Wolf pack kills 19 elk

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2016/03/25/wolf-pack-kills-19-wyoming-elk-in-one-night.html

John Lund of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department said it is not unusual for wolves to kill one or two elk a night in that part of the state but to have 19 killed in one night is rare

Online news outlet County 10 reported the wolves killed 17 elk calves and two adult cows at a feedground near the tiny town of Bondurant, the station reported.
Lund said the culprits may be a pack of nine wolves known as the Rim Pack.

Cant believe the wolves are protected and cant be touched.

They are protected in wy but have hunting seasons in MT, ID, MN and WI that I know of. WY needs to open there eyes and learn form these other states

Yup. That is a lot of elk meat. It is crazy that they would kill that many just for fun.

Not up to them the way the article read to me, federally protected.

It was up to them kinda sorta - Feds delisted and allowed hunting but WY insisted on an unlimited season (which the Feds said ahead of time they would not allow). So the other states got seasons and WY didn't - and lost years of wolf killing. The other states had liberal quotas which have not been met anyway.

I think now they either have a season or are getting one this year.

Not how I read it NP, from another article, it seems a federal judge ordered them protected again in Wyoming, as per the arguments of the litigation. The other states may have proved better wolf "comeback/restoration".

""The move came a day after a Washington, D.C., judge placed wolves back on the endangered species list, which immediately stopped all wolf hunting in Wyoming.""

http://trib.com/lifestyles/recreation/wy...6f0d2ad203.html

Good read on the arguments and "claims", though the site may be biased IDK

http://www.defenders.org/press-release/suit-filed-against-wyoming%E2%80%99s-kill%E2%80%90at%E2%80%90will-wolf-policy

I'm not buying the wolf kill story.

..Im with ya.Propaganda.... Esp when they said the "pack" that roams that area is around 7 wolves...I doubt that Elk would stay around after being attacked....

Thanks Western I haven't been keeping up.

Me either NP, just read it on FOX yesterday morning and started reading about it. I actually thought they had -depredation caveats, but I guess not. From all I read yesterday, seems Wyoming's loose approach to wolf management, is what gave the lawsuit merit.

The Wy. ranchers have been advocating an open season on wolves for many years. This article supports the reality of the misguided views of the prairie faries "Save the wolf" campaign.

Believe it or not National Geographic is usually good about presenting all sides and focusing on the facts. Sad deal. The elk were grouped in an area where they were being fed.


http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/03/160325-wolf-pack-kills-19-wolves-surplus-killing-wyoming/

Good article TH

I doubt this is the end of Elk in Wyoming, elk and wolves probably manage better as they have for thousands of years without human management. 22 elk feed stations? That's like opening the chicken house gate for the fox.

The fed and the states.... What could go wrong??

Why not? If 17 were calves it's completely possible. Wolves will kill that many sheep in a flock easily in one night.

Why not just kill them and not say anything! ?

You mean aside from the risk of prosecution, $10s of thousands in legal fees, possible felony conviction, loss of rights, and loss of hunting privileges? Never mind the potential impact on your family, relationships, job situation, income, and future earning potential.

Never mind the fact that far too many people are not capable to "not say anything." They will say something, take pictures, or leave other forensic evidence that will come back on them.

The wolves are a native species and deserve to roam and kill and eat what they want. 17 elk is no big deal and if the wolves did do it then it is a part of nature. That is what they eat!!!

I would love to kill a wolf for sure but I dont care how many elk it kills. It is in the natural environment so let it be the badass top predator killing machine that it is. That is why wolves are bad [censored] and I would love to pop one some day!!

I never let a varmint walk. Wolves wouldn't be any different if I were a Wyoming rancher.

Bigfoot -
The flaw in your thinking is "natural environment".
We lost "natural environment" a couple hundred years ago.
As soon as we logged a forest, planted a crop, put up a fence, "managed" a forest fire, that was the end of "natural environment".
Is having elk feeding stations "natural environment"?
Millions of $$ are spent every year by elk hunters, elk enthusiasts and wildlife management agencies to grow the numbers of elk in non-natural environments.
The state would gladly use some of those $$s to also manage the wolf population if allowed. To manage one without managing the other is beyond stupid.

The biggest problem here is the federal government telling a state that they are not allowed to manage the wildlife inhabiting their own lands.

If I was a rancher had wolf problems, I'd poison the $#!+ out of them, period.

Kill them all. Poachers and wolves.

I am sure there is plenty of that going on.

The only animal I've ever seen kill for the fun of it and could take down something that size is dog's. I've never heard of either wolves or yotes killing just to kill.

I have seen coyotes kill 10-15 axis fawns in one night that they did not eat. Killed more that they ate parts of. Killed 7 fawns in a 75-100 yard straight line. Did not eat any of them, just killed them to kill them. Axis were terrible about grouping fawns together in large numbers in one spot. Easy pickings for yotes once they figured that out.

Wolves and coyotes both kill just to kill. Killing is their favorite thing to do. It is in their instincts. They usually only kill what they can get with the least effort and settle for a meal. Dealing with livestock, they don't usually stick around long enough to take more than a meal because they know it's a matter of time before they get caught and killed. But dealing with herds in the wild, sometimes they get lucky, and they don't stop till the luck runs out. Especially in areas with little or no presence of hunters!

Maybe I am backwards but I would think that "just Killing them" is the wrong thinking.

Im not saying you dont want to control the predators because I am all for hunting and taking a wolf. But wiping them out because they killed a few elk is unethical.

17 elk can die from cold or starvation or disease. No laws were broken so who cares. The wolves are just doing what wolves do.

MY point is that this has been going on for a millenia and 17 elk is just not that big of a deal.

I pretty much agree, if anyone read up on it (links I posted and others on Google), then it is obvious Wyoming blew it with lax regulations and management, giving merit to the lawsuits and outcome of the courts ruling. Maybe if they didn't have a financial gain incentive (tags sales), balls to the wall wolf season, they could have kept numbers in an area without default. Just my thoughts anyway.

Interesting little reads...
http://isleroyalewolf.org/node/42
https://livingwithwolves.org/portfolio/3933/
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/2009/11/do_wolves_kill_for_sport.html

A point brought up that is missed by most people is that the wolves likely would have returned to feed on the downed elk for a prolonged period of time.

Yes, I read that as well, just like yotes will revisit a kill site. As cold as it is there right now, they could chew on that pile for a month, if it wasn't put in a pile for a photo op, guess they will have to kill more!

Wolves also kill to train their young pack members. Training kills are carried out on easy targets like elk calves congregated at a feeder. Would not surprise me if this was a few mature wolves training last summer's pups. Totally normal behaviour with lots of precedent.

It is the same principle we apply when we take our kids to the range to hone their shooting skills.