tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8732486.post7096824227870665631..comments2023-10-26T03:19:41.569-07:00Comments on Stephen Bodio's Querencia: Range Sheep & Big PredatorsSteve Bodiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14434597061701369867noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8732486.post-12532670359602371052013-09-11T10:30:31.006-07:002013-09-11T10:30:31.006-07:00....and again, to Harry Hill--I hope that last res.......and again, to Harry Hill--I hope that last response didn't sound too persnickitty--it's just I am a TOTAL wolf geek, and have been since childhood(there IS the rumor my parents found me in a wolf's den....), and I was meaning to be "interestingly informative" rather than persnickitty! But another thing that has been forgotten by many modern wolf afficiondos (and haters!) regarding the wolf type of the Northern Plains areas in Montana/Wyoming etc.--they were called "buffalo wolves" in the old days, and were considered the largest wolves around--no doubt adapted to hunting and pulling down bison--so very large wolf types have ALWAYS been indigenous to that part of the U. S.....L.B.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8732486.post-15831711020801407872013-09-11T09:47:31.819-07:002013-09-11T09:47:31.819-07:00To Harry Hill--I have to disagree with that somewh...To Harry Hill--I have to disagree with that somewhat--that is becoming a popular(and I believe) very erroneous belief--that somehow different subspecies of wolves behave differently. Purty much ANYWHERE where there have been wolves and livestock living in the same area, wolves will kill livestock! They went to INANE efforts to reintroduce ONLY wolves descended from the "Mexican Wolf" subspecies in the Southwest U. S., but they still occaisionally kill livestock and always have! What was Seton's famous outlaw(i. e. livestock killing) "Lobo, King Of The Currumpaw" if not of the "Mexican Wolf" subspecies? It is the same all across Europe and the Mideast as well, regardless of the size differences in subspecies(the Arabian/Israeli wolves are hardly bigger than coyotes!). Also, "Arctic" wolves were not used in the Yellowstone reintroduction, but mostly wolves from the Canadian province of Alberta(I think a few might have come from nearby British Columbia too--but still a far cry from what are considered "Arctic Wolves") just North of Montana/Wyoming--and these same wolves had been gradually infiltrating and beginning to repopulate the area on their own without any human assistance or taxpayers' dollars, long before human reintroductions began! The "original" wolves of Montana/Wyoming could not have been hardly any different than those just North of the Canadian line to begin with--after all, they travel enormous distances, and are constantly "interbreeding" anyway--there is little difference between wolf types EXCEPT wolves from totally different parts of the world, adapted to very different environments--like the Arabian Penisula wolf vs. Arctic wolves, for example. And, of course, why were the "original" wolves eradicated in the first place from out West in the U. S.? For killing livestock, of course......L.B.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8732486.post-44905030937930439912013-09-09T22:08:43.662-07:002013-09-09T22:08:43.662-07:00I think the mistake is they brought the wrong wolv...I think the mistake is they brought the wrong wolves back, instead of the wolf that was native to the US or even the Mexican grey wolf they brought it arctic wolves, much bigger and more aggressive, even with the smaller wolves there would be problems but not what we are seeing now.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05999096236175593812noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8732486.post-65062191973098996652013-09-01T01:10:12.712-07:002013-09-01T01:10:12.712-07:00Anonymous- Yeah! I remember reading an article whe...Anonymous- Yeah! I remember reading an article where only the 'Kill all the wolves!' and 'Don't kill any wolves ever!' viewpoints were mentioned. I think maybe that's when I realized that articles were silly.Moro Rogershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03170995132520805860noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8732486.post-80827998118487593592013-08-31T06:47:30.699-07:002013-08-31T06:47:30.699-07:00It's SAD(and aggravating!) to watch the polari...It's SAD(and aggravating!) to watch the polarization on this issue--urban wolf lovers without a clue, and ranchers who want to destroy anything and everything that threatens their livestock(or they imagine is a threat....). I think it will just take time for things to achieve a BALANCE--the pendulum swung too far against Nature and predators for many years, now it is swinging back the other way(predictably so, of course--that's how pendulums work!) unrealistically and unfairly. Perhaps in a coupla human generations things will finally reach a balance where we can have BOTH(predators and ranchers raising livestock) without such politics and propaganda--but it WILL take time. I can't help but think of the ranchers in Alberta we interviwed on their opinions of their very populous wolves, that they ALWAYS had to live with(in a wolf study program prior to wolf reintroduction sponsored by the University Of Montana in Missoula, way, way back in 1982, that I participated in as a student)--only ONE rancher we spoke to wanted to kill every wolf, coyote, fox, bear, cougar, and bobcat out