health, the Bureau of Land Management oversees the adoption of wild horses and burros through public adoptions held throughout the United States. Since 1973, more than 220,000 wild horses and burros have been adopted.
Horses between the ages of 3 and 6 years old are typically selected from the herds for adoption, but a horse of any age can fit into the right farm or ranch. For many mustang adopters, having the opportunity to work with a horse or burro with a storied past and an unconventional upbringing brings a unique and special element to their relationship.
The groups supporting National Wild Horse Adoption Day, in addition to the BLM, include Wild Horses 4 Ever, the American Horse Protection Association, the Mustang Heritage Foundation and The Humane Society of the United States.
The groups are working together to educate Americans about wild horse issues while promoting adoption of BLM wild horses through adoption events, training programs and motivational experiences, says spokesperson Jerry Reynoldson.
“The federal government, wild horse advocates, cattle ranchers and the taxpayers all agree that the current system of relying on a flat adoption market to sustain BLM mustang removal programs is an increasing drain on federal resources,” he said. “While there is a difference of opinion on the appropriate numbers of animals removed, it is clear that there is an immediate need for a comprehensive, sophisticated, well managed and successful marketing and adoption program that will quickly place the surplus numbers of horses in holding facilities into qualified, adoptive homes.
“The day a horseman or woman brings a mustang into their lives, is one they will remember forever. These iconic symbols of our past and future bring a dimension to any horse lovers experience that will help them grow and deepen their understanding, skill and commitment to the special relationship we all have experienced with these magnificent animals.”
The goal of 1,000 horses adopted through a National Adoption Day program could create a savings of more than $1,500,000 for the BLM and the American taxpayer.
State BLM offices, as well as rescue centers, wild horse groups, and volunteers will be engaged in activities leading up to and on September 26 to promote an understanding of and interest in opening new homing opportunities to these magnificent animals.
Activities will not only include adoptions, but will also include educational events and wild horse expos. More than 65 events will take place across the country in support of national wild horse adoption day, and other events may apply to be included on the calendar through the event web site at nationalwildhorseadoptionday.org.
Wild horse and humane animal advocacy groups from across the nation are joining forces for a single cause: to encourage the American public to consider and act on the adoption of a wild horse or burro. A goal of 1,000 adoptions has been set for the first National Wild Horse Adoption Day to be held September 26, 2009.
Nearly 33,000 mustangs roam federal lands across the West. In order to manage the herds and maintain both land and herd health, the Bureau of Land Management oversees the adoption of wild horses and burros through public adoptions held throughout the United States. Since 1973, more than 220,000 wild horses and burros have been adopted.
Horses between the ages of 1 and 6 years old are typically selected from the herds for adoption, but a horse of any age can fit into the right farm or ranch. For many mustang adopters, having the opportunity to work with a horse or burro with an intriguing past and an unconventional upbringing brings a unique and special element to their relationship.
The groups are working together to educate Americans about wild horse issues while promoting adoption of BLM wild horses through adoption events, training programs and motivational experiences, says spokesperson Jerry Reynoldson.
The goal of 1,000 horses adopted through a National Adoption Day program could create a savings of more than $1,500,000 for the BLM and the American taxpayer.
State BLM offices, as well as wild horse groups, rescue centers, and volunteers will be engaged in activities leading up to and on September 26 to promote an understanding of and interest in opening new homing opportunities to these magnificent animals.
Activities will not only include adoptions, but will also include educational events and wild horse expos. For more information on events or how to volunteer, go to contact coordinating director Angie Grizzell at 817-559-5650 or [email protected].
Adoption Information
Federal protection and a lack of natural predators have resulted in thriving wild horse and burro populations that grow in number each year. The BLM monitors rangelands and wild horse and burro herds to determine the number of animals, including livestock and wildlife, that the land can support. Each year, the BLM gathers excess wild horses and burros from areas where vegetation and water could become scarce if too many animals use the area.
These excess animals are offered for adoption to qualified people through the BLM’s Adopt-a-Horse-or-Burro program. After caring for an animal for one year, the adopter is eligible to receive title, or ownership, from the Federal government. While the challenge of adopting out enough animals is greater than ever, the program is a popular one. In fact, the BLM has placed more than 220,000 wild horses and burros into private care since 1971.
