Wisconsin wolf hunting

I don't care if they have a wolf hunt. I don't know how one would hunt a wolf, not to mention there would probably only be about 10 wolf permits issued, so the chances of getting one would be pretty slim for the average Joe. The wolf is the coolest of the world's predators in my opinion.

 

Wolf hunting...Really?

Come on...Wolves have barely had enough time to reestablished their populations from complete extermination from the state in the 20th century. If you want to support our right to bare arms then help us escape the label, "ignorant" that some place on hunters. Healthy wolf populations strengthen the deer herd by culling the sick and weak. They are rarely able to take a healthy adult whitetail, so they are not competition for us. Lay off the other top predators--the way the north is getting developed, they have it hard enough.

Ryan

 

"They are rarely able to take a healthy adult whitetail..."

Really? I read somewhere that one wolf may consume up to 18 mature deer a year. (Minnesota study) Now if you have a pack of five wolves that equates to roughly 90 deer a year. I'm willing to bet that many of these are mature bucks which are run down from the rut.

 

Buck 83, I heard roughly the same figures. I say yes to the hunting! They are over population goals and need to be kept in check before they become a bigger problem.

 

"Healthy wolf populations strengthen the deer herd by culling the sick and weak"

This is a "Disney" view of what takes place in the woods.
If predators had to survive on the sick and the weak they would perish in very short order. There are not many "sick and weak" animals in the population. The fact is that predators will live on the easiest to catch prey, this would include the few sick and weak animals, but the majority of the killed and eaten prey will be the youngest animals in the herd. They will allways be the easiest to catch for a predator. This is the way that nature works, it keeps the populations in check.
I do not love or hate wolves, I see them as another animal that I share the woods with, and as such they need to have controls on them, just like deer and rabbits, and most other animals in the woods. Here in Northwest WI we have a lot of wolves, seeing them is a very common thing. There are many areas that I can show you that have more wolf tracks than deer tracks. There are also many areas where the wolves have become a major problem for farmers trying to earn a living (remember the easiest prey). So I believe that wolf hunting is in order.
It seems that wolves are a subject that causes strong emotions, somewhat like gun control or abortion. The problem with strong emotional subjects is that the facts get lost because of all the shouting and name calling.
Sorry about the long rant....its just that "the weak and the sick" is one of my triggers!!

 

I agree with you on the "weak and sick" stuff.....wolves are opportunists and will take what ever animal they can get when the opportunity is presented and they are hungry. Wolves are plenty able to take down full grown healthy deer, elk, moose, or bison that make a mistake and are caught with the guard down. If wolves had to depend on prey that were weak and sick all the time, they would be pretty skinny......because the pickings would be pretty lean.:lol:

Every one is always crying about wolves in northern Wisconsin hurting deer populatuions.....such nonsense, more deer are killed by autos than wolves.

 

I do not believe that wolves and autos have any relationship to each other in any way. If you are speaking of the entire state there is no doubt that autos take far more deer. If you limit your observations to areas with high wolf densities, such as Washburn, Burnett, Douglas, or Sawyer counties, wolves take far more deer than autos. But again I don't see that this has any bearing on having a wolf hunting season.

Please do not misunderstand what I was saying when I said that I can show you areas with more wolf tracks than deer tracks. When a wolf pack moves into an area with high numbers of deer they will stay in that area until the food supply is depleted. As human hunters we tend to hunt in very small areas and judge the health of the deer herd in general by what we see on the small piece of ground that we hunt a few days out of the year. I think that there are a few hunters that see a wolf track on the piece of ground that they hunt and then blame wolves for not seeing any deer. That is not what I was saying, I believe that the deer herd is very healthy, and that wolves are not really a major factor on the deer herd in general. I also believe that there are relativly small areas where wolves are a major predator on the deer herd.

But my main point was, and still is, that the wolf population has reached a point that we need to start planning to control them, just like we do nearly every other animal that we share the woods with.

 

Agreed ........bowman 7337.

 

Where I'm from, Wolves hunt 24/7/356. I trap & take 4-5 wolves every year. No shortage of wolves in my parts.

Denis

 

I could go on and one about this one. I won't though. However they are becoming a bigger problem than most people even know.

Since I spend 300 days a year in the woods and on the water in wolf country. I see things first hand.

Most of you know. Deer yard up in the winter in the northwoods. A pack of wolves finds one and moves in. Well you might imagine the the results.

Steve

 

In the early 80's I spent an evening with one of the state wolf researchers at that time, at a trappers class. He was saying that a real balance of nature was a decades process, wolf populations increasing to the point of decimating prey populations, and killing each other as conflicts developed between packs, and a resulting crash in wolf numbers. But he also said that there were not many places that was ever going to happen without intervention by game managers, and human conflict, or could happen because of the huge square miles of habitat needed to sustain that kind of hands off policy. He said Isle Royal could maybe see that, but he expected a behind the scenes intervention in that park, or the park would end up basically without game or predators. The Yellostone wolves just up and moved when conflicts developed between packs, as will Wisconsin wolves, thus the wolf deaths here in the southern part of Wisconsin.

 

wolves

Saying that wolves only take weak, young and sick deer is lilke saying that eagles don't eat anything but fish...LOL...or coyotes eat only mice and small rodent type animals, not your dog...

I would also be for a small, limited wolf hunt. It would give managers a much better idea of populations and pack migration, and give hunters a whole new respect for wolves.

I would only be in favor of wolf trapping as a depredation tool. And I'm an avid trapper.

 

Wolves

Predators like wolves are creatures of opportunity.If an opportunity presents itself in the form of food they will try to kill and eat it. They don't pull out a check list and say this victim isn't sick, weak or young, I can't eat it.
The DNR manages everything else with seasons and bag limits based on what they think the population levels are. At least in a limited way for starters,why should't wolves be managed in the same way?

 

Partially because they don't want the Feds back and taking a leading roll in Wolf Management. Wyoming wolves were not delisted as scheduled, partially because the State's management plan called for immediate wolf hunting. It would be a cool opportunity, but I agree with those who say that the packs will expand their range before they get truely out of control on a state wide basis. Will they become locally over abundant? Maybe, but they are wanderers. That is why one of your Wisconsin wolves was hit on the Indiana Toll Road several years ago. He was a wandering soul.