A story in the July 29 Tomahawk Leader.

Wolves killed two dogs and injured another last week in the first occurrence of attacks during the current bear hound-training period. The incidents were confirmed by investigators from the United States Department of Agriculture – Wildlife Services and took place northwest of Rhinelander in Oneida County and southwest of Clam Lake in Sawyer County.

Adrian Wydeven, Department of Natural Resources (DNR) mammalian ecologist, said that wolves have pups in rendezvous sites at this time of the year, and it is probably that they were protecting their young.

“We ask bear hunters to exercise greater caution in these areas if they plan to train or hunt near them,” Wydeven said.

In Oneida County, a new caution area has been set up with County Road K on the south, Hwy. 51 on the west, County Road D on the north and Hwy. 47 on the east. In Sawyer County, the caution area extends along Hwy. 77 and Forest Service Road FR 174 on the north, County Road GG on the east, the east branch of the Chippewa River and County Road B on the south and County Road A on the west.

Maps of the caution areas are shown on the DNR wolf Web site at www.dnr.wi.gov.

The owners of the dogs will be provided compensation from the Wisconsin DNR for the losses.

Hunters may train dogs by chasing bear from July 1 to Aug. 31 of each year. No more than six dogs may be used in any one training exercise, and the dogs may not kill any bear or other animals during the pursuit.

>The owners of the dogs will be provided compensation from the Wisconsin DNR for the losses. <

I have a problem with this.

These guys are training dogs for what? To go out and kill bears!

Bears and wolves are part of nature, they are being repopulated back into areas where "man" has been the main reason their populations have been diminished. They only kill for food or to protect themselves or their offspring. NEVER FOR SPORT!

If hunters want to kill animals using other animals (dogs) to run them down, those dogs are also being put into harms way FOR SPORT.

I'd rater see the hunters fined for allowing innocent dogs to be killed. But compensating them for the loss is insane, imho.

Now that said, I am not some wacko anti-hunting, anti-gun wacko. I do my fair share of hunting and own more then a few guns and been a card carrying member of the ARA. But this goes to far.

I heard on the news tonight that wolves attacked a dog in the area that was in the yard and not out in the woods where it would bother their pups. The owner was able to chase it off and the dog survived but was severly injured. Bear dogs aren't the only ones in danger. Time to thin out the wolf population when they start getting this aggresive and have no fear of coming around people.

_________________
God and the Soldier we all adore,
In times of trouble and then no more
when war is over and all things righted
God is forgotten, the old soldier Slighted.

Thank you Mr. Alvin. Very well put. I agree with you 100% . And I do believe it was only one wolf that went after that dog. Is it possible that the wolf was only trying to do what comes natural and survive? A whole pack can take down a large deer or bear. But a lone wolf will do whatever he can to survive. Including going after dogs. I do not think for one minute these hunters should be payed for putting their own dogs in danger. I will side with the wolf first and foremost. At least they know how to survive.

I agree with you bikerannie. Furthermore, although I am a life long hunter, I do not consider tramatizing, harassing, tormenting a bear with dog packs and then shooting it a sport. Maybe humans should give more of the management of nature back to nature.

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90% of people are caused by accidents.

When a wolf picks off a dog in its owner's yard, I don't think that action is part of the "natural dynamic". No pups were being protected & "this naturally shy to humans" predator may be becoming too comfortable to homes & people.

After the revelation by the DNR that they may have underestimated the Black Bear population by a factor of two, might the same error have occurred with the wolves?

Dogs chasing bears through the woods will be at risk. No compensation should be granted to the owners. Dogs checking out their owner's backyards should be relatively safe. I'd rather see their owners compensated &/or the wolf shot.

I firmly believe that the re-introduction of wolves to Wisconsin was a good thing. It's a wonder to hear their calls in the night. But if/ when they infringe on the safety of homes, then something needs to be done to control that interaction.

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What if there were no hypothetical questions?

Give you a hint, if I am out in the woods behind my house and have my dog with me or a wolf comes in my yard and goes after my dog only one will survive and that will be my dog. There is a reason I carry a firearm with me when I am out in the woods. Between the bears that the dnr can't count and the wolves that are in places the dnr doesn't know about I no longer take any chances. Those who come up here on vacation and enjoy hearing and possibly seeing a wolf don't know what it is like to live here and have that risk facing you everytime you go out in the woods for what ever reason. It is only a matter of time before instead of the pet dog it is a small child playing in the yard.