For more information on BLM adoptions, please visit the adoption schedule. To apply to adopt a wild horse or burro on-line, please go to the BLM's adoption application. If you are interested in adopting directly from one of the BLM's holding facilities, please visit the agency's facilities page.
To provide some background on the horse sale, please read the following;
Today, the House voted handily in favor of a bill, H.R. 1018 introduced by Natural Resources Committee Chairman Nick Rahall (D-W.Va.), to provide sweeping new protections for wild horses and burros inhabiting public lands in the West. The vote was 239-185.
Rahall’s bill, known as the Restore Our American Mustangs (ROAM) Act and co-authored by Reps. Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Ed Whitfield (R-Ky.), comes in response to woeful mismanagement of wild horses and burros by the federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM). BLM has been rounding up thousands of horses from our public lands, and then adopting out fewer than half of the animals they capture. As a result, BLM is now holding about 31,000 wild horses in captivity, with taxpayers footing the bill. If the program isn’t revamped, there will soon be more wild horses in captivity than in the wild (there are now estimated to be approximately 35,000 horses and burros roaming federal lands in 10 Western states, with a majority of the horses in Nevada and Wyoming).
It’s inhumane for the horses, who are subjected to regular rounds-ups and long-term captivity, and ultimately life-threatening for them because BLM last year claimed it might even resort to slaughtering the animals. It’s also a fiscal mess and it’s spiraling out of control, with two-thirds of all dollars set aside for horses going to feed and house captive wild mustangs and burros. That percentage is expected to increase to 75 percent this year. In short, the program has strayed far from its original purpose, which was to protect wild horses and burros on the range and maintain them as symbols of American culture.
Thanks to a major grant from the Annenberg Foundation, The HSUS has been working with the BLM to expand fertility controlas a humane population control tool, which will reduce the need for round-ups and thereby reduce the flow of horses from the range to captive settings. The Rahall bill, if approved by the Senate and signed by President Obama, will provide momentum to our efforts, and address other problems with the horse and burro program. The Rahall bill will also ban commercial slaughter of wild horses, reversing a rider pushed by former Sen. Conrad Burns (R-Mont.) and protecting the animals now in captivity. It has the stated goal of allowing horses to occupy public lands they previously used, but which BLM has closed off to the horses after rounding up entire herds. And finally, Rahall’s bill will also help promote the horse and burro adoption program, so that the current population of captive horses can go to suitable homes and get out of overcrowded holding facilities run by BLM.
In addition to passing H.R. 1018, the House defeated an amendment by Ranking Minority Member Richard “Doc” Hastings (R-Wash.) to narrow the bill and omit critical provisions relating to fertility control, adoption, and range expansion for the horses. That amendment was rejected 348-74.
I was distressed to see House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) yet again go down to the floor and assail yet another animal welfare bill. Boehner said it was “an insult” to the American people to consider an animal protection bill during the nation’s economic crisis. This is the same man who opposes every animal protection measure—in good times and bad—that comes up for consideration, including efforts to crack down on dogfighting and cockfighting, to halt the trade in exotic pets, and end the trophy hunting of polar bears. The HSUS will do its best to let the American public, and his constituents, know about his dismissive and hostile attitude toward all animals.
Now, it’s on to the Senate, where there will be a tough battle to advance the legislation. But anyone who’s paying attention knows that the status quo is absolutely unacceptable as a matter of fiscal responsibility and animal welfare. Something must be done to stop the waste and abuse.
On August 16, 1896, George Washington Carmack and two Indian friends in the Yukon pried a nugget from the bed of Rabbit Creek, a tributary of Canada’s Klondike River, and set in motion one of the most frenzied and fabled gold rushes in history. Over the next two years, at least 100,000 eager would-be prospectors from all over the world set out for the new gold fields with dreams of a quick fortune dancing in their heads. Only about 40,000 actually made it to the Klondike, and precious few of them ever found their fortune.
Swept along on this tide of gold seekers was a smaller and cannier contingent, also seeking their fortunes but in a far more practical fashion. They were the entrepreneurs, the men and women who catered to the Klondike fever.
