Wolf Crossing

The Mexican wolf controversy continues to grow.  Spring and early summer have long proven to escalate wolf attacks on cattle. Environmental extremists escalate attacks in the courts against ranchers and agency personnel and there seems to be no end in sight.  The only thing everyone has in common is that tempers are stretched to the limit and patience is wearing thin.  

Why? Because of incidents like this one.

Last week, when 2 eyewitnesses watched two wolves attack a cow defending this calf with nothing but a phone ten miles away they did what they could ran the wolves off and went for a phone.  By the time they got back the smaller wolf in the photo was cleaning up a meal off the valient little cow’s newborn calf.  Hemhoraging shows the calf was eaten alive wolf style, held down and nawed through  from the belly and back.  The two wolves at the scene were responsible for this.  They are possibly the Middle Fork pack or undocumented un-collared animals in middle fork pack territory on the ranch or maybe even possibly wolf coyote hybrids.  When the first set of witnessed got back to the scene, yet another person who also saw what was happening and saw the wolves back on the calf, was there, this time taking pictures of the situation and trying to preserve the scene.  

Smaller Wolf that was involved in calf kill last week, larger photo’s that don’t fit here show fresh blood on it’s muzzle from killing and eating the calf  below and biting it’s mother who defended it until someone came along to help her and ran the wolves off.

Ten hours  after these pictures were taken, the cow was found lying on top of her dead calf still trying to save it.  These three people did their best to document what they saw.  Unfortunately, eyewitness accounts and photographs are no longer enough to confirm a wolf kill.  

The kill was found by the closest ranch hand nearly 10 hours later after getting in from a long days work and seeing the message on his answering machine.  The calf was found underneath its mother and had already been eaten on by other animals.  It was initially confirmed as a coyote kill because there wasn’t enough evidence to support the report of the witnesses and what there was wasn’t actively sought out.  However, on reciept of the photographs the investigation has been re-opened becuase the first two witnesses stated the wolves were biting the cow when they saw the incident, likely these men saved the cow.  Coyotes do not bite cows on the nose and brisket. 

So once the cow can be examined… well, we will see. Meanwhile people who tell the public they are not, anti rancher, anti rural family, their organizations are just conservation organizations (and please send us money) have sued yet again to try and force ranchers to feed cows to wolves in a, “let them eat cows” mentality that certainly has nothing to do with fairness or protecting the rights of people.  There is no evidence that non management of depredating wolves is necessary no evidence that allowing unlimited cow kills absorbed by ranchers will do anything to ”save this program”.  

The question is, if this kill is officially considered a coyote kill then every wolf seen from here on out is legally a coyote and subject to coyote disposal.  Where is the line finally going to be drawn with this program?      Neither wolf was collared which means likely they are not vaccinated for rabies in an area with a severe rabies outbreak. Also killed in the same area a few days previously was a cow that agency personnel confirmed but refused to place a strike on the nearest wolves for.  So with the calf likely being the third strike for this pack, it is no wonder nobody wants to look at the evidence.This type of messing around with the rule is not new.  Gerrymandering SOP 13 has been going on long before the lawsuits and complaints about the three strikes rule started.  Killing of livestock is often ignored, placed on other animals, or on one wolf at a time or on un-known wolves.  SOP 13 is based on the final Rule which states problem animals are defined as packs, members of packs, individuals and young of the year dependent on problem wolves.  Problem behavior is defined as habituation and livestock killing among other things.  SOP 13 shouldn’t be called the 3 strikes rule it should be called the whatever number we can’t ignore or arbitrarily assign or get away with not reporting procedure.  Unfortunately, nobody in the program will follow the actual rule unless it is to find a way to keep the rancher from helping himself.  The rule is only complied with as a means to harm ranchers.It is not likely the cow, calf or earlier cow will be paid for by Defenders of Wildlife.  Ranches in this area are now on the “bad list” based on hearsay evidence of one reporter.   Not that it mattered DOW has not payed for kills on certain ranches for several years now despite having received numerous depredation reports. 

Remember folks, the above animal is now a coyote, officially if not legally.