In our area we have two types of wolves, brush wolves, also known as coyotes, and timber wolves - which I've heard people on TV call grey wolves. I haven't much interest in the brush wolves, but timber wolves have always piqued my fancy.
I'm no expert on wolves. I should really read up on them, but I have been interested in them and watch them whenever I'm able.
First I remember of timber wolves, they would get up on the ridge behind our place and howl. There was a lot of excitement. My pa would run out with the gun and send a couple of bullets their way - as he didn't want them taking the young stock. Sometimes deer would pack in around the house and barn - knowing the wolves feared humans.
Another time, I couldn't have been but 5 or 6, we were out to pick blueberries, and it was late before we set out for home. The trail ran through a valley, and a wolf pack started howling back and forth from in front of us, on either side of the trail, then from each side of us in the rear as well. It was obvious, they were stalking us, but we kids were not concerned, until we realized our parents were very concerned. When one came out on a bluff in front of us, my pa ran at him and winged a rock at him. I don't know if it bothered the wolves, but it made me feel better. We got home fine.
Wolves come in quite a variety of colors. Some are hard to tell from dog breeds like huskys and malumutes. Some are black, some are a light tan, and I once saw a wolf that was completely white.
The black wolves are known locally as "Siberian wolves." I'm not sure of the significance of the name. They retain their bushy coats and very bushy tails through the summer - unlike most wolves. They are not another breed (I don't think) and will be part of a pack with other colored wolves. Although most wolves have very long legs - in the Siberians - this is especially pronounced.
The pack just down the road from our office has a very light sandy colored coat. Most unusual color for a wolf. They are gorgeous. I had a chance to watch one for half an hour from about ten feet away last summer. The coat was almost the same color as the amber eyes. Makes you wonder if there was some cross breeding with a domestic dog. They are wolves, however. Dog tracks will show the hair between the toes, if you get a very good print. Wolves have no hair between their toes.
I would often see wolf tracks on my trap line. At that time they were still hunted and were extremely afraid of humans. You could see from the sign that they would walk up to my snowshoe trail, sniff, and once they smelled the human smell, they would run away.
Once, in a big snow year, the deer were all yarded up. They had trails they kept open, something like a maze, but could not walk on the deep snow. Wolves had got into the yard and had a big buck at bay. Some young friends and I snowshoed down into the yard and the wolves turned - instant panic - some attempted to climb the walls of the yard, others ran past us, almost running us down. The buck, ungrateful thing, did run one of my friends down, and broke one of his snowshoes.
Wolves are very wary. I was deer hunting with my grandfather. He had good eyes. He picked out a wolf walking through the brush in a valley beneath us. There was a bounty on them at that time. Grandfather'd decided to shoot when the wolf came out of a particular thicket. The wolf never came out. We remained motionless for about an hour. The wolf suddenly burst forth from the thicket as fast as he could go - in the opposite direction. There was no chance of a shot.
You can always tell a wolf from a dog - even from quite a distance. There is something about the way they move - or never stop moving. The head is always swiveling about, snout sniffing and ears swiveling to catch each new sound or smell. I was out hunting and suddenly had a feeling, and the hair went up on the back of my neck. Funny how sensitive you become while hunting. I got behind a tree and two wolves came down the trail. It's not often you see them first. Usually they see you and you never do see them.
From their demeanor, I could tell it was the alpha male and female. They were very uneasy, because they could sense me, but I was downwind, and they just couldn't tell where I was. I got to watch them for quite a while. The male was always in front, though the female would nip him in the shoulder if she thought he should go in another direction. It almost seemed as if their legs were part of a seperate animal as they would go in one direction while looking in another.
When I was 14 or 15 I would work peeling pulp for a farmer. One of our jobs was to shoot wolves (this was before the hunting ban). The farmer had lost 18 young stock that year to wolves. We would shoot at them with the 30-30, but they would see the muzzle flash and jump out of the way. When they took the calves, the alpha male always set up the hunt. The rest of the pack worked the cows at his direction. I once saw him chastise a member of the pack for coming out of cover too early.