George Carmack, the man who began it all, was neither a die-hard prospector nor a keen businessman. The California native was simply in the right place at the right time. Not that this son of a Forty-Niner had anything against being rich. But, like most of the white men who drifted north in the 1870s and ’80s, he came as much for the solitude as for the gold.
There had been rumors of gold in the Yukon as far back as the 1830s, but little was done about it. The harsh land and harsher weather, plus the Chilkoot Indians’ jealous guarding of their territory, effectively kept out most prospectors–until 1878, when a man named George Holt braved the elements and the Indians and came back with nuggets impressive enough to make other prospectors follow his lead. By 1880, there were perhaps 200 miners panning fine placer gold from the sandbars along the Yukon River.
In 1885, gold was found in paying quantities on the bars of the Stewart River, south of the Klondike River. The next year, coarse gold was found on the Forty Mile River, and a trading post, called Fortymile, then sprang up where the river joins the Yukon River. In 1893, a little farther down the Yukon, in Alaska, two Russian half-bloods hit pay dirt that produced $400,000 a year in gold, and spawned the boom town of Circle City. Known as ‘The Paris of Alaska,’ it boasted two theaters, eight dance halls, 28 saloons, a library and a school. But when news of the strike on Rabbit Creek (soon to be renamed Bonanza Creek) reached the citizens of Circle City, they decamped in droves. Only a year before Carmack’s lucky find, Canada had created the Yukon District as an administrative subunit within the Northwest Territories, and construction had begun on Fort Constantine (across from Fortymile), the first North-West Mounted Police post in the Yukon. So law enforcement was in place just in time to greet the droves of prospectors who would soon be stampeding to the Klondike region of the Yukon District, which would become a separate territory on June 13, 1898.
Like his Indian friends, George Carmack believed in visions. Shortly before his dramatic discovery, he had a vision in which two salmon with golden scales and gold nuggets for eyes appeared before him. So lacking in mercenary impulses was he that he interpreted this as a sign that he should take up salmon fishing. And that’s just what he was doing, along with his friends Skookum Jim and Tagish Charley, when a determined prospector named Robert Henderson floated down from upriver and, in keeping with the prospector’s code, told George about the ‘color’ he’d found on a creek he dubbed Gold Bottom Creek. But, he warned, glaring at Jim and Charley, he didn’t want any ‘damn Siwashes’ staking claims there.
The three friends didn’t like Henderson’s attitude, and for two weeks they ignored his lead. Then, with nothing better to do, they meandered over to check out Henderson’s claim. Henderson insulted the Indians again by refusing to sell them tobacco. Indignant, George, Jim and Charley left and set up camp on Rabbit Creek. While cleaning a dishpan, one of the three unearthed the thumb-sized chunk of gold that set the great rush in motion. Probably because of the insults, Carmack didn’t bother to hike the short distance back to Henderson’s diggings to tell him of the strike. Instead, he headed downriver the 50 or so miles to Fortymile to record his claim, and Jim’s and Charley’s. On the way, he bragged to everyone he saw of his good luck.
Most of the old-timers just scoffed. Carmack had made’strikes’ before that amounted to nothing, earning him the nickname ‘Lying George,’ so they put little stock in this new bonanza of his. But a few cheechakos (newcomers) went to investigate, and the word spread. Within five days, the valley was swarming with prospectors. By the end of August, the whole length of Bonanza Creek was staked out in claims; then an even richer vein was found on a tributary that became known as Eldorado Creek.
If all this had come about early in the year, the news would have reached civilization within a few weeks. But winter was already closing in. Once the rivers froze and the heavy snows fell, communication with the outside was nearly impossible. William Ogilvie, a Canadian government surveyor, sent off two separate messages to Ottawa, telling of the magnitude of the strike, but both were lost in the bureaucratic shuffle.
So it wasn’t until the following July (1897), when steamships from Alaska docked in San Francisco and Seattle–disgorging 68 ragged miners carrying more than 2 tons of gold in suitcases, boxes, blankets and coffee cans–that the outside world caught the Klondike fever.
