"she couldn't survive a man with a gun" Montana wolf hunt start today: LA Times:

[amborin]

Wolf 527 was a survivor. She lived through a rival pack's crippling 12-day siege of her den. When another pair of wolves laid down stakes in her territory, she killed the mother and picked off the pups while the invader's mate howled nearby in frustration and fury.

snip

As the alpha female of the Cottonwood Creek pack, she also was equipped with a radio collar so wildlife biologists could track her movements, making her one of Yellowstone National Park's best-known wolves.

Then she ventured outside the park boundaries.

Wolf 527 was killed Oct. 3 by a hunter on Buffalo Plateau north of Yellowstone, less than three weeks into Montana's backcountry elk season.

snip

Her strategies were just unbelievable. She knew how to survive anything, but she didn't know how to survive a man with a gun."

Park officials believe four of the Cottonwood pack's 10 wolves -- including 527's mate, the alpha male, and her daughter -- died during those first weeks, in effect ending research into one of the park's most important study groups.

snip

Conservationists fear that allowing the wolves to be targeted just four months after they were removed from the endangered species list could damage the recovery process. They have argued for delaying a hunt until at least 2,000 wolves have gained a foothold in the region....."

snip

<http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-wolf-hunt25-2009oct25,0,3043567.story>


please email President Obama, via Defenders of Wildlife:

<https://secure.defenders.org/site/Advocacy?pagename=homepage&page=UserAction&id=1393&s_einterest=C3C4>

[TheWraith]

Fucking asshole ranchers.

Egomaniacs who can't stand losing a few sheep a year to the wolves even though it's a completely insignificant number, but it's an affront to their supremacy over nature so they've got to go and try to exterminate the wolves again. I wish I were in Wyoming--I'd be tempted to take my rifle out and go hunting wolf hunters.

[ZombieHorde]

21. That would be a great way to show your supremacy over nature!

[TheWraith]

41. Nah, just that I'm smarter than some of my fellow bipeds. nt

[ZombieHorde]

42. Your fellow bipeds are just as much a part of nature as those wolves. nt

[TheWraith]

47. Then they need to be taught respect for that fact.

Wolves hunt to survive and to eat. Humans who do that too are fine by me. But people going out to mass-kill wolves for fun and because asinine ranching interests have their dicks up do not meet my test of being nature-friendly.

[depakid]

27. They're also compensated for their losses

[Loki]

1. If I said what I thought about the miserable piece of shit who shot

this beautiful creature, I would probably get a visit from the authorities. Read my mind asshole, may your end come soon and badly.

[TwilightGardener]

2. Very sad. Is there really that much of an economic loss from wolves that

hunting season is necessary? I doubt it.

[TheWraith]

5. Not on your life.

The number of livestock taken by wolves is extremely low, so much so that the government could pay full market value for anything killed by a wolf and it would still be a miniscule cost to the wolf program. But a lot of the ranchers just can't stand the idea of not having total control, so therefore the wolves need to die. They issued enough hunting permits this year in the western states, particularly Wyoming, to basically exterminate the wolf population all over again.

[TwilightGardener]

8. Any excuse to shoot them, I guess. I have no doubt there are some

sicko hunters who are just lining up to get a chance to shoot a wolf. Can't eat 'em, just want them for a hide and bragging rights.

[sam sarrha]

6. Reich Wing old white cranky Neanderthal politicians .. doing what they do best

[xchrom]

7. no there isn't -- and ranchers

can be compensated for losses.

there are simply not that many wolves in the lower 48.

it is a sexy topic though -- WOLVES!11!!

[vadawg]

3. seems that this wolf understood that nature is about killing your competition

Wolf 527 was a survivor. She lived through a rival pack's crippling 12-day siege of her den. When another pair of wolves laid down stakes in her territory, she killed the mother and picked off the pups while the invader's mate howled nearby in frustration and fury.

[Shell Beau]

30. It was about her survival. Of course she understood that because

it was her instinct. What a shame that this is how she went out. It is sad and disgusting. Certainly you aren't implying this wolf was the hunter's competition?

[robinlynne]

4. what a spectacularly beautiful animal.

[sam sarrha]

10. have you seen the movie.. "Never Cry Wolf".. a must see >Link>>true story

http://search.deepdiscount.com/search?w=Never%20Cry%20Wolf"..%20&

[robinlynne]

11. I'm afraid to. When the Humane Society ad goes on tv I start crying.

I will write it down though. Thank-you.
Hell, I can't even handle Bambi.

