Wolf Bait

Even I can remember the days when a rancher's or farmer's biggest job was taking care of the land and animals under his stewardship. He was encouraged to get rid of predators who attacked his animals and his livelihood. Society understood the relationship between a healthy ag industry, and a safe, healthy, high standard of living for the country in general.

It's officially spring. Typically viewed by ranchers as a fresh start. There's lots of baby calves on the ground, with a lot more to come next month. I think we're even having a bit of a “baby boom” with children!

For the most part, we've been fortunate with weather. We've gotten plenty of snow, but it's the nice wet spring stuff that goes into the ground fast, and promotes good spring regrowth of that glorious, powerful resource -- grass.

We've not been so fortunate with the wolf problem as we have been in the past. Firstly our neighbors who were sheep ranchers since they settled in this country, sold out. They were our buffer, bearing the brunt of problems with both wolves and coyotes. And secondly, regardless of what you may hear, the wolf population is expanding. Rapidly.

Livestock Damage Control has been excellent to work with, and have been instrumental in keeping losses at a manageable level. But that's changing rapidly too. They're scraping the bottom of the fund barrel, and there's no more money to fly, which is really the only way an area this large can be hunted by our one officer. What makes it more difficult is that most of the new packs don't have a collared female that can act as a "Judas" for the rest of a problem pack.

We've lost 3 animals so far this spring--one steer earlier, and two cows in the past couple of weeks. Both cows were about to give birth, so we've actually lost five animals. It could get real ugly. I hope not. There's plenty of game animals. I guess wolves just prefer easier pickings.

They gang up on the weakest animal, or the one who's strayed out too far on his own. They don't kill their victim. They harass it, running it in circles and tearing at its legs and hindquarters until the victim is totally exhausted or effectively hamstrung, then they eat it alive, leaving it to die on its own. Not a whole lot different than the predatory attitude of many wolf proponents whose admittedly ultimate agenda is to remove resource users from the land.

The rancher didn't give up easy back then, and, he's not going to now. We've got our mandate: “He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man, that He might bring forth food out of the earth.” Psalm 104:14.

It's not hopeless. There is still common-sense out there that prefers beef to wolf meat; and blunt cowboys to politically correct chameleons.

This calf came in this way at branding.
He obviously had one hot mama!

This steer was not so lucky.




 



I picked up this photo floating around the internet. It's not mine, and I would be more than happy to credit the owner--(or even give it back). I assume it was taken in neighboring Yellowstone. Very typical wolf work.