Wolves Shadow Wisconsin Bowhunter

[ProAlpine]

Wolves were running these woods long before a human ever hunted them with a bow, or grazed his cattle and sheep there.

Ranching in wolf country needs a pro active approach with smaller herds and flocks in pens and sheds - like the days of old.

Just because they acted like wolves - scenting, scouting, stalking, doesn't mean they intended to attack.

I think there are a lot more BAD people that I come in to contact with than BAD wolves.

I hunt, fish, camp climb and ski in wolf country and don't carry a firearm unless I'm hunting with it.

I value not being top predator and to be humbled in the mountains. Otherwise nature will become a controlled environment. And I'll shoot myself at that point.

I respect and admire the wolf as much the deer and elk I hunt. If you've ever had a northern bread dog (husky, malamute, etc) you'd revere the wolf too. They are highly intelligent and the "pack" is actually a family.

Would I defend myself or another if attacked? Absolutely, to the death.

[Sam McMichael]

Glock, don't leave home without it.

The more I read this thread the more convinced I am that you should carry a gun whenever in the woods. Unfortunately, the law in some areas won't allow it. I humbly disagree with some who think the average guy can take on a wolf or large dog successfully. I am a 2nd degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do, and I don't want anything to do with participating in a dog fight. As a kid, I was twice attacked by dogs. Both were German Shepherds, and they put me on the ground real quick. They might well do the same to an adult.

[Cyclic-Rivers]

This is an old thread.  There has been a confirmed attack in WI in the last years.

That young man was able to shoot at least one of the attacking animals but not kill it as far as they could find.

[NBK]

We have a pack of twelve wolves that in the last three years have all but decimated our deer population.   Our land is just east of the Willow flowage in northern Wisconsin.   Their den is about 300 yards north of our NW forty. They have about a two week routine in that they'll be in our area for about four or five days, then gone for a couple of weeks before they return.  You know they're around because they'll light up howling about 15 minutes of last shooting light then go quiet at dark.
This past November I hunted nine days straight and the wolves howled seven of the nine.  Lucky me.
One morning I was getting geared up in the shack and could hear two of them howling from inside the bathroom. One to the NW and one to the SE. I have a pistol but don't carry it.  I'm not foolhardy, I just don't get freaked out by them. Anyways, I had a three forty walk to the morning stand and those two kept howling for a full fifty minutes of daylight. Never heard them howl in the morning like that. Gotta admit it was pretty cool.
What sucks is that there is a definite effect on the deer in that they become even more skittish, if that's possible.
I've also noticed a trend when it comes to deer behavior and it's made me adjust my hunting strategy. Usually I get as deep into the woods as possible and look for remote islands of higher ground in spruce swamps as I've seen more mature bucks in these places during daylight. Now however, there is very little sign in my usual spots and the more remote I get it becomes a veritable no mans land for deer.  I see way more beds and activity close to the paved roads. I believe that the deer feel safer closer to the roads.  Whereas in the past the main evening movement usually came from the north (swamps), this season we're all shaking our heads as the main movement comes from behind us to the south where the county highway is.  Post season scouting confirmed the vast majority of beds were all within 100 yards of the road!  Definitely food for thought.

To wrap this up, I wish that we could hunt them again while simultaneously enjoying knowing they're out there and hearing their howls.  The population is growing faster than most people realize and unfortunately I don't allow my kids the same freedom to roam as I enjoyed as a young boy. I don't believe that wolves would actively "hunt" them but I'm not gonna let them be the "first" casualty. That "first" is inevitable.

[Ron LaClair]

At Shrew Haven in the U P we sometimes hear wolves at night and occasionally someone is lucky enough to catch a glimpse of one. To me wolves are a natural part of the wilderness and I like knowing that they are there.

We've had two harsh winters in a row in the U P and the deer herd is way down because of the winter kill. When the deer are down so is the wolf population. When the deer numbers are up so is the wolf population, that's Natures balance. The only thing that screws up that balance is man

Wolves are highly intelligent animals that have a family structure that you might say is not unlike ours. They have the propensity, though rare, to be dangerous to humans, but so do bears, cougars and other animals in the wild.  I respect wolves and acknowledge their right to exist.

[northener]

I hunt northern MN. Fairly regular, the wolves are expanding at an alarming rate. My neighbor just a few weeks ago while out ice fishing captured 3 wolves with his camera out on the lake,broad daylight, mind you.

I too respect the wolf as a integral part of nature, but man has upset natures balance by encroaching on every inch of wild land. I believe we need to harvest/manage wolf just like any other big game animal.

[T Sunstone]

Here's an article about several attacks.

 https://arizonadailyindependent.com/2013/11/29/wolf-attacks-on-humans-in-north-america/

[BWallace10327]

Originally posted by Mudd:
I heard on some program that there aren't any credible reports of wolf attacks on humans in the entire history of record keeping.

Having said that, I would worry that I could be the 1st if I found myself in your son's shoes.

I seriously doubt that remembering that good news wouldn't have meant very much to me had I been in his situation..lol

God bless,Mudd

That sounds like something you would hear on a pro-wolf natgeo show propagated by people that are in love with the idea of wolves, not the wolves themselves.  The idea that they have never attacked a person is absurd.  Mountain lion and bear attacks are very uncommon, but they do happen.

[Hud]

It has to be unnerving, to be shadowed by a wolf weighing 120# or more, much less a pack of wolves.

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_wolf_attacks_in_North_America

[CRM_95]

Originally posted by Hud:
It has to be unnerving, to be shadowed by a wolf weighing 120# or more, much less a pack of wolves.

  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_wolf_attacks_in_North_America  

Interesting stuff. I had no idea there were that many attacks. I'm glad we don't have wolves here!!

[michaelschwister]

I am from lodi, 20 miles from Madison, and my neighbor has a picture of a timber in his corn field, and my daughter who lives there for college nearly hit a couger with my truck last spring