"Mornin' Sam"
"Mornin' Ralph"
Posted on 08/28/2009 8:41:14 AM PDT by george76
Kathy Konen has lost guard dogs to wolves in the past, but nothing prepared the Dillon rancher for the killing of 120 buck sheep last week.
"They were in the sagebrush, on the creek bottom - just all over the pasture," Konen said Thursday. "It's a terrible loss to our livestock program."
Konen said they discovered the attack Aug. 16 while checking their sheep in the Rock Creek drainage of the Blacktail Mountains south of Dillon, where they pasture buck sheep in summer. She said they check their sheep every two or three days, so the attack was recent.
She and her husband, Jon, immediately called officials with the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks, which sent out a federal trapper to investigate the scene.
The trapper found numerous carcasses of sheep that had been killed by wolves, said Carolyn Sime, FWP wolf program coordinator. The total included 82 confirmed kills and 40 carcasses that were classified as probable kills, including some that had been eaten by bears. The attack occurred on private land the Konens own.
"That's a lot all in one incident," Sime said.
The sheep were just killed and yet the carcasses were almost all intact, Konen said.
"They didn't eat what they killed, most of them were just brought down,"
(Excerpt) Read more at billingsgazette.com ...
“You could kill every wolf that shows up, but more will come,” she said. “It’s close to Yellowstone Park, it’s halfway between Yellowstone Park and central Idaho.”
http://www.mtstandard.com/articles/2009/08/28/area/hjjajbhchghbjc.txt
"Mornin' Sam"
"Mornin' Ralph"
She needs a pack of these...
But....but...I thought wolves were cute and cuddly and only culled out sick, old, or starving animals!
Wolf skins make nice vests,,,,tying their tracking collars to the back axle of a south bound semi is funny too.
It was aliens, come on, wolves would not do that
Eat more lamb! one thousand wolves and one million coyotes can’t be wrong!
Tasty!
SSS policy needed. (Shoot, shovel, shut up!)
Yellowstone Wolves... Smoke a pack a day!
Do you mean the wolves, or the idiots who brought them back? ?
Exactly. Wolves kill for the sport of killing. That is why our elk/moose populations are getting smaller & smaller every day here in Wyoming.
“She said officials asked whether the Konens had taken steps to protect livestock from wolves, including electric fencing, dogs, herders or fladry lines, but they declined. Sime said wolves will inevitably return to the area.”
Nice effort by the Konens.
Gun. Shovel. Hole. Problem solved.
A prime example why wolves were practically eliminated in the lower 48, they don’t just kill to survive.
The bleeding heart animal rights nuts should be the ones to clean up and bury the remains in these attacks.
There are still some breeders out there. I think they're beautiful dogs, but like Danes and other super-large breeds, don't have the kind of longevity I'd hope for.
Obviously this rancher needs to augment her dogs with larger animals who will attack and kill wolves, such as donkeys and llamas. Typically, wolves can still kill such guard animals if they have to, but they will prefer to avoid doing so, as they are a “hard kill” with a strongly likelihood of wolves being injured or killed as well.
In the long term, though, the best solution would be to breed a very large dog, such as the extinct Roman war dog. Once several wolves had been killed by them, the wolf packs will learn that they must be avoided, and will detect their scent and detour by several miles.
First of all, the modern way in which ranchers raise their stock will have to change. In days past, sheep were gaurded 24/7. Without worrying about predators, they could be left alone for several days without much predation. Ranchers will now have to be shepherds of old, keeping watch over their flocks--at all times.
Secondly, they'll have to keep smaller flocks, which means less money, which means a lot of ranchers will go out of the sheep business, which is a danm shame that the government would create this situation. Nevertheless, smaller flocks are easier to keep watch over, dogs can help when you have a smaller flock, and if wolves approach it's a lot easier to defend a small flock rather than running hither and yon trying to keep all safe.
Unusual behaviour for wolves to just bring down sheep. Something strange about that. Wolves, bears, coyotes, and puma tend to bring down what they can eat. They do not tend to kill more ( or at least not the likes of this).
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