The wolves in Wisconsin must be elevated to game animal status in order to prevent them from being viewed as just pests.
The following is a Wisconsin bear hunting story written my friend at Willowridge Calls. This is the first time I’ve heard of wolves eating a large adult black bear. Usually wolves stay well away from bears. There are many reports from hunters regarding their encounters with aggressive wolves and coyotes during the 2015 hunting seasons. Not all want to share their stories because some of the anti wolf hunting/trapping people will harass them and in some cases threaten violence.
I spent most of my fall up north at the cabin Bear hunting. I did all my own baiting and placing stands. I had two good baits that were being hit twice a day by big bears, and lots of sows with cubs. They were hitting the baits at noon and 7pm. I hunted with my crossbow this year. I finally got a big bore that came in at 5pm and he gave me a good clean shot. I drove an arrow in him just behind his front leg and off he went towards the marsh. I gave him 30 minutes, then got down and went to the truck to get my shotgun/slugs for trailing, I had my sidearm on me just in case a sow got to close in the tree. I picked up the blood trail and followed it about 100 yds. and heard growling ahead of me. I hesitated a bit just to be safe, the brush was so thick you could only see about 60 yds. at best. As I waited 5 wolves stepped out of the brush and stood facing me then 3 more showed up. Two went to my left and one to my right. The two on my left kept getting closer when they got to about 30 yds. I fired a few rounds at them with my 357. They backed off about 25 yds. then started coming towards me again, the other wolves just stood watching. I backed off and out. Two wolves I could handle, but 8 would of been trouble. The lone wolf to my right followed me all the way back to the truck, and watched me leave. I went back in the next morning to see how bad they ate my bear; but they were still there feeding on it. I never did get to lay a hand on my bear. That was the last bear that gave me a shot so I ate tag soup on the bear.
That’s the problem up there in that area of northern WI. The wolf packs are getting so big that they are starving themselves because there is so little for them to feed on anymore. I had that bait set out the 4th of July and had cameras on it, got quite a few wolf pics on the bait. The time I spent sitting on that bait I saw a total of 27 different wolves around that bait, I’d see 3-5 usually, but 3 days before I shot that bear there was a
pack of 11 that came through. Usually they would send in one wolf to the bait to see what scent they could pick up, if there was a scent of a sow with cubs they would follow it off through the woods. The people up there are screaming about the wolves. The other bear hunters I talked with that ran bear dogs, said they couldn’t run a bait more that once a week and not more that 3 times a season, because the wolves would lay in wait for them to turn the dogs loose and attack their dogs on trail. Even some of the home owners won’t let their little kids wait for the school bus at the end of their driveways anymore because the wolves would come on to their front yards and watch the kids run to the bus. One of the TV bow hunting shows had shot a big buck and the wolves got that before they found it. They warn all the hikers and skiers that use the trails up there to make sure you’re armed before entering the woods. Even when I let my dogs out to go I followed them out with my sidearm because wolves wait in my driveway some days, it doesn’t take them long to learn what times you let your pets out.
I could have shot both those wolves that came at me, but I didn’t want to have an issue with the feds, as long as they backed off and didn’t come at me as fast as they did the first time, if they would have I’d have had to drop them both. That’s why I backed off, being alone with no one around for back-up with 8 wolves is too risky. With having 3 attacks reported this year, and a lot of others that had wolves circling bow hunters in their stands, it’s gonna get worst before it gets better. I had posted my story on Facebook on the Wisconsin Wolf Hunters page there was a lot of reports of the same problem with other hunter in northern WI.
By Willowridge
Perhaps 2016 will be your lucky year.
Tracy says
That’s pretty incredible. Not out of the realm of possibility though, by any means. If the wolves were hungry enough…who knows what they might do.
charlie elk says
That hungry enough is the concern. As a young man I spent a lot of time hunting in the Northern MN wilderness. Shot my share of bears in wolf country and bear meat is the one meats they would leave alone unlike a hanging deer which if precautions were not taken they’d come right into camp to eat.
Cecep says
I think everyone needs to relizae the reason all wildlife populations are shrinking is because of people. Not wolves. Period. Habitat fragmentation, loss of range due to roads and development, introduced species, disease, poor concepts of management, grazing, ranching, (although I would rather see cows than condos), poaching, you name it are all factors. The wolf has been histories scapegoat. We need to take a much harder look into our own actions and extend our combined passion for the outdoors beyond just hunting and into our everyday lives. If we the outdoorsmen don’t come together and protect these lands no one will. That protection must come beyond voting for politicians it must be incorportaed into our everyday lives and the lives of our children. Join outdoor groups, educate young people, practice and enforce the ethical use of our wildlands, and just maybe we can have wolves and elk and deer and people.A note for everyone who will email me in response to this and whom questions my comments I have been a hunter for as long as I have been alive and I will have it no other way. I live in AZ where we just reintroduced the Mexican Grey Wolf and I have a degree in Conservation Biology and I believe that if you want to gripe become educated and find a way to make a difference. I hope you all enjoy many beautiful days a field.
Mike says
Finally an educated responder. As an avid outdoorsman who likes to hunt all of the world the best places to hunt is where apex predators exist. Without apex predators the very prey i hunt NEVER are as healthy or as challenging to hunt. The wolves bears lions force every prey and predator to be healthy and alert. I want to have healthy ecosystems to hunt in not complain about another predator taking my kill. That is nature at its finest and that is the best challenge in hunting you can have. I’ve lost a big bull Elk to a grizzy once and nothing we could do. We could have killed the Grizzly but that would have cause more legal issues than it was worth.
JC says
“With having 3 attacks reported this year” In Wisconsin? Where please?
charlie elk says
I won’t speak for WRC. The press reported 2 in Adams County and 1 in Clark County. Personally I count all the dogs killed by wolves last year as attacks too. The dogs are accompanied by people.
Related by but different- While turkey hunting last fall 2 coyotes trotted along a ridgeline passing my dog and I at 500 yards. When they got downwind they turned and quickly closed in on us. Even though I was order Vic to keep close the coyotes continued to come in aggressively forcing me to shot one at 30 yards with a turkey load.
Wild canines can be aggressive. Not all attacks are reported. So if the attack is not reported or recorded did it really happen? In my humble view of course it did.
JC says
I live in Adams County. The two events you site were in the Colburn area. In one case hikers were “followed” the other was a felonious report by a poacher (see WI Court Access). The Clark County case was dog depredation confirmed by WDNR officials.
The research is conclusive, dog depredation by wolves is prominent were bear baiting density is high and within the wolves rendezvous points.
I am an avid hunter, have been for nearly 50 years and based upon the research I’ve conducted the State must decide upon either bear baiting or running bear dogs, not both. Like any wild animal, once they associate humans with food the outcome will be negative.
I do believe the proper management of wolves provides for a healthy deer heard. Human disruption of wolf and coyote pack hierarchy leads to uncontrolled killing and breeding.
I only ask that individuals read fact, conduct research and shy away from myth before jumping to a decision of this issue.