We were out on a lake camping one winter. We camped on a sand beach on the north end of Nina Moose Lake. It snowed a foot that night. In the morning I got out to dig down to the firepit. The second guy out of the tent looked out on the lake and nudged me. A deer was crossing the lake from west to east. As we watched, a pure white wolf (the alpha male) jumped up and grabbed the deer. When we checked the sign later, it was apparent the wolf had lay there all night through the snow storm. The wolf had the deer disembowled within seconds. The rest of the pack, which was normal colored, ran from the east shore and gathered around waiting for the alpha male and female to feed.
About that time the third member of our party stuck his head out the tent door and yelled, "Hey, a wolf!" The wolves, 200 feet away - and up to that point unaware of us, all turned and looked at us with what I can only describe as extreme disgust. It was a vey naked feeling, on my part. Here was a whole pack of animals who'd just amply displayed their ability to kill animals about my size. W just stared at each other for what seemed like minutes. Then the alpha male, with great reluctance, left the deer and trotted to the east shore. The rest of the pack followed. We took a haunch from the deer and roasted it for breakfast.
Near our home, we have two packs within five miles. One is to the northeast, one is to the west. When we first moved here, there was only the northeast pack. One of the beta bitches became pregnant. This is not allowed and she was lucky to get out alive. She moved to the west of us and had six welps. A bear got two, and one other died somehow. Eventually it got to be a pack of eight. Every so often they will tresspass on each other's territory and the howls will wake you from sleep.
Last spring, the kids and I were at the sugar bush and I saw the west pack from a distance. We went over to read the sign, as it is a sandy area. It told a very interesting tale. I tried to get the kids to read it, but they have little patience for their father's interests.
The alpha bitch had five new pups. They had found something interesting, and before the mother could get to them, they were in trouble. The trouble stemmed from a porcupine. You could see how they'd been trailing it, nudging it, and finally, one of them had attacked it. The mother had come and shoed them away. This is what the sign said, and what I saw from a distance was the mother rounding them up.
Porcupine are very bad for wolves or dogs. Later that spring, while collecting kettles from the sugar bush, I found the carcass of the pup who'd attacked the porcupine. He hadn't been dead long, and his muzzle was swollen to twice normal size.
PG
I'm no expert on wolves. I should really read up on them, but I have been interested in them and watch them whenever I'm able.
First I remember of timber wolves, they would get up on the ridge behind our place and howl. There was a lot of excitement. My pa would run out with the gun and send a couple of bullets their way - as he didn't want them taking the young stock. Sometimes deer would pack in around the house and barn - knowing the wolves feared humans.
Another time, I couldn't have been but 5 or 6, we were out to pick blueberries, and it was late before we set out for home. The trail ran through a valley, and a wolf pack started howling back and forth from in front of us, on either side of the trail, then from each side of us in the rear as well. It was obvious, they were stalking us, but we kids were not concerned, until we realized our parents were very concerned. When one came out on a bluff in front of us, my pa ran at him and winged a rock at him. I don't know if it bothered the wolves, but it made me feel better. We got home fine.
Wolves come in quite a variety of colors. Some are hard to tell from dog breeds like huskys and malumutes. Some are black, some are a light tan, and I once saw a wolf that was completely white.
The black wolves are known locally as "Siberian wolves." I'm not sure of the significance of the name. They retain their bushy coats and very bushy tails through the summer - unlike most wolves. They are not another breed (I don't think) and will be part of a pack with other colored wolves. Although most wolves have very long legs - in the Siberians - this is especially pronounced.
The pack just down the road from our office has a very light sandy colored coat. Most unusual color for a wolf. They are gorgeous. I had a chance to watch one for half an hour from about ten feet away last summer. The coat was almost the same color as the amber eyes. Makes you wonder if there was some cross breeding with a domestic dog. They are wolves, however. Dog tracks will show the hair between the toes, if you get a very good print. Wolves have no hair between their toes.
I would often see wolf tracks on my trap line. At that time they were still hunted and were extremely afraid of humans. You could see from the sign that they would walk up to my snowshoe trail, sniff, and once they smelled the human smell, they would run away.