The fever quickly reached epidemic proportions. Like a worn-down body that’s susceptible to any disease that comes along, the country was particularly susceptible just then to gold fever. The amount of gold in circulation had dropped, helping to cause the deep economic depression that had been eating at the United States for 30 years. The Pacific Northwest had been hit especially hard. People were tired of being poor; many who had jobs quit them for the promise of greater rewards. Streetcar drivers abandoned their trolleys; a quarter of the Seattle police force walked out; even the mayor resigned and bought a steamboat to carry passengers to the Klondike.
Those who had no jobs mortgaged their homes or borrowed the $500 or so needed to buy an ‘outfit’–a stove, tent, tools, nails and enough supplies to last a year. A proper outfit tipped the scales at nearly 2,000 pounds–though one fast-talking salesman began hawking a valise that he claimed contained a year’s worth of desiccated food and weighed only 250 pounds!He was just one of a growing number of enterprising citizens who realized there was a fortune to be made right here at home, simply by selling a product, however dubious in value, with the name Klondike attached. There were Klondike medicine chests, Klondike electric gold pans, Klondike mining schools, a Klondike bicycle, even a portable Klondike house purported to be ‘light as air’ when folded up–a doubtful claim, considering it featured a double bed and an iron stove.
Inventors dreamed up devices that promised to make the task of digging gold positively pleasant. Nikola Tesla, one of the pioneers of electricity, promoted an X-ray machine that would supposedly detect precious metals beneath the ground without all the trouble of digging. A Trans-Alaskan Gopher Company proposed to train gophers to claw through frozen gravel and uncover nuggets. Clairvoyants touted their abilities to pinpoint rich lodes of gold. Several ventures were underway to invade the Klondike by balloon.
Even as all these cockeyed schemes and services were being offered, there was one crucial commodity that was in desperately short supply–transportation. There weren’t nearly enough ships in the Northwest to handle the stampede of gold seekers–2,800 from Seattle alone in a single week. Everything that floated was pressed into service–ancient paddlewheelers and fishing boats, barges, coal ships still full of coal dust. All were overloaded, and many unseaworthy; they were dubbed ‘floating coffins,’ and all too often they lived up to the name.
A few ships sailed around the Aleutians and through the Bering Sea to St. Michael, Alaska, on Norton Sound. The passengers could then take riverboats upstream from the Yukon River delta to the gold fields, a 1,600-mile trip on the winding Yukon. But not many Klondikers could afford the $1,000 fare. Most boats went only as far as Skagway in the Alaska Panhandle, where the passengers and their outfits were unceremoniously dumped on the mile-wide tidal flats. If the Klondikers weren’t ready to turn back by then, there was plenty of adversity ahead to change their minds. Skagway itself was no beach resort. It was, in fact, a grimy anarchic tent town that a visiting Englishman described as ‘the most outrageously lawless quarter I have ever struck. ‘ There was a saloon or a con man, or both, on every corner, and gunfire in the streets was so commonplace as to be mostly ignored. The most famous of the con men was Jefferson Randolph (’Soapy’) Smith, the ‘Uncrowned King of Skagway,’ who ran the town’s underworld until he died in a July 8, 1898, shootout.
But even in this chaotic setting, legitimate businesses flourished. What the would-be miner needed by now was some way of getting his outfit to the gold fields, so anyone with a wagon and a team or a few mules could do well for himself–or herself. Harriet Pullen, a widow with a brood of children, arrived in Skagway with $7 to her name, but parlayed it into a fortune by driving a freight outfit all day and, at night, baking apple pies in pans hammered out of old tin cans. She became the town’s most distinguished citizen. Joe Brooks, one of the most successful ‘packers,’ owned 335 mules and raked in $5,000 a day–far more than most men earned in a year. In keeping with the nature of the town, he wasn’t overly scrupulous; if he was hauling equipment for one customer and got a more tempting offer, he’d simply dump the first shipment alongside the trail.
In addition to the boat passage up the Yukon, there were at least five trails being touted as the best route to the gold fields. But three of those were so long and hazardous that only a few men ever succeeded in reaching the Klondike alive on them. The two most heavily traveled routes began in Skagway and the neighboring town of Dyea.
Michelle Dahinden suspected trouble when the herd of deer she had grown accustomed to seeing near her home up Flat Creek stopped coming around. When she woke up one recent morning and found the remains of her cat’s bloody carcass, she was sure something wasn’t right.
