‘World’s most famous wolf’ shot and killed outside Yellowstone

[TommyB681]

Thats a shame she was a beautiful wolf but a legitimate shoot....it is what it is

[Wild Wolf]

I am certainly mourning her loss, and the terrible act that led to her unnecessary death.

[3dognite]

I've always been very supportive of the reintroduction effort. I remember arguing about it with colleagues in the mid-90's.

However, I also work with the agricultural sector on a regular basis. Many of the ranchers/farmers that I work with are seeing massive kills from wolves, where the wolf has been seen killing indiscriminately and not eating it's kill. They'll get into cow herds when they are calving and have a field day on the newborns and the mama cows that are birthing. I know that dogs work well, but they aren't perfect.

The biggest problem that I see is that the wolves are like grizzly bears in that there is no competition--they are at the top of the food chain. And the packs are multiplying like crazy. There does need to be some population control, or soon they will be going after the suburbs (seriously, like coyotes, this will happen). And while it makes me sad to think about them dying, I also know that unchecked, their population will continue to explode.

[Courtney]

Interesting insight 3dognite, thanks for sharing that.

In the situation you described I understand the frustration.

[LARHAGE]

I hate to hear this as well, but as 3dognite said, I too have horses, and I can only imagine how I would feel if wolves were trying to attack my precious little weanling Tia, I too would be out there with a rifle to do whatever it took to keep her safe, I am all for finding some solutions that would work for everyone, I know how bad the Coyotes are and can only imagine larger, more powerful killers lurking in the dark, I'm mortal enemies with the Coyotes because of them killing some of my animals.

[Liesje]

I'm a city girl so I know very little of wolves and even less about livestock and farming. Is there a domesticated animal a wolf would fear or leave alone? What I'm getting at is in southern Africa there was a big problem with people killing cheetahs because they thought the cheetahs were a risk with their livestock (this was actually not true, the cheetahs very rarely if ever went after livestock, but perception is reality) so they started a program where they gave farmers Anatolian Shepherd dogs and let the dogs protect the livestock from the cheetahs which in turn protected cheetahs from being shot for supposedly endangering livestock. I wonder if there's any dog or other animal that could serve a similar purpose with regard to wolves?

[3dognite]

Originally Posted by Liesje

I'm a city girl so I know very little of wolves and even less about livestock and farming. Is there a domesticated animal a wolf would fear or leave alone? What I'm getting at is in southern Africa there was a big problem with people killing cheetahs because they thought the cheetahs were a risk with their livestock (this was actually not true, the cheetahs very rarely if ever went after livestock, but perception is reality) so they started a program where they gave farmers Anatolian Shepherd dogs and let the dogs protect the livestock from the cheetahs which in turn protected cheetahs from being shot for supposedly endangering livestock. I wonder if there's any dog or other animal that could serve a similar purpose with regard to wolves?

There are some dogs who they won't mess with as much, but I was just talking to one of my bosses who runs a huge herd of Angus. He has a pack of hounds that he hunts mountain lion with and they can't release them anymore, they have to hunt on-leash because the wolves will kill them. They recently bought a Great Pyrenees to help with the problem but it's hit and miss when they run such a big herd.

[Wild Wolf]

Originally Posted by Liesje

I'm a city girl so I know very little of wolves and even less about livestock and farming. Is there a domesticated animal a wolf would fear or leave alone? What I'm getting at is in southern Africa there was a big problem with people killing cheetahs because they thought the cheetahs were a risk with their livestock (this was actually not true, the cheetahs very rarely if ever went after livestock, but perception is reality) so they started a program where they gave farmers Anatolian Shepherd dogs and let the dogs protect the livestock from the cheetahs which in turn protected cheetahs from being shot for supposedly endangering livestock. I wonder if there's any dog or other animal that could serve a similar purpose with regard to wolves?

There are many dog breeds I have known to be successful in protecting livestock specifically from wolves. I heard many stories and talked to several people during my wolf conservation efforts.

Caucasian Ovchark, Sao Miguel Cattle Dog, Akbash Dog, Boerboel...

Typically the right dogs for the job are those that are at least the size of a wolf, heavy coated, aggressive/territorial (more so than a wolf's natural aggression), confident, hardy, and independent with a bond to the herd. Best raised in pairs. You need size, aggression, fight drive and confidence/bordering on arrogance to make a good livestock defender.

[codmaster]

How about the dogs similar to Komondor?

[Magwart]

We went to Lamar Valley in the winter to wolf watch a few years ago inside Yellowstone. It was magnificent. The wolves are often visible in the valley from the road with field scopes.

I believe she is the gorgeous female we watched playing with her pups for an entire morning. This makes me ill.

She was hunted. See: http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencein...dio-colla.html
She wasn't killed to protect livestock or because she was endangering anything -- this is sanctioned killing for sport.