there--all the others were quite reasonable and tolerant in their views of predators--even wolves! But they were allowed to protect their livestock when threatened, without all the government controls and controversial politics. If a wolf or wolf pack caused problems, they took care of those individual wolves and that was the end of it. I never will forget one of the Alberta rancher's comment that ranchers in the U. S. were "pussies about wolves!" So hopefully one day, U. S. ranchers will be able to protect their own(within reason), and the generally ignorant public will understand SOME CONTROL--i. e. -KILLING--of predators is inevitably ALWAYS going to be necessary. I always remind such people that wolves, cougars, and bears don't hesitate to kill each other, if they can, whenever members of their own species tresspass in their territories, instinctively understanding they have to control the competition!.....L.B(Someone who loves wolves and all other predators, but also hopes small ranchers can continue to be a part of our great West as well.....)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8732486.post-21542950948023183102013-08-29T04:12:39.382-07:002013-08-29T04:12:39.382-07:00Thanks for the comments! Gil, you're right - i...Thanks for the comments! Gil, you're right - it's something to consider.Cat Urbigkithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12649103651692682453noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8732486.post-20434224697641877402013-08-28T14:11:10.967-07:002013-08-28T14:11:10.967-07:00Cat, if you don't already have one, you might ...Cat, if you don't already have one, you might find a night vision monocular useful on the range. They aren't too expensive and they work. GilGilhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16586106608274313864noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8732486.post-62616052067163822412013-08-26T19:21:07.324-07:002013-08-26T19:21:07.324-07:00Well said!Well said!Just Another Savage!https://www.blogger.com/profile/05438143672073116277noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8732486.post-16103211293787397822013-08-26T11:21:22.408-07:002013-08-26T11:21:22.408-07:00But . . . but . . . wolves are noble and saintly, ...But . . . but . . . wolves are noble and saintly, and you can buy shirts with pictures of them.Chas S. Cliftonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00923547685265741325noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8732486.post-38496415942628124442013-08-26T10:51:13.127-07:002013-08-26T10:51:13.127-07:00When one of the grizzlies turned to him, rising on...<i>When one of the grizzlies turned to him, rising on its hind feet and roaring, Shuler shot it. He was charged with a federal offense, with the judge faulting him for placing himself in danger ...</i><br /><br />I fault him for not having a shovel. <br /><br />These idiots sit in their climate-controlled castles and have no idea what it is like dealing with stock. You put your life on the line all the time for your livestock -- weather, terrain, equipment, the animals themselves in some cases, can tear you up if not kill you. You do it because you love it, and so some judge can wear a nice wool suit or eat mutton or beef or put milk on his cereal. Then those same judges and lawyers and politicians -- most of whom have never had a real job or produced a thing in their worthless, parasitic lives decide to destroy you because all they know about predators or ranching they learned from "Grizzly Adams".mushroomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07651027035577798096noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8732486.post-40615576261896447702013-08-25T19:48:19.802-07:002013-08-25T19:48:19.802-07:00Montana rancher John Shuler got up one night to se...<i>Montana rancher John Shuler got up one night to see what was causing the ruckus he was hearing from his sheep pens at his home and found three grizzly bears killing his penned sheep. When one of the grizzlies turned to him, rising on its hind feet and roaring, Shuler shot it. He was charged with a federal offense, with the judge faulting him for placing himself in danger, stating that he should have stayed in his house that night. It took nearly a decade for Shuler to be cleared of the charges.</i><br /><br />He probably wouldn't have been charged with any crime if he'd shot a human vandal killing his sheep and threatening him.<br /><br />PeterAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8732486.post-88213475736870293362013-08-25T15:17:00.496-07:002013-08-25T15:17:00.496-07:00the author of this blog, the rancher indicates it ...the author of this blog, the rancher indicates it is self serving of us to respond to this occurrence in Idaho? so be it, but what I would say is we should want both successful ranching and successful biology on the public rangelands. ranching is a livelihood that brings revenue to local economy. it also provides a product we (most) all utilize. meat, wool, lanolin, whatever. the other side of the coin, the biology informs us that all living things are connected. to the point. if you wanna make your livelihood in nature, you gotta learn to live with nature's rules & provide your own defense, alertness, and guard animals such as canines and burros. seems to me this rancher and the herders let their guards down or didn't have them stationed properly to (hopefully) avoid the dilemma.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com