The Dahindens are one of a few Flat Creek-area residents who believe a wolf or pack of wolves is terrorizing the neighborhood. Michelle Dahinden said every morning she finds trash cans that have been rummaged through and garbage strewn about yards. Dahinden has not recently seen a wolf, however, but in her nearly 40 years of living in Superior, she said she has never witnessed this level of consistent destruction. “I’ve told my tenants, who have little kids, to stop playing outside,” Dahinden said.
Burt Peters, who also lives in the area, suspects wolves, too. “He runs the trail every evening just before dark,” Peters, who has never caught a wolf in the act of vandalism, said. “He looks pretty old, like he’s searching for easy prey. I’ve seen more wolves than I’ve seen elk (this year).”
Peters has lived in the area for two and a half years. Both Peters and Dahinden said they have talked to a hunter who claims to have seen a wolf with a dead cat dangling from its mouth, but neither knew the name of the man.
Mineral County Game Warden Mike Fegely said he wouldn’t be surprised if wolves were responsible for some of the recent carnage, but he said most of the time mountain lions are the ones who prey on small pets.
“Typically, mountain lions seem to key in on cats as a food source,” Fegely said. “The wolves are certainly close to town, but they are not as apt to come real close to residents, which isn’t to say it couldn’t happen because Mineral County is in wolf habitat.”
Fegely said that with wolves in the news, people are more likely to suspect the animals simply because they have them on the mind. “I’ve had a few people with concerns,” Fegely said. “It wouldn’t surprise me to see (a wolf) anywhere in the county, but they tend to shy away from sneaking into dense areas within town limits.”
The issue is especially timely because of recent debates over wolf-hunting tags in Idaho and Montana. Wolf hunting has already started in Idaho and is scheduled to begin in Montana on Sept. 15. U.S. District Judge Don Molloy will soon decide whether or not to put wolves back on the endangered species list. Such a decision would put an end to wolf hunts.
Not all residents are willing to blame the wolves for the destruction that has occurred near Flat Creek, however. Brian Calhoun lost six cats, including three within three weeks, but thinks neighborhood dogs are culpable.
“I believe it was people not taking care of their animals,” he said. “There’s no leash law on the trail (behind Mullan Road), and if someone’s dog did it they aren’t going to come foreword and say, ‘Well, my dog just killed your kitty.’”
Calhoun said he found nothing but fur and his cats’ collars when he discovered them missing. In his nearly 10 years in the area, Calhoun is accustomed to losing pets but said he has never lost so many in such a concentrated time frame.“We loved them,” he said of his cats.
Calhoun also said his dog theory is just as untested as the wolf speculation.“I have no proof. I can’t sit around and watch my cats all day long,” he said.
Bartenders at the Old Montana Bar and Four Aces Bar, both located near the base of Flat Creek, said they have not seen a wolf scrounging through their trash or heard people talking about a wolf. Calhoun’s neighbor also had not seen or heard about any trouble with wolves.
If you have more information on wolves in the county, please contact the Mineral Independent at 822-0041.
As well as looking for it in nature, many of our readers are avid gold collectors, treasure hunters and relic collectors. If that description fits you, please read the post below and post your comments. This one is a challenge.
Hi,
I was wondering what these numbers might mean on an old (gold) pocket watch. On the inside back panel it says ROLLED GOLD WARRENTED 10 YEARS, and the initials VB in a box, and then these numbers – 1525 – 80.
Just received an update from Kit Andrews, our mining friend from the UK. Wanted to share a recap of rising gold prices - makes me want to head to the creek. Wishing everyone color in thier pan and happy prospecting. Please add your comments. Where do you think the price of gold is headed?
Hi there panners and prospectors and gold investors, I’m not sure if you are all still keeping an eye on the gold prices of late, I know a small handful of you are and diligently keep me posted. Thanks for that.
Gold prices bounded higher on Thursday, nearing the $1,000 mark for the first time since February, with other metals following gold highest price since February.
Gold jumped $19.20, or 2 percent, to $997.70 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after earlier hitting a six-month high of $999.50.
Prices have added about $44, or 4.6 percent, over the past three days, breaking free from over two months of wavering trading between $930 and $970 an ounce.
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Analysts say a number of bullish factors have converged to benefit gold, and are likely to take it past the $1,000 mark in coming days.
