Saw my first wolf this evening

So, my brother and I drove over the border to Idaho this afternoon on my first Whitetail hunt of the season.

We saw a few deer but nothing worth harvesting this early in the season. However, I did see something that disturbed me.

My brother and I were actually on our way home and spotted one solitary deer standing in the middle of a field. We stopped to glass it just to see what it was. (The land it was on was private property so we were just checking out the deer for the heck of it) I realized that the deer was watching the edge of the treeline rather intently and not paying us any mind whatsoever so I started glassing the treeline myself. That's when I spotted it...a solitary wolf! He/She was rather large and extremely dark. I guess I was in denial, although in the back of my mind I knew what it was right away. I told my brother to check the treeline and tell me what he sees. Not too seconds later he yelled...."It's a damned wolf!" Yup....sure is....DAMNIT!

I knew they were in there and I have seen several trailcam pics of wolves from this area. However, this was the first one that I have actually seen with my own eyes...and it pissed me off. That is the LAST thing I want to see in my whitetail area!

Anyway...for those of you that are wondering....I did NOT take a shot at it. I watched it for a while until it got too dark to see anything. As much as I dislike these animals wandering my hunting area, a poacher is a poacher in my eyes and I refuse to stoop to that level.

Just thought I'd let you all know. I'll keep ya posted on the hunt as it progresses also...especially since it doesn't look like I will be mule deer hunting this year (Work schedule will not permit it).
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NONYA
Try having them in every area you hunt,welcome to my world. ](*,)
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AntlersOutWest
That makes my guts wrench. Sorry to hear
Its only a matter of time before they are in my areas.
You guys be careful out there
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killerbee
on one hand , sure it would be cool to see one, but on the other hand- and far more importantly- that sucks! it's just the beginning of a big mess. S-S-S:) i am 99% sure i heard wolves howling on my backpack trip this year. that sucks knowing they are moving in. i hope they can get that problem under control and in a hurry.
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NONYA
Im gonna do my best to put a hole in one this year,do my part! =D>
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NONYA
http://www.helenair.com/news/state-and-regional/article_b7b51b3c-bae1-11de-8a8d-001cc4c03286.html
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fatrooster
Theres been a lot of talk of wolf sightings in Nevada also. fatrooster.
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Default Avatar
I have mixed feelings on the subject of wolves. On the one hand I know what a high concentration of wolves can do to the deer and elk herds. On the other I can not bring myself to condem them out of hand since they are like us. We are all predetors/hunters.

Now before the firestorm of critisism begins let me make myself perfectly clear when it becomes legal to do so I will do my part to keep them in check. Until that time I except them for what they/I are: predetors looking for our next meal.
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AGCHAWK
"JLROOT" wrote:I have mixed feelings on the subject of wolves. On the one hand I know what a high concentration of wolves can do to the deer and elk herds. On the other I can not bring myself to condem them out of hand since they are like us. We are all predetors/hunters.

Now before the firestorm of critisism begins let me make myself perfectly clear when it becomes legal to do so I will do my part to keep them in check. Until that time I except them for what they/I are: predetors looking for our next meal.
 No issues from me, my friend. Like Killerbee stated, it was kinda cool to actually see one alive and in the wild. However, I too know what they are doing to the deer...and especially the elk herds in that area and really do not think that there is a place there for them in this day and age. Especially the big Canadian Grey Wolves. Although I was a "little" stoked to actually see one, the overriding emotion was more of dread in my verification of what I already knew...they are here!
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NONYA
You might change your tune if they kill and/or run off the game you have hunted in your home area your whole life,its easy to be philisophical when they have no direct effect on you.
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yea since the expert nonya says there bad i guess there bad. wolves are both bad and good. they were once native to the west but have been killed off for doing what they do witch is live if i see one i will shoot it with a camra not a gun unless i have a tag then watch out but im not gonna shoot one illeagley
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TheGreatwhitehunter
You might change your tune if they kill and/or run off the game you have hunted in your home area your whole life,its easy to be philisophical when they have no direct effect on you.
+1

