Wolf reintroduction in Colorado

[Irving]

At least they only want to reintroduce wolves.

http://www.yellowstonegate.com/2012/...e-grand-teton/

[ColoWyo]

At least they only want to reintroduce wolves.

http://www.yellowstonegate.com/2012/...e-grand-teton/

I see a lot of the does around here. The bucks seem to be pretty rare.

[COShooter]

Honestly I'm not sure why wolves are thought of to be so much worse for deer, elk, humans etc than mountain lions already are. I wouldn't want to run into a big cat in the woods either, so when I'm in the woods I act differently than when I'm in the burbs. Can someone help me understand?

I'd prefer the wolves over people. Maybe more than 1k will be needed.

Agreed! Actually, news of wolves being reintroduced to CO might cause some of those damn Californians to stop moving here!

[sniper7]

You obviously haven't bothered to spend any time researching then. Wildlife numbers dropped significantly in states that reintroduced wolves. It hurt hunting licenses for one. Sportsmen are THE major impact when it comes to wildlife areas and keeping them open, funding biologists and the division of wildlife....now the state parks since they couldn't stay out of the red. Now the sportsmen and biologists are saying keep wolves out or it will have detrimental impact on populations which will significantly impact funding when the number of big game licenses drop. Not to mention livestock kills which will need to be paid for by some government entity if they want to keep the ranchers from killing their precious reintroduced wolves.

take some time and read into what happened in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming. Then come back here and tell me how good it will feel to have a wolf population back in Colorado which you will be lucky to see in the wild while big game numbers drop significantly. And then the wolf lovers will get pissed when sportsmen want to open a hunting season on them.

[hunterhawk]

I'm with sniper.. Don't forget deer in Michigan's Upper peninsula... I have seen it first hand! Wolves are really cool animals but I would rather hunt deer and elk than see wolves! If you want to see wolves go to those states Sniper listed! I'm pretty sure there are already plenty in CO now anyway though! I found where a couple took down a deer... Guess where KREMMLING.... where was that wolf shot again? Ya this was after that! So tells me there is more.

[Sackett]

'Nine Mile Wolves' is a good primer into the Montana wolf debacle.

[ColoradoTJ]

My home state is MT, and I can tell you first hand....no Bueno.

[theGinsue]

I have a friend who lives in a 4th floor apartment in LODO and he said he hasn't experienced any problems with wolves at all. Now I don't know what to believe!

That is very strange. I would think he would have had several sightings by now.

Plenty of pumas and cougars in LODO, just no wolves yet.

Honestly I'm not sure why wolves are thought of to be so much worse for deer, elk, humans etc than mountain lions already are. I wouldn't want to run into a big cat in the woods either, so when I'm in the woods I act differently than when I'm in the burbs. Can someone help me understand?


Agreed! Actually, news of wolves being reintroduced to CO might cause some of those damn Californians to stop moving here!

For the record, I'm not afraid of bears here in CO, but mountain lions scare me because they are smart stealthy hunters - as are wolves. The big difference between wolves and mountain lions is that mountain lions tend to maintain an average of 1 lion/100 square miles (10 mile x 10 mile) domain; they don't like other mt. lions intruding into their territory. Wolves on the other hand are social creatures; they live and hunt in packs. They use the pack to feed their courage. A single mt. lion can be scared off fairly easily (just keep watching your back), but packs of wolves are nearly impossible to scare off. Using the pack, one or two wolves will work to distract their prey while others come in for the attack. I'd much rather face a single mt. lion than a pack of wolves.

ETA (iPad battery was going to die so I had to save what I'd written or risk losing it):
Mountain lions will eat what they want/can of their prey then bury the rest under sticks, leaves and soil until they're ready to come back for more. They'll eat the entire kill. Wolves are different. First off, one mt. lion can't eat as much as a pack of wolves. Wolves are voracious eaters. They'll take their prey, eat what they want (not necessarily eating all of it) and go on the prowl looking for more. They're wasteful eaters and can/do lay devastation on other animals they come across - wiping out entire herds of big game animals. Mt. lions have a markedly less impact on animal populations in their domain.

[battle_sight_zero]

Thank you Sniper....Mule deer are decreasing in Colorado and certainly this would not help that situation.

You obviously haven't bothered to spend any time researching then. Wildlife numbers dropped significantly in states that reintroduced wolves. It hurt hunting licenses for one. Sportsmen are THE major impact when it comes to wildlife areas and keeping them open, funding biologists and the division of wildlife....now the state parks since they couldn't stay out of the red. Now the sportsmen and biologists are saying keep wolves out or it will have detrimental impact on populations which will significantly impact funding when the number of big game licenses drop. Not to mention livestock kills which will need to be paid for by some government entity if they want to keep the ranchers from killing their precious reintroduced wolves.

take some time and read into what happened in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming. Then come back here and tell me how good it will feel to have a wolf population back in Colorado which you will be lucky to see in the wild while big game numbers drop significantly. And then the wolf lovers will get pissed when sportsmen want to open a hunting season on them.

[Bitter Clinger]

I'm all for it. As long as they are released in Boulder! Kinda scary, Kremmling is where I camp and fish! Seriously though, no need for more wolves here. May as well bring in hogs.