One of these factors are, September is historically a strong month for gold, 16 of the last 20 Septembers have seen a vast marked increase in gold prices partly because it precedes the wedding season in India, when jewellery demand typically picks up.
Its not just gold that has picked up Silver prices, which have trailed gold this year, got a boost as well. Silver soared 6 percent, rising 92.5 cents to $16.29 an ounce, after earlier hitting $16.31, its highest point since August 2008. Silver prices have surged more than $2, or 14 percent, in just five days.
For the gold market to sustain this steady rise it would need a constant influx of investment flows such as scrap metal to sustain itself above $1,000/oz in the long-run.
Gold will quite likely breach $1,000/oz certainly within the next week. It will be extremely challenging for the gold price to remain over this psychological hurdle of the $1K barrier since it is currently being driven by short-term investment flows.
People are betting on where why see the US dollar going, which is not sustainable for the gold price in the long run. A lot of people are going to off-load gold when it is above $1,000/oz.
Hello everyone.....wolf hunting licenses went on sale on September 1st here in Montana. What is your opinion? Lets have some intelligent, indepth conversations regarding this "controversial topic".
Please, your opinions are welcome, but un-founded statements and emotional outbursts will not change anyone's mind ....so lets be civil, respect one another and quote the facts.
Your views will be forwarded to our elected officals. Speak your mind and posts your comments.
My hunting friends are applying for wolf tags. For the first time in several decades, wolf hunting is once again legal in Montana. The hunting season for wolves in Montana commences on September 15th. Many Montanans welcome this move, especially the ranchers and farmers whose stock is under considerable attack by the lupine predator.
I have mixed emotions and find myself quite torn over this conflict of whether or not it is right or appropriate to hunt wolves. I am not a hunter myself, but I believe in the right to hunt and I enjoy the game my hunter friends provide. As to the situation with the wolves; they are magnificent animals, beautiful and breath taking to see in the wild. However, like rabbits, they multiply and must be managed.
I spend a lot of time in the back country prospecting and hiking. I enjoy viewing wildlife. This summer there are none to be seen. Elk, deer, grouse and moose used to be plentiful here in Mineral County, the wolves are wiping them out. I am told that we have 9 active wolf packs in Mineral County.
In Montana the hunt is limited to 75 wolves. Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks has scheduled the hunt to begin September 15th in some backcountry areas and on October 25th in the rest of the four management areas. There also is a winter season hunt set for December 1-31.
At the end of 2008, the State of Montana had an esitmated 497 wolves; many people believed that estimate to be considerably lower than the actual wolf population. Reportedly their are over 1600 wolves in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. Wyoming does not have a managed hunt this year, however Idaho opened it's wolf season on September 1st with a hunt limit of 220 wolves.
The wolf population in the Rockies dwindled in the last century, in part because of over hunting and trapping. The scheduled hunting seasons are part of Montana's plan to manage the gray wolf after it was reintroduced to the state during the mid-1980s. The wolf recovery was quite a bit more successful than at first imagined, and the wolf was removed from the endangered species list earlier this year.
Wolf hunting isn't popular with everybody. It has become a hot controversary, just mention it in any conversation and you will start a lively and heated discussion.
Environmental and animal rights activists are angered and concerned over a federal decision this year to remove gray wolves, in the northern Rocky Mountains, from the endangered species list. This legal move that opened the door to permitting the hunts is still a red hot issue and highly debated.
Activists are seeking an injunction in U.S. District Court in Montana to put a stop to the hunts. Judge Donald Molloy is reviewing the case. It's unknown when he will make a ruling.
Montana Wolf Distribution
* Wolf packs occur primarily in western Montana, but wolves can be found anywhere in Montana.
* Wolves are accomplished travelers. They are known to disperse over 500 miles.
* The average wolf pack territory in Montana is about 200 square miles. Many are larger.
Under normal conditions, wild wolves are usually timid around humans. Wolves will try to avoid contact with people, to the point of even abandoning their kills when an approaching human is detected, though there are several reported circumstances in which wolves have been recorded to act overtly aggressively toward humans in the protection of their prey.
Compared to other carnivorous mammals known to attack humans, the frequency with which wolves attack, maul or have killed people is much lower. Though potentially dangerous, wolves are among the least threatening for their size and predatory potential.
