Wolves around Region 3

[skibum]

I dont hunt much but spend a fair bit of time in the bush fishing, camping, and exploring. Shoot the odd grouse once in a while but that's it so far. I've seen wolf sign a few times and would like to do my part if I ever see one.

What do I do with it once I shoot it though? Never skinned or gutted anything before. I guess I wouldn't mind maybe having a mount or hide of some kind, but I'm guessing it ain't cheap.

This is one of the best skinning videos I have seen, put out by the Yukon Gov. It is a bear but basically the same on a wolf.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-7UyZA24pg

I had no experience and skinned out a wolf solo - did what I think was a pretty good job. Was not hard at all (I thought it would be before I did it once) Stopped by the local feed supply store on the way back in and picked up a bag of salt, they knew what I was after.

[steepNdeep]

Just over the hill from Turtle Corner and just above the N Thompson river is Inskip ranch. They have been losing cattle to the wolves for the past two years.

We were wondering about the cattle, they were fenced only about 1/2 a km down.

Wolves wreak havoc on livestock.

To give you an idea, their tiny cousins, coyotes (a large coyote is 40 lbs) have a huge impact on livestock:
- In the US, coyotes kill ~200,000 cattle, sheep, etc./ year, which costs $100+ Million annually!
- Here are the coyote killed sheep stat's: https://www.sheepusa.org/NewsMedia_W...eportPublished

Wolves are much bigger, stronger (a large wolf is 150 lbs) & more efficient predators. They are just getting started, again..

Here's an interesting article on wolves effect on cattle in NE Washington - across the border from the W. Kootenays. They are working their way north & west from their reintroduction in Idaho. This little corner (~30 x 30 miles) holds the majority of WA wolves & they are already killing ~100 cattle per year (imagine how many deer). Wolves are still protected as endangered species in WA & the pro-wolf group want another 10 year ban on hunting them... https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle...attle-country/

That first wolf that I ever saw ~15 years ago, was where that Salmo pack is on this map:




Wolf populations must be managed, like any other predator, as part of wildlife conservation.

[TyTy]

Hey SteepNDeep, me again.

While you're out doing your conservation work make sure you don't kill the lead female lead male breeding pair. If you do though make sure you kill a majority of the whole pack in one go. Otherwise you'll end up just fragmenting a pack and creating several new breeding pairs, causing an uptick in the wolf population. When in a social pack wolves breeding mechanisms are supressed, when the lead breeding pair is killed more and younger wolves start breeding.

Unfortunately those are the study findings. I'd like to hear these are bunk interpretations.
Good luck, waste them all.

How does one specifically achieve this when actually behind the trigger, given an opportunity to hunt - even have a shot at a wolf?

If we could hunt under 'studies findings', we would have much more opportunity at improving localized ungulate populations, despite habitat loss.

[ve7iuq]

Hey steep -

We bumped into a large pack (8-10) at nightfall up on the bonaparte plateau a couple weekends ago. Big, healthy dogs. Not sure if you're trying to focus on the other direction towards the Arm but PM me if you're interested in a more detailed description!

Cheers

Seven or eight wolves is the standard, family sized wolf pack. Up to nine, but almost never ten, in a family pack. Twice this amount, like about fifteen, is two family packs, hunting together for greater efficiency.

[Bugle M In]

Seven or eight wolves is the standard, family sized wolf pack. Up to nine, but almost never ten, in a family pack. Twice this amount, like about fifteen, is two family packs, hunting together for greater efficiency.

I had a pack of "18" heading down the river bottom....single file!!....18 of them.
Big packs do exist....and in such a tight "corridor/watershed"...nothing escapes.
The drivers in the area have told me, and several of them, not just one driver...
they could see a deer, mostly whitetail, trying to flee, in deep snow, with huge packs on its tail.
Multiple times they would see that.....these dogs hunt...24/7.

[steepNdeep]

I just read something interesting & SCARY:

According to Western Wildlife Outreach, an adult grey wolf eats an average of 5 to 14 pounds of meat per day. (To use round #s say average 10)

1 wolf eats 10 lb/day x 365 = 3,650 lbs/year
3,650 / 100 lbs meat/deer = 36.5 deer/year

An average pack has 6 wolves & therefore eats:
6 x 36 deer = 196 deer/year/pack

Even at half that - 5 lbs/day = ~100 deer/year/pack

How many packs are just around Kamloops???

What sucks about wolves is that (unlike cats) wolves rarely kill the animal before they start eating it - alive:

[swampthing]

Those two wolves wouldn't have done that if I was there!! I would have have run them pricks off before I would sit n watch that!! And as for Kamloops I am sure there is hundreds of wolves around there.

[steepNdeep]

[RackStar]

Man that’s a shitty way to go.
I saw a big lone wolf on Sunday night when out for a cruise just north of PG In the wright creek field.
Time to go doggy hunting over Xmas break.

[RackStar]

As for reg 3 closer to kammy I heard a pack one night up haybrook fsr. Sounded like a pack of 5