This is the continuing story of areas where the Gray Wolf has been reintroduced or areas that they have dispersed to from Montana, Wyoming and Idaho.

As we left off last week Scott Richards and his friend Bryon had been training their bear hunting dogs outside Grangeville, Idaho when they were attacked by a pack of Gray wolves. Their tracking box told them that three of their dogs had not moved in at least 5 minutes and were probably dead.

Scott reiterates, “I was in a state of shock but I had to find them. We ran in the direction the needle was pointing and in short distance, there she was. She was trying to getup, her stomach was ripped open and her intestines were hanging out a foot. Halley’s (the dog) stomach was torn open in multiple spots. She had over 60 bite marks and deep gashes, all over her body. Byron took off his shirt wrapped her up and took off for the vet, but I knew Halley would never make it. I started tracking Blackey next; it did not take long to find him. He wasn’t far from where the wolf came after me. He was dead and lying in a pool of his own blood. He was bit and torn and so full of holes, I just fell to the ground crying. I could not stop thinking that he gave his life to save me. I was sitting there when it dawned on me that I must get to my other dog Lady. She was 100 yards away when I got to her, lying in a heap, eyes wide open – I knew that she was dead. It’s hard to describe the death these dogs were handed. It was easy to see that the wolves want to cripple their prey, torture it then kill it.”

On the way home Scott called Idaho Fish & Game to report what had happen. Scott said, “They were very understanding and I could tell were sincere when they said they were sorry for the loss.” They also said that there was nothing they could do for me and that their hands were tied. They said they would write the report and call the federal agent.”

In wet muddy areas where elk and moose have always been plentiful, he can no longer find even a track. For as long as Scott could remember when you were in the mountains for any reason a dog by your side was a great defense to warn you of predators. But now it seems as if a dog is nothing more than bait to lure wolves to you. Pretty scary, when you come to think about it.

Could there also be another spin to this experience and others like it?

It certainly is no secret that most conservation groups are advocates of “no hunting” – period. Certainly, one way to reach this end is not to attack the hunters, but to support through Endangered Species Acts those predators who are feeding on the very game species that hunters hunt.

Take for instance the laws that have been enacted through states ballot initiatives in California, Oregon and Washington. These laws, voted in by the people, have outlawed the use of hounds (the most effective method) when hunting cougar and black bears. As a consequence, cougars and bear populations have exploded to such a point that they have decimated certain elk and deer herds and become a documented safety hazard for the general population. State game managers now have to promote special hunts and take other lethal actions to curb the population of “problem predators.” Enter the wolf – seems like the perfect plan to end all hunting in Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and soon Washington and Oregon. It may take several generations, but believe me; it will happen, if this trend is allowed to continue.

Environmentalists and animal lovers claim that wolves kill the old and infirm wildlife. They claim that they kill only what they need for survival.

D. F. Oliveria, opinion writer-Spokene.net, states that in southwestern Idaho, wolf attacks have killed almost 40 University of Idaho sheep. Oddly, the predators have ignored the ewes and lambs to slaughter rams weighting 250 to 300 pounds … and then leave the meat to rot.

Studies on the research of Professor Warren Ballard in Alaska documented that wolves will kill about 30 moose per year (per wolf). If you calculate biomass it will probably take 60 or more elk to provide the same amount of biomass. It is also interesting top note that Ballard found no evidence of sickness or debility among any moose killed by wolves.

So, given the research to date, if wolves are not aggressively controlled, and soon, devastation of Montana elk, deer, sheep, moose and goat populations is a reasonable projection. While these animals may not be wiped out to the last animal, uncontrolled wolves will certainly not leave enough for human hunters to be allowed to hunt.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is fully aware of numerous documented attacks on humans by wolves in North America, yet they refuse to write a rebuttal to fictitious statements that wolves are not attacking humans. Instead it is posted on their children’s website that wolves don’t attack humans! And the list goes on.

Wolves are known man-eaters throughout the world. Try reading Peter Chapstick’s book titled “Man Eaters.”

The government of India reported more than 100 deaths attributable to wolves in one year during the 1980s.

There are documented attacks and kills on humans reported from China, Russia, Iran, Canada and Asia. One reason that there are so few “documented” attacks in the United States is because biologists require the following criteria for a documented attack;

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).

Such criteria can make it very difficult to document any historical account of a wolf attack on a human.

I guess all we can do is wait and see, the government will surely let us know if they have mismanaged their programs to reintroduce the wolf, won’t they? Would they let our children wander into the woods unprotected like Little Red Riding Hood? – Probably so.

A wolf is a wild animal and is going to do what it’s heredity has bred it to do.