Season of the Wolf

The Drinking and Reading Society is visiting the topic of wolves for, I think about the third time, reading Decade of the Wolf by Douglas Smith and Gary Furguson, the story of the return of wolves to Yellowstone.

I don’t suppose there is an animal that arouses so much passion. Those who have seen wolves, or even heard them, are transfixed by their wild beauty. I don’t get the same sense of awe from people who have seen lions. On the other hand, those who hate wolves are also passionate – to the point of psychopathy. Wolves, it seems are either our wild blood brothers or the Devil’s own hounds.

Meanwhile, there’s this AP story: Wisconsin Considers Timber Wolf Hunting.

MADISON, Wis. — Outdoorsmen will be asked this spring whether the state should set a hunting season for timber wolves, whose numbers are rebounding here even though the species is endangered in most other states.

As many as 575 timber wolves roam the north woods and the population is growing about 12 percent annually, the state Department of Natural Resources estimates. The state's management strategy calls for hunting if the population exceeds 350 animals.

There are lots of links to the full story in case you missed it; I included this one from the San Jose Mercury News just to show how widespread is the interest in wolves: www.mercurynews.com/nationworld/ci_7987815.

I can understand why people who live around wolves may be afraid – I would be pretty nervous if they were in my woods, and my horses would be even more nervous. But I never cease to be amazed that the first response by some people to any animal is “let’s shoot it!” I suppose evolution is to blame for the “shoot first” gene, but if so, I’ll admit I didn’t inherit it.

For the record, it is no longer true that there has never been a documented fatal wolf attack in North America.

The jury at a coroner's inquest has ruled engineering student Kenton Carnegie was killed by a pack of wolves on Nov. 8, 2005 in northern Saskatchewan, making it the first documented case of a fatal wolf attack in the wild in North America.

Carnegie, a 22-year-old student on a work term from the University of Waterloo, was last seen alive as he headed out for an afternoon hike from the Points North Landing supply depot. Two hours later, worried co-workers found him mauled to death in the bush, less than a kilometre from the work camp.