Famous Wolf?

Recently I read an article about a "Famous Wolf" which had been shot just outside of Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming.  This wolf is apparently very well known and almost a celebrity to outdoor photographers and some wildlife enthusiasts.  I do not want to be insensitive to those who make a living photographing Yellowstone's wildlife, yet I do wish to voice my own opinions about this situation.

As the article states, "According to National Park Service estimates, there are more than 1,700 wolves living in the Rocky Mountain region—most in Idaho".  There is no doubt that the wolf number in this area is not suffering tremendously as some may assume.  According to another article I recently read, the state of Idaho is only roughly 100,000 elk.  There is a lot of debate on how many elk are necessary to sustain a pack of wolves every year, and to be honest I do not think that there is one single correct answer to that question.  However, I do know that the reason Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, and other states have began to allow wolves to be hunted is for wildlife management.  The law of nature works by a supply and demand principle and when the the supply is lower than the demand, wolves will be looking for other ways to get their necessities for food. 

In the area I live in Idaho, I am fairly close to the border of Yellowstone National park.  My whole life growing up hunting, I was always aware of the boarder to the park and the hunting restrictions in those areas.  Yellowstone is not a zoo, and the animals are wild, thus they roam freely entering and exiting the park as they wish.  I can't tell you how many times we have been close to the boarder of the park and the elk know where they are safe, and where they have pressure from hunters and/or hikers.  These animals are quite intelligent and know when they are safe.  Since this incident with the "famous wolf" being legally taken just outside of the park, Wyoming has now restricted hunting beyond the park boundaries to include a safe zone just outside of the park ON PUBLIC LAND.  I do not feel that this will protect these animals any more than they already are, nor do I feel that this is right to restrict the hunters more than they already are concerning the size of the park compared to their hunting area.

The Park boundary in the State of Wyoming

If the agencies in charge of managing the number of wild life in these areas feel that it is not only okay but also necessary to allow hunting of the wolves, I do not feel that there needs to be any more restrictions than those imposed by that management agency.  The sad part about this situation is that if the hunter had taken any other wolf in this pack, there would not be as big of a push to restrict the wolf hunting in these areas.  Just because this wolf is viewed as "famous" there is an issue.

I do not expect everyone to see a problem with this like I do, but I do feel that I needed to at least voice my opinion on the matter.  These wolves are multiplying quite rapidly and there are management strategies in place to keep them controlled and healthy.  I don't know many people who would rather see a wolf starve to death over one taken legally by a hunter.  If those outside of these areas wish to see wolves wander freely, I suggest a reintroduction of wolves in Central Park and other areas where wolves once roamed. 


Here is the other article mentioning how Montana has restricted hunting near the boarder of the park.

Preparing for an Adventure!

 It has been way to long since I wrote my last post, but its not because I have been lazy.  The past month has been super busy for me and my little family yet we have still found a few moments to take a break here and there.  The biggest thing that has been going on is getting ready for our new addition... no not on the house, but in the house... My wife and I have been super busy taking down all my deer horns, European mounts, dart boards, football memorabilia, and other manly things and transforming my "Man Cave" into the baby's room.  The doc said that the baby should be coming any day now so we all know that could mean here in the next few hours or maybe another 3 weeks.

This is where all my deer heads, horns, and outdoors stuff used to be... Now its a changing station

This is where my gun cabinet was and all my football memorabilia

 Even with satisfying my wife's desires of getting the room ready, her and I still found time to get out and enjoy the outdoors.  We found time to put out my trail camera near one of our hunting spots where my wife took a really nice buck.  We knew it was early in the year (this was a few weeks ago) but we were hoping to catch a buck or two traveling to get a drink in the heat of the day.  We were lucky enough to get a few deer on camera including this little button buck that my wife said is going to taste great when she shoots him this year :)

Small whitetail buck

 We also captured a raccoon and this guy traveling up and down the trail... All I need to do now is find time to grab my predator call and take care of some business!

Coyote in my huntin' area

 My wife and I have also spent some time walking around in the mountains scouting out some hunting areas and enjoying the scenery.  We really are lucky to live in an area that is so versatile and unique.  We traveled up to West Yellowstone with the family and enjoyed seeing buffalo, elk and other wildlife walking around freely.  We were able to see geysers and crazy land formations that are unique to West Yellowstone.  The same week we went up to West Yellowstone, my wife and I went on a random hike through the woods and stumbled on a few mushroom patches.  We gathered 4 pounds 11 ounces of morel mushrooms and a couple pounds of what we call "brain mushrooms". 

Our batch of mushrooms!

 I was also lucky enough to try bow fishing for the first time with my brother and my dad.  For being our first time, we had a blast and took home 6 decent sized carp.  If you want to read more about this adventure check out my brother's blog Idahobonecollector.com  

First Carp with a bow!!!

So this is a brief summary of my last 3-4 weeks and a poor attempt to apologize for not blogging about my experiences.  As you can see its not because I have been slaving away and not getting out, but more of the fact that I've been taking every opportunity to get out that I get! Hey and I didn't even write about my 4 fishing trips or my crawdad adventure where I got attacked by crawdads while my battery for my electric trolling motor died in the middle of the night... Maybe I should sit down and write about that one :)