When animals such as wolves and bears lose their fear of people it is time to thin them out a bit and get rid of the problems. Perhaps they should move half of the wolves to the southern part of the state so everyone can enjoy them.

_________________
God and the Soldier we all adore,
In times of trouble and then no more
when war is over and all things righted
God is forgotten, the old soldier Slighted.

There has been no confirmed case of a wolf attack on a human in the wild in the U.S.. Hybridized wolf/dogs may have the potential as they have been intentionally bred to live among humans. However, about 18 people are killed on average by domestic dogs each year, the number of people killed in america with cigarettes 440,000, cars 42,366, second hand smoke 35,000, guns 29,338.

I backpack in bear, wolf, and mountain lion areas each year and don't take a gun because I like to put my fear where it is warranted: on the highway drive to the trailhead. So the message is, if you want to be afraid, be afraid of the right things.

"I backpack in bear, wolf, and mountain lion areas each year and don't take a gun"

You won't be the first fool that did that and ended up regreting it.

Perhaps it hasn't happened yet but some day a child will be playing in the yard and will become lunch. Then I wonder what all those who keep thinking it can't happen will have to say.

_________________
God and the Soldier we all adore,
In times of trouble and then no more
when war is over and all things righted
God is forgotten, the old soldier Slighted.

I like a nice quiet stroll in the woods while hunting. I can live with fewer hound packs creating a ruckus and the convoys of pickups driving around trying to find them and round them up. Besides, Wolves improve the gene pool of their prey and keep their populations robust and strong. Long live the Wolves.

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"Know ye not why We created you all from the same dust? That no one should exalt himself over the other." -Baha'u'llah

What population ? ? I used to see deer on a daily basis feeding in the field behind my house. This year I haven't seen any. Last year only a couple. I also hunt near my home and last season found where wolves had pulled down two deer within a couple hundred yards of my back door. During season I saw two deer and they were as nervous as any I have ever seen. Just moving around like something was behind them. I have decided that this year I am not going to waste my money on a license and will skip deer hunting all together. In the area where I live the deer population has dropped to practicly nothing since the wolves came into the area. I don't think the dnr has any idea what they are talking about when it comes to the deer herd. When the deer are all gone, guess what the wolves will eat then ? ? ?

_________________
God and the Soldier we all adore,
In times of trouble and then no more
when war is over and all things righted
God is forgotten, the old soldier Slighted.

"There has been no confirmed case of a wolf attack on a human in the wild in the U.S.."

More 'Robert Redford' nonsense.. dig deeper. Wolves have killed people in our nation's history.

I am no enemy of the wolf.. quite the opposite. Yet I always read this 'confirmed case' nonsense.. facts are always ignored when a zealot starts typing.. anywhere.

Yes.. I can see a young child being attacked by wolves.. wolf hybrids or a coyote or hybrid. The right circumstances present sometime.. it's a matter of time.

Paying bear hunters for dogs killed by wolves is more nonsense. Does the DNR pay for dogs when a bear kills them? When their otherwise injured/killed?

Our deer herd is way out of control in central Wi and down state. 3-4 times more than we need... and with hunting pressure only subsiding each yr... it's going to get worse... much worse.

[quoteOur deer herd is way out of control in central Wi and down state. 3-4 times more than we need... and with hunting pressure only subsiding each yr] Take a few wolves down south and your problem will go away! !

You must live a lot further south than Tomahawk! From what I have heard from most of the guys that hunt around here it is the worst season they have seen in years. I am sure the dnr will find some excuse like a hard winter or some such BS. We have had harder winters in the past and didn't have this big of effect on the deer herd. When the bears that the dnr say's don't exist and the coyotes take the fawns and the wolves take care of the rest what do you expect. I took a walk out behind my house and on ten acres found one track since we received snow. Used to have deer around all the time and now seldom see one. Of course there were a whole lot of coyote tracks.

As for compensating for loses to wolves, the dnr brought them here, they are responsable for them! Bear will run from a dog and only fight when cornered, they don't go hunting the dogs.

_________________
God and the Soldier we all adore,
In times of trouble and then no more
when war is over and all things righted
God is forgotten, the old soldier Slighted.

Yes I wish the wolves would move in with more numbers.. and control the fawn crops down here. I don't care what the 'hunters' sitting on bar stools say...

Wi has way too many deer in the lower half of the state. IMO annual target harvest should be in the 100K area.. shooting the herd down to 1/2 million "tall mice". In the future the deer will be more nuisance than 'game animal'.

