Wolves around us

Wolves are on the increase in WI. I see more and more tracks every year while out hunting and trapping. This past fall I caught a radio collared male in a coyote set. I released him unharmed. But hope someday we will be able to hunt and trap them as a viable management tool. If you want a healthy population of animals whether it be wolves, deer, bear etc you need management plans and tools to manage that population. If you don't have one in place disaster is sure to follow in one form or another, whether it be disease, over population or a strain on another species. I believe our state deer population has taken a hit from the predator extremely hard. They like to blame it on over hunting but if you look at the predator base in the state and how much food it takes to feed that base, you'll see their not going to McDonald's. We have a high bear population, increasing coyote population, increasing bear population and you can't forget about the expanding bobcat population either. Bears are good for taking fawns in the spring as well as the coyote etc. If you think about it, when the cubs and pups of the wild are being raised and need to be fed, there's fawns and other woodland babies out there that are the main course and thats how nature operates, but when that balance is out of whack somethings going to give. I like seeing the wolves and coyotes out there, but also believe they need to be managed to where there is a healthy balance.

   Wolf Track found out calling coyotes

 Same Track

 Track found in the spring trapping beaver probably from the Ada Lake pack

Wolf caught and release this fall during our big rain/wind storm