This is an amazing video. Wolves vs. Grizzly
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.
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)
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.
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)
Courtesy 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.
This is a Letter that was posted on Predator Master Forums that came from the Ranch Manager that owns these cattle.
Wyoming Cow Eaten By Wolves
I had one heck of an experience this past Friday. I was walking into an area I spotted 5 bulls last weekend when wolves started howling, growling and snarling about 300 yds away in the timber below me. It was just getting light so, I hung out for a while hoping to get a look at the wolves. Nothing appeared so, thinking that there were probably no elk in this spot, I headed back to the truck. I unloaded the ATV and was headed to an area called the "Natural Corral" on Bald Ridge.
About ½ mile down the dirt road I came upon a herd of cattle running around in a circle and making all sorts of sounds. The herd parted and 2 wolves popped out to look at me. Just beyond the two was another wolf on the hind end of a cow pulling a chunk of flesh from the cow that was still alive. The two wolves ran to my right and stopped about 50 yds away.
The wolf on the cow jumped off and stood on the road. I charged him with the ATV and he ran to my right and stopped 25 yds. away. I had my .44 mag and could have popped him, but knowing the penalty for killing a wolf, I pulled out the camera instead and took a picture of him while he was running away. It's a grueling sight to see an animal being eaten alive.
I called 911 to get the local Game Warden, Chris Queen. He called back and was heading to the spot after he finished loading hay. I asked if I should put the cow down since it was still alive. He knew the owner of the herd and said not to finish it since the owner was particular about killing his cattle.
Chris called Mark Brucino, USF&W biologist that handles wolves and grizzlies in the area. Mark called me back to say he was on the way. I told him that I was heading back out to look for elk and would be back later.
The wolves starting to attack the herd again further down the road behind me. I took off down the road, but the wolves were gone. I got back to elk hunting and spotted 3 groups of cows, calves and spike bulls totaling 41. A plane appeared and was flying transect patterns. I knew it must be FWS people. The elk didn't care for the plane and slowly head back into cover. This was not working for elk hunting so I twisted off the hunt and headed back to the truck.
At the kill site I met Mark and an agent with USDA Wildlife Services (formerly Animal Damages Board), Monty Nicholson. Mark said they were trying to pick up any signals from collared wolves. None of the wolves I saw had collars. After explaining my account of the situation and a description of the wolves they made a decision to call in a chopper and hunt them down. The chopper came in and Monty jumped in with a 12 gauge and #4 Buckshot, his standard load for killing wolves and coyotes from a chopper. Monty had explained that the area I was in is the border for 3 wolf packs;
Sunlight Basin , Absaroka and Clark 's Fork. He believes these 3 wolves are lead by a older male wolf that walks with a limp. Because of the injury the older wolf cannot compete with stronger wolves for females and is leading the 3 younger males. The older wolf has a radio collar, however the plane did not pick up the signal.
Soon the rancher and trail riders arrived. Mark wrote out a ticket for the rancher to get reimbursed "7 to 1" meaning he will get paid 7 times the cost of the 2 yr. old cow. It is based on the assumption that the cow would be able to produce 7 calves during the life span. Of course the money comes from the State even though the Feds brought the wolves into WY and now we have to deal with the mess.
What was the cost of this one situation?
- Time for 1 DOI FWS biologist
- Time for 1 USDA Wildlife Services agent
- Time for 1 WY Game Warden
- Flight time for 1 surveillance plane
- Flight time for 1 chopper
- Payment for 1 cow (.85/lb x 1000 lbs x 7 = $5,950)
So much for wolf management in WY. I could have helped out for the low, low price of one .44 mag round. At least I could have taken care of ¼ of the pack!
I spend most of my summer free time in the back country. I am appalled by the amount of trash I find in the forest. I have yet to venture into the high country that I have not returned with a large sack of garbage that thoughtless (morons) others have thrown out along the wayside. If you pack it in, please pack it out.
Why is it that many people who come to the mountains to cherish time in nature, to enjoy the majestic scenery, the sparking clear creeks, awesome fishing and wilderness hiking trails then defile the pristine beauty with discarded water bottles, soiled diapers and beer cans?
