wolves - your opinon?

[LOCW_Bluestarwarrior]

Any animal, even a domestic dog, can be unpredictable. Coyotes and wolves are no exception; they are more likely to be unpredictable than a domestic dog, but any animal that was not raised in a human household is going to be very unpredictable when faced with human interaction. Saying wolves or coyotes are more/less likely to attack is misleading. Now there are some species that are known for being more likely to flee rather than fighting humans, such as foxes (at least where I live) and cheetahs (though attacks do occur, mostly when the animals are cornered) Wolves and coyotes are not in this category.

But the thing is, it's typically (not always, mind you) because of the human doing something silly and treating them like a dog. That's of course not always the case, but sadly a lot of wild animal attacks are due to this. (I recall a story from the past about a father trying to put his son onto a wild buffalo's back for a picture. Not cool.)


On the topic, I do adore wolves. I think conservation is important, but not allowing them to overpopulate in some areas is also important. I just hope that wolf hunters will find uses for the meat as well as bones and pelt. I don't like when a hunted animal goes mostly to waste. Also, I hope the hunting is not conducted with traps. I could never personally hunt a wolf, and would love to one day interact with either captive wolves (as in the rescued kind that are used to humans) or wolfdogs.

[blueh]

I feel like even more attacks are simply because human being can't read animal body language correctly. Wolves aren't dogs--they don't have the same body language. Coyotes don't either. This is important to remember and to learn about it!

[PeachFuzz]

I feel like even more attacks are simply because human being can't read animal body language correctly. Wolves aren't dogs--they don't have the same body language. Coyotes don't either. This is important to remember and to learn about it!

The majority of attack victims are children, so that would make sense. They might unintentionally antagonize the wolf and not realize it's acting defensive/predatory/aggressive until it's too late.

On a similar note, I'm curious - people who live in areas where wolves (and bears etc.) are common, do they ever teach wildlife safety in school?

We don't have wolves here but bears are very common and I was never taught wildlife safety in school. I vaguely remember a safety lesson at summer camp but none at school.

[frostpaw.warrior]

I love wolves and it bothers me that some people hunt them but I understand. I used to have a pet wolf pup he loved to cuddle. His name was Vincent and he was a big fluffy teddy bear and I don't think he would ever hurt someone on purpose but he got big so it sometimes hurt when he tried to cuddle.

[Grimace]

Wolves don't attack for no reason, but that doesn't really mean anything. No animal attacks without some sort of reason. That doesn't mean anything is safe though. Just because an animal has a reason doesn't mean it is a good idea, or something you are going to see coming at all.

[the dreamer.]

I feel like even more attacks are simply because human being can't read animal body language correctly. Wolves aren't dogs--they don't have the same body language. Coyotes don't either. This is important to remember and to learn about it!

The majority of attack victims are children, so that would make sense. They might unintentionally antagonize the wolf and not realize it's acting defensive/predatory/aggressive until it's too late.

On a similar note, I'm curious - people who live in areas where wolves (and bears etc.) are common, do they ever teach wildlife safety in school?

I grew up in Northwestern Wisconsin so its safe to say we had a lot of both. We were never taught in school about them but during hunter safety we were warned about them. Its more of a common sense thing I guess.

[bluebudgie]

I love wolves. How can ppl hunt them? They just want food but I still understand why. Its to bad that they do.

[Winstalgia]

Um... Is thread still active?

[sydm]

I'm taking a conservation course so I understand why people hunt wolves, to manage the population which is super important if you look into it. Not a lot of people like to hunt wolves or coyotes though. In fact, they say it's not enough.

[Winstalgia]

I still don't think People should hunt 'em. It's not right. And sometimes, they attend/host wolf hunts for fun.