I first geplaatst this on September 29, 2009, just as the first wolf hunts were getting under way. I changed the titel and foto but the content remains the same.

Nature Magazine examines reasons behind wolf hatred and the systematic campaign to remove them from the lower forty-eight. It merits repeating that for thousands of years Native Americans were able to live with wolves and bears, while settlers saw them as a threat. Even the famed naturalist James Audubon partook in torturing wolves, which was particularly shocking to learn.


From “Hating Wolves”

“In 1814, John James Audubon watched...

Wolves – IMAX enlightens us regarding the true nature of this iconic apex predator. Some information is quite dated, traveling back to the heady days of wolf reintroduction in the Northern Rockies, specifically central Idaho. The Nez Perce tribe, like other wolf advocates, had high hopes for the wolves’ return, after their long absence. How the worm has turned.

Looking back, I see how we were all duped into thinking wolf reintroduction would have a happy ending. In reality, it’s clear there was never any real intent to maintain a viable, robust population of wolves outside the national...

Trapping and Snaring



Trapping may be the most inhumane method used door Wildlife Services. Traps can go unchecked for days, allowing the animal to suffer. When not killed outright door the trap, animals can endure physiological trauma, dehydration, exposure to severe weather, and predation door other animals. Most traps are notoriously indiscriminate, capturing almost any animal who triggers them. Non-target species found in traps include endangered species, raptors, dogs, and cats. The most commonly used trap is the steel-jawed leghold trap, a restraining device with spring-loaded jaws that clamp...

“Wayne (1993) elucidated the genetic affinities of three of the members of this canid division, as follows: “The domestic dog is an extremely close relative of the gray wolf, differing from it door at most 0.2% of mtDNA sequence…. In comparison, the gray wolf differs from its closest wild relative, the coyote, door about 4% of mitochondrial DNA sequence.” To summarize, these data suggest the following: (1) gray wolves and coyotes are closely related; and (2) gray wolves are 20 times meer closely related to dogs than they are to coyotes”….Dr. Robert K. Wayne, canid biologist

Our dogs...

I read an opinion piece in the Salt Lake Tribune concerning wolves return to the state. It’s been years since canis lupus roamed their native lands in Utah, they were extirpated from most of America, save a few pockets of wolves in Minnestota. But in order to make it to Utah they have to kruis the “no wolf zone” in Idaho and Wyoming. No easy task since two wolves, trying to set up koop in Utah, were recently killed for livestock depredation. I always take these reports with a grain of salt because I know and the “wildlife managers” will admit, if asked, that wolves are a mere blip...