They need to be thinned out and properly managed for sure, it will only get worse unless all western states plan for future managment before it is to late. They are already well on their way to being in every western state. Just look at Idaho and Montana the mess they are dealing with.
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NONYA
Tell me one good thing they have done here in Montana genius. :-k
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i think they are ok animals in moderate numbers!! like mayb one or two per state!! lol but seriously they do tremendous damage to our deer an elk herds... so therefore there population needs to be held in check as well.. IMO
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79Ford
"AntlersOutWest" wrote:That makes my guts wrench. Sorry to hear
Its only a matter of time before they are in my areas.
You guys be careful out there
 AOW, we saw one not 50 miles from your neck of the woods a few years ago. We only saw one, but there was no question as to what it was. It's only a matter of time until they are in there thick and we dont have any deer or elk left to hunt :>/
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waynedevore
We all ready know how fast Gray Wolves multiply and spread. They have already changed big game hunting opportunities in many areas and we have only seen the beginning. The only thing that will help keep Gray Wolves in check is they will rely more and more on domestic livestock and pets as game animal populations decrease.
No, these Canadian Gray wolves are not native to the US West. The native Buffalo wolves are gone for ever. A smaller wolf dependent on the great herds and living mostly on carrion. The Canadian Gray wolf is a bigger Wolf evolved on killing and feeding on Moose.
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primal215
"NONYA" wrote:Im gonna do my best to put a hole in one this year,do my part! =D>
 Most of you know that Nonya and I agree to disagree on everything but I'm with you on this one. The only good wolf is a dead wolf. A few years back my friends dog who is also our hunting partner(great bird dog) became wolf dinner, after that I sided with the rest of the ranchers, and said they have to go! The problem with wolfs is that they dont just kill to eat, they also kill just for fun (I guess the same could be said about some hunters) I have seen a few documentries on wolfs and have seen them kill animals like moose and deer will just playing then the pack runs off to do something else without a single bite swallowed. We have enough preditors like the Griz or the big cats, to do the job of eating the weak, we dont need anymore eating the healthy . Yes the wolfs where once native so the land is ment to have alot of predetors, but the difference between now and then is that there wasn't 1000's of guys hunting or cars killing, we have kept the balance and are serving as a far better predetor.
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Anybody who says they have "mixed feelings on wolves" and consider them both "good and bad" has obviously not lived with them for very long. I have seen our elk numbers plummet, and are moose are all but extinct. The only good wolf is a dead one! The only difference between a legal season and not, is taggin' is easier than shovelin'! Oops, did I say that? :-$
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TheGreatwhitehunter
The problem with wolfs is that they dont just kill to eat, they also kill just for fun (I guess the same could be said about some hunters) I have seen a few documentries on wolfs and have seen them kill animals like moose and deer will just playing then the pack runs off to do something else without a single bite swallowed.
 Feral dogs will do the same thing in a pack they will group up and kill deer or other dogs they go into a killing frenzy only to leave the dead lie uneaten. If they really wanted to control the numbers in Yellowstone to begin with they should of allowed hunters into the park they could of made money and kept the numbers in check. Instead they introduced a uncontrolled killing machine which is not even native to the area(Canadian Grays). It took every means necessary to get rid of wolves the first time around and now they think we can controll a booming population of them with controlled hunting (???)
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Huge29
Since there are officially no wolves in Utah; I will shoot all of those "large coyotes" that I ever see; hopefully you all do the same. Those who have tags, please shoot often and don't bother tracking too far, it may attack you if injured, so for your own safety just shoot another one until it dies really close to you to be safe.
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NONYA
LOL GOOD ADVICE
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BIG R
:)) :)) :)) +1 Huge.
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Although you only saw one I can almost guarantee there were more very close nearby. They hunt in packs and it sounds like hunting is exactly what it was doing. I commend you for not taking an illegal shot. Although I fully agree they need to be dealth with it needs to be done in an ethical manner. The last thing we need is poachers drawing even more bad publicity to the wolf battle. I didn't draw for elk this year but the area we hunt is full of wolves and everyone I know that hunts there bought a wolf tag as well this year. Nobody i know has killed one yet but i'll be sure to get some pics from them if they do.
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I saw four wolves this year on my Wyoming deer hunt! And tracks everywhere we went! I even have pictures of it. It was really sad because just like they said, where you see one, there are a lot more. We can't hunt them yet in Wyoming and they are truly killing off the game! I hope something is done about it before our hunting deteriorates down to nothing!
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That is disturbing. I ran into a pack this year in Island park area while deer hunting. Not only did that explain the poor hunting, but they scared the crap out of me.


http://www.archeryguru.blogspot.com
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