The Future of Wolves in Arizona

[.270]

if darwin was right, the huggers woulda went the way o' the dodo a long time ago. i've said it before on this site. my uncle probably killed more wolves than anyone that ever lived. as a gov't trapper for 40 years he did some serious damage to the herd. and it was all gov't policy. as far as the extermination order, it wasn't just the grays. i read once that the last yellowstone wolves known were a female and a litter. the female was killed by a gov't trapper and the babies were caught and some kids and other folks at a lodge played with em for awhile and then they were drowned. sort of a sick soundin' deal to me. as far as the original gov't intent, to kill all predators, i think it was a real stupid thing. but after they did it, ya can't fix it. my uncle always said that he felt that the mexican grays and the sonoran grizzly killed itself. they never got afraid of, or respected, what men could do. never learned to run away and to stay away from homesteads, chicken coops and milk cows. he said it' didn't matter how many he killed, the guy protecting his livestock and property from wolves and grizzlies, that never learned to run away, is what done em in. what do coyotes, black bears and lions do when they see ya? take the first taxi outta there, that's what. watch a wolf if ya get the chance. what do they do? circle ya to see if you have anything they want. griz was the same way. that ain't somethin' some wolf lover taught em in wolf school. it's in their dna. it's their nature. all the while givin' joe homesteader a chance for a real good shot. it's too bad the grays are gone. it really is. but they are and there ain't no bringin' em back. back in the 50's when the wolf herd really went downhill, this state was one helluva lot less populated and developed than it is now. i'd bet there are 10 times as many roads and homes and stuff in the areas they roamed. and they couldn't hack it then. how they gonna do it now? they just ain't. no way. Lark.

[rabidApache]

Its a hard to say if the Mex. wolf population will ever grow beyond intended recovery goals. From my experience as a wolf bio/technician/trapper on SC res. IMO no.

From personnal observations the wild born pups don't have a chance. My guess...maybe one or none will make into adulthood. Even as adults it tough being a wolf in AZ. Disease, starvation, lead poisoning, veh. traffic, other predators and many other factors they gotta survive to make a living. Wolf population is on a downward trend IMO. From having 62 collared animals back in 03-04 to 42 in 2010. With this known population plus 30 more for any unaccounted totaling 70+ wolves. You think 70 animals would put a dent in the elk population. I don't think so, we would probably see more elk movement more than anything.

Again..just studying these wolves hunting tactics and comparing to humans from my personnal observations its clear to me. Wolves hunt close contact, oppurtunistic and use other skills we as people don't know about. They use all natural senses, man hunts totally different. I hunt/guide and have learned alot from wolves.

 

The subject of wolves came once and an Apache elder (98yrs) talked of the days when apache bands hunted close with wolves nearby. Respect between hunters. Where you find wolves you find prey. Wolves and Apaches were basically treated alike back in the "Wild West" but times have changed.

 

Out of my countless effort and patience I finally captured an elusive "uncollared" wolf. Pretty cool pic actually. Enjoy fellas.