[sam sarrha]

19. its a very worth while movie. punctuated with only a few tears of anger at the end, well worth them

it is a fascinating story of a scientists awakening.. merging science with native american spirituality, and lots of humor

[robinlynne]

12. jsut looked at your link and rented the movie! Thanks! thought it would be a documentary.

but it lo0oiks like he wolves win in this one, so I'm game.

[PavePusher]

25. It is based on (and fairly faithful to) the real life experiences of Farley Mowat..

who worked for the Canadian government in the 1960's/70's.

http://www.amazon.com/Never-Cry-Wolf-Farley-Mowat/dp/B000H2G7ZS/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1256513646&sr=1-2

Great writer, I have most of his books. As in most cases, the book is better than the movie, but in this instance the movie is very, very good.

[whathehell]

20. I just rented it too. I see that it is a true story. I love all animals

with the possible exceptions of snakes.:P

[lonestarnot]

9. Hideous dominion!

:cry:

[aikoaiko]

13. This piece is not against hunting wolves -- only delaying the hunt until there are more wolves.

If wolves flourish there, then some wolves will be hunted and killed.

[Shell Beau]

32. Of course, because too many humans like to hunt and kill just about

anything that breathes, and it is gross.

[Tim01]

34. Cats and dogs kill everything just for fun.

Domestic cats and dogs are not struggling to survive. They are healthy and well fed so they have the luxury of killing for pleasure, which they do. People with livestock discover this in short order.

Wolves and big cats are trying to get enough food to live. Spending time killing for fun, and possibly getting injured is dangerous, that is why they don't generally do it. I read very recently of a fellow in Alaska who found cow caribou which had been hamstrung by wolves and left to die in the snow.

[Shell Beau]

39. Domestic cats kill for fun. I am not so sure that dogs kill everything

for fun. Mine sure don't.

[Tim01]

43. My Akita killed every chicken she could catch.

I never could break her of it. And after she got sprayed by a skunk the first she had a grudge against them and would seek them out to kill them, get sprayed or not. The border collie lives only to kill groundhogs. She spends long hours in the back yard hoping to ambush one headed to the garden. She is clearly at her happiest when she corners one and can't get away.
The yorkie was too small to be much of a threat to anything except baby rabbits. He would find rabbit holes and kill all of the babies and bring them home as trophies.
If something kills all of your chickens and leaves them it is either a young fox that has not yet learned the uselessness of killing all of the chickens,because he can't take them all home and eat them. Or it is the neighbors dog which doesn't have any interest in eating them anyway.
My neighbor killed one and nearly killed the other german shepherds which had climbed into his goat pen and were in the process of tearing apart pet goats, tug-of-war style. 3 rounds of buckshot and 5 rounds of birdshot.
Pet goats in a pen are easy fun for domestic dogs who kill for pleasure.
The owner of the dogs still thinks I was the one who killed his dogs. That's probably because I told him I would kill them on sight if they ever again entered my property.
A female sheep had been torn up so badly she was in shock and non responsive. I found her with her head stuck in a brush pile she was trying to get away from the german shepherds. I shot her. Her mate, the male was in better shape. He died 2 weeks later from infections, on the ground gasping for breath with foam pouring out of his nose and mouth.
I don't play with tresspassing dogs anymore, they are entirely too eager to kill everything they can find.

[LWolf]

14. .

:grr: :cry:


I wanted to say that I'd like open season on some humans, which would actually help the planet, and the human species.

Except I can't. I can't condone killing humans that are in the way of a healthy planet and human culture.

Some days I wish I could, though.

[bertman]

22. We already have those open seasons, LWolf. They're usually in season in countries with

brown people and lots of natural resources that we Americans want. Here in these United States, not so much.

[LWolf]

48. I know that. nt

[mix]

15. k&r

:cry:

[niyad]

16. may these ranchers, who seem to forget we invaded the animals' territory, receive everything they

deserve.

like the first response, I cannot say what I think of these murdering bastards.

[SammyWinstonJack]

17. +1

:grr: Cowards! :mad:

[PavePusher]

26. Just ensure you don't utilise any of their products.

Hypocrasy may be the only thing worse than murder.

[Name removed]

18. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[bertman]

23. This makes me very sad and angry. I do not understand why these animals would be

hunted unless they became a threat to humans. A few sheep being taken (and the sheep farmers being reimbursed for them) is a small price to pay to have these magnificent animals as part of the ecosystem.

Much of this can be attributed to ingrained fear of the wolf, which seems to be very irrational unless you happen to live in a remote desolate area where there is no food, other than you, for the pack. That's just not the case nowadays in the American west.