Once, in a big snow year, the deer were all yarded up. They had trails they kept open, something like a maze, but could not walk on the deep snow. Wolves had got into the yard and had a big buck at bay. Some young friends and I snowshoed down into the yard and the wolves turned - instant panic - some attempted to climb the walls of the yard, others ran past us, almost running us down. The buck, ungrateful thing, did run one of my friends down, and broke one of his snowshoes.
Wolves are very wary. I was deer hunting with my grandfather. He had good eyes. He picked out a wolf walking through the brush in a valley beneath us. There was a bounty on them at that time. Grandfather'd decided to shoot when the wolf came out of a particular thicket. The wolf never came out. We remained motionless for about an hour. The wolf suddenly burst forth from the thicket as fast as he could go - in the opposite direction. There was no chance of a shot.
You can always tell a wolf from a dog - even from quite a distance. There is something about the way they move - or never stop moving. The head is always swiveling about, snout sniffing and ears swiveling to catch each new sound or smell. I was out hunting and suddenly had a feeling, and the hair went up on the back of my neck. Funny how sensitive you become while hunting. I got behind a tree and two wolves came down the trail. It's not often you see them first. Usually they see you and you never do see them.
From their demeanor, I could tell it was the alpha male and female. They were very uneasy, because they could sense me, but I was downwind, and they just couldn't tell where I was. I got to watch them for quite a while. The male was always in front, though the female would nip him in the shoulder if she thought he should go in another direction. It almost seemed as if their legs were part of a seperate animal as they would go in one direction while looking in another.
When I was 14 or 15 I would work peeling pulp for a farmer. One of our jobs was to shoot wolves (this was before the hunting ban). The farmer had lost 18 young stock that year to wolves. We would shoot at them with the 30-30, but they would see the muzzle flash and jump out of the way. When they took the calves, the alpha male always set up the hunt. The rest of the pack worked the cows at his direction. I once saw him chastise a member of the pack for coming out of cover too early.
We were out on a lake camping one winter. We camped on a sand beach on the north end of Nina Moose Lake. It snowed a foot that night. In the morning I got out to dig down to the firepit. The second guy out of the tent looked out on the lake and nudged me. A deer was crossing the lake from west to east. As we watched, a pure white wolf (the alpha male) jumped up and grabbed the deer. When we checked the sign later, it was apparent the wolf had lay there all night through the snow storm. The wolf had the deer disembowled within seconds. The rest of the pack, which was normal colored, ran from the east shore and gathered around waiting for the alpha male and female to feed.
About that time the third member of our party stuck his head out the tent door and yelled, "Hey, a wolf!" The wolves, 200 feet away - and up to that point unaware of us, all turned and looked at us with what I can only describe as extreme disgust. It was a vey naked feeling, on my part. Here was a whole pack of animals who'd just amply displayed their ability to kill animals about my size. W just stared at each other for what seemed like minutes. Then the alpha male, with great reluctance, left the deer and trotted to the east shore. The rest of the pack followed. We took a haunch from the deer and roasted it for breakfast.
Near our home, we have two packs within five miles. One is to the northeast, one is to the west. When we first moved here, there was only the northeast pack. One of the beta bitches became pregnant. This is not allowed and she was lucky to get out alive. She moved to the west of us and had six welps. A bear got two, and one other died somehow. Eventually it got to be a pack of eight. Every so often they will tresspass on each other's territory and the howls will wake you from sleep.
Last spring, the kids and I were at the sugar bush and I saw the west pack from a distance. We went over to read the sign, as it is a sandy area. It told a very interesting tale. I tried to get the kids to read it, but they have little patience for their father's interests.
The alpha bitch had five new pups. They had found something interesting, and before the mother could get to them, they were in trouble. The trouble stemmed from a porcupine. You could see how they'd been trailing it, nudging it, and finally, one of them had attacked it. The mother had come and shoed them away. This is what the sign said, and what I saw from a distance was the mother rounding them up.
Porcupine are very bad for wolves or dogs. Later that spring, while collecting kettles from the sugar bush, I found the carcass of the pup who'd attacked the porcupine. He hadn't been dead long, and his muzzle was swollen to twice normal size.
PG