Dogs getting killed by wolves is just the risk owners take.. afterall.. they are "hunting". I can see livestock being compensated for.. but not dogs. The owners know the risks running dogs in wolf territory. Most bear hounds are bascially untrained too.. many running any scent they come across.. including wolf.

Just wondering, your profile says you hunt and fish in the Tomahawk area. If there are too many deer in the southern part of the state why don't you hunt down there and help solve the problem by shooting the southern deer that seen to bother you so much. If you aren't part of the solution then you are part of the problem.

_________________
God and the Soldier we all adore,
In times of trouble and then no more
when war is over and all things righted
God is forgotten, the old soldier Slighted.

I completely agree the wolves are a problem. I do not agree with hunters being reimbursed for injured dogs. Let the truth be told, I felt like injuring those dogs myself when they run through my bow stand every year. Of course I wouldn't act on it because it is not their fault. It is the lazy hunters that use dogs to tree an animal and making it helpless. If you hunt this way you are not a sportsman in my eyes.

I think we all need to take a long look an the WI DNR and start asking questions. How is it possible they are so upside down with their numbers. I keep hearing the record deer population in this state every year. Yet I keep seeing less and less deer every season. Weird. I have in the same time seen many more bears then usual. What does the DNR think a hungry bear is looking for in spring? Fawns maybe? What are the wolves hunting? Easy targets? Fawns? I have never had a year hunting in the last15 years where I didn't have a fawn wander in. That is until this year, and I hunted both Tomahawk and east towards Monoco.

Its time the DNR is held responsible for their "miscalculations". Maybe they should not posses the power they do. I have to wait 7 to 8 years to get a bear tag, when I have seen more then 20 this year. I can get a deer tag, sometimes as many as I can afford and I have seen 3 this year. Keep in mind these are the same spot where 5 years ago I would see 20 plus a day. Do not believe what they have told you. It seems their lies get more and more abundant every year.

"It seems their lies get more and more abundant every year."
There is a reason that a lot of people refer to them as "Do Nothing Right "

_________________
God and the Soldier we all adore,
In times of trouble and then no more
when war is over and all things righted
God is forgotten, the old soldier Slighted.

Yeah To bad what they are doing is no laughing matter though

Can you substantiate this statement with any facts by any chance?

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If all the atheists left the United States it would lose 93% of the National Academy of Sciences but less than 1% of the prison population.

The Anti hunters just love people like you ! ! It really makes them smile when they see hunters like you with the holyier than thou attitude, bad mouthing each other with my sport is better than your sport and I am a sportsman and you'r not. Divide and conquer. I don't bear hunt but they have as much right to their sport as you do hiding in a tree so you can spear a deer with your little stick when they come to the the food pile you put out for them.

_________________
God and the Soldier we all adore,
In times of trouble and then no more
when war is over and all things righted
God is forgotten, the old soldier Slighted.

This morning I shot my third deer for the fall season and saw 5 others beside that one in just the hour and a half I was out. I fail to see the wolf-caused shortage I keep hearing the holiday season DNR haters belly aching about.

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"Know ye not why We created you all from the same dust? That no one should exalt himself over the other." -Baha'u'llah

Roughly where are you hunting? In the Tomahawk area?

I can tell you with 100% certainty there aren't deer about 20-30 miles west of Tomahawk and it isn't because of wolves, it's bears and t-zones.

Then you sure are not hunting south and west of Tomahawk.

And you are wrong, we don't like the dnr any time of the the year, not just the holidays. There is a reason that a lot of people refer to them as "Do Nothing Right "

And they feel that way all year long !!

_________________
God and the Soldier we all adore,
In times of trouble and then no more
when war is over and all things righted
God is forgotten, the old soldier Slighted.

For your reading pleasure:

Wolves Killing People

Exceedingly few people have ever seen a wolf and fewer have encountered a wild one. Yet people have a notion that wolves are dangerous. Wolves certainly bring down speedy, massive creatures like bison and musk oxen, so toppling a human would be easy. Wolves are celebrated for assailing people in Hollywood films and onslaught by blood-lusting howling wolves is well established in tradition:

the traveller hurrying homeward in his sleigh one black night on the snowbound steppes is surrounded and attacked by ravenous wolves...

the little child gathering kindling in the wood one evening is confronted by an enormous snarling wolf...only blood stained rags were ever found...

To what extent do wolves really attack and kill people - and why? Let's find some answers.

http://www.wolftrust.org.uk/a-wkp1-intro.html

"There has been no confirmed case of a wolf attack on a human in the wild in the U.S.."

Can you prove that?

'Confirmed' ie, republican talk. Just nonsense. like the GOP.