It's sad that some people feel the need to kill those wolves. It says a lot about the person who does the killing. I am not a person who condemns hunting. Quite the opposite, I support hunting when it is regulated and when it makes sense--as in our neck of the woods, where deer are overpopulated like crazy. But this reminds me of the "big game hunters" who just want a mount on the wall so they can show how tough they are.

[flvegan]

24. It's like this...

I know I've said this before, but to those that may not have read it. We're the God-blessed human friggin race. This is our world and anything that becomes even the slightest nuisance or bother deserves to be executed. God gave us this planet and the animals that live on it. All of it belongs to us. Says so in that Bible there. We can and should continue to run this planet right into the fucking ground (no pun intended) because it's ours.

As for the wolves? Fuck 'em, big dog-looking things. If they intend to be all wolf-like and get in our way and make a rancher or two uncomfortable, then kill 'em all!! Besides, the ever-brilliant George W. Bush said they should be de-listed, and Obama agreed with him. God, W, Obama. Trifecta right there. Let no man question it.

Besides, what we should be doing is taking choppers over the wilderness and napalming the shit outta all of it, fucking animals getting in our way. That way you'd fry the youngsters in the dens 'n shit. They're just gonna get bigger and be a problem for us in a year or two.

Human race for the motherfuckin' win!!! w00000t!

[Tim01]

28. Wow. She kIlled a mom wolf, then all of the pups in front of their dad.

That is really brutal. I don't know how you kill puppies while their dad watches. That is just beyond awful.

[Shell Beau]

33. Nature is brutal. Her pack's survival depended on it.

It was her instinct. I hate it, but that is how it goes. I have a hard time watching almost any animal documentary because I know many animals survive by killing other animals. The person who shot and killed this wolf didn't do it out of survival though.

[Skittles]

29. all the cowards witll be out in force

:puke:

[Kingofalldems]

31. America's gun hicks--they want to kill everything they see

And would kill people too---if they could get away with it.

[tmyers09]

35. If it were up to me, I would ban all hunting.

Anybody who will shoot and kill a living thing because it's fun to do on weekends or it looks good on your wall, is scum. It's legalized murder, pure and simple. They pose no direct threat to you, nor do they even have a chance to fight back. You're a real tough guy, disguising yourself and sitting up in a tree hundreds of feet away. Also, I hate the overpopulation argument. Ok, there's a lot of fucking people living here, we should just kill them if we feel like it, because it's a sport and fun? Give me a break. The only time hunting was ever acceptable IMO, was centuries ago, when people would do it for food and survival, using the parts for clothing and whatnot. Anything else, is senseless and wrong.

[TheWraith]

40. Many people who hunt still do it for food.

People who hunt strictly for fun or trophies are relatively rare, and looked down on by other hunters.

[Tim01]

44. Wow. So very emotional. No substance though. No education either.

All predators kill. Most predators will kill for fun given the chance. That is nature.
You want humans to be something that goes contrary to nature. I guess you have no concern for nature at all. Humans can't have empathy for nature if they are not a part of it.
People in office cubicles have no understanding of what nature is or why we should protect it, instead of turning nature into a Prius factory and a corporate farm to feed city dwelling vegans.

[OnyxCollie]

36. Bastards. nt

[Omaha Steve]

37. K&R

[graywarrior]

38. Grrrrr.

[LanternWaste]

45. What we call Man's power over Nature turns out to be...

"What we call Man's power over Nature turns out to be a power exercised by some men over other men with Nature as its instrument."

C.S. Lewis -- The Abolition of Man

[BreweryYardRat]

46. Not terribly fond of wolves, but there aren't enough out there to let mindless rednecks kill them.

Especially when the aforementioned rednecks are being fully compensated for any wolf-related losses to their herds.

Hunting has exactly two legitimate purposes -- providing food, and preventing severe overpopulation of a species.

Neither of those legitimate purposes was the case here. You can't eat wolves, and they're certainly not overpopulated.

This incident was nothing but butchery, perpetrated by a bunch of chest-beating, devolved subhumans who saw a chance to put something new on their kill list.

If someone snuffed these savages, I wouldn't shed any tears.

[QC]

49. How very, very hopeful and changealicious! n/t

[TornadoTN]

50. I went to a conservation center this past weekend and observed a pack of wolves

It was an amazing experience. Beautiful and incredibly smart these creatures. It was the first time I've been able to observe them in person and I was blown away by what I witnessed.

It's ridiculous that these animals are still being hunted so soon after they were removed from the ESL.