County seeks to reduce deer population

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Elk and wolves co-existed in a natural, balanced eco system long before humans showed up here. Wolves aren't the problem, people are.

I couldn't have said it better, Twisterdog!!!

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Originally Posted by Twisterdog

Oh, I'm sure outfitters WILL tell you that. Doesn't make it a scientific fact. And I'm sure an elk DID chase a baby elk, and that it WAS afraid. Elk are wolves natural prey, of course they kill and eat them. Elk and wolves co-existed in a natural, balanced eco system long before humans showed up here. Wolves aren't the problem, people are.

There is always more than one side to a story, any story. There are plenty of elk and deer in Wyoming, and more than enough cows ... for which ranchers are compensated NICELY for, if one is even suspected of being a wolf kill. Not proven, just suspected. Cows are not a native species, they were put on our public lands because it's a cheap way for ranchers to feed them. Wolves are a native species, in a wilderness area ... but now they are a problem, because of someone's cows? Hmmmm ..... But let's not let the facts confuse us.

Think like a rancher. A $800.00 cow, with a $500.00 calf running at its side, along with a fetus inside the cow worth $300.00 when it is born. Then you have the wolves outside the park chasing the cattle & the rancher is hoping to make his money on the cattle grazing on the grasses but that isn't happening because the wolfs are doing a number on them. It would be like throwing 10 per cent of your pay check out the window. PBS has done many documentaries on the wolfs, & people that live outside the Yellowstone area. I actually saw a huge wolf run right by me chasing a baby elk. It made me sick. :( Maybe there are to many wolf packs. I know the ranchers,& some of the outfitters are working on it.

As for the deer if you want to come to our area to hunt you can have up to as many as 5 tasty deer per person. The DNR is controlling the deer population & they basically have the say so. What humans are you pertaining to? The ones that control the population or the ones that run into the deer with their cars, own the deer populated lands? There are LESS HUNTERS now & that is part of the problem & there are some hunters people won't allow on their land because they are very careless. We have at least three groups come onto our land to hunt. Some of our neighbors won't allow anyone on their land to hunt. There is a private land owner that lives in town & hunts on his own property but doesn't allow anyone else to hunt on his land. We have another neighbor that has opened up his property to hunters, actually his neighbor next door. It has a lot to do with government control as far as what will happen to the deer? They are the ones that call the shots more then anyone & we have to live with it.

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Originally Posted by Karen

That's why the best solution - were there not human beings with pets around - would be to reintroduce the grey wolves. A wolf, especially in a pack can take down an adult deer, a coyote just cannot, so they have limited effectiveness as population control.

Yesterday in Rochester, Minnesota a trapper was trapping coyotes & trapped a gray wolf. The gray wolfs paw was caught in the trap but was not badly injured & the gray wolf was released. The DNR thinks the wolves came over from Wisconsin. I guess there are more of them in Southeastern Minnesota(really rough forested hilly lands) but no packs have formed as yet. So we have wolfs about 60 miles away from the land of corn, soybeans, & deer.