Wolves

[Suzukisam]

There numbers are high. How many hunters spend the time to take one yet alone 2 while your out. We’re going to have to play a bigger part for the gov’t is not going to cull them. For the ungulates to survive we have to all become part of the solution. We are the only predator of wolfs and with the fur trade issues from tree huggers the wolf population keeps rising. So call them in to your camp and give them a lead meal.

[st99]

It's easier said than done, I've been hunting them for 8 years and only shot 2 so far. Last year I've decided to step up my game and realize a long time dream and start trapping. My idea was to become a junior on someone else line and only focus on canine. It turns out trappers don't like to share, no one wanted to sign me as a junior, even those who openly admitted not targeting canine. For now I'm only trapping coyotes on farmland, and I'll keep trying, one day I might find a trapper willing to share his line.

[moose maniac]

I killed 2 yesterday they have been hanging around my cows

[nube]

You need to kill off 3/4 of a pack to do any good for the ungualtes in an area. Got a bit of experience in that. Only real way to get pack numbers down for us normal people is to trap them. The Gov't needs to step it up and make it worth while for trappers

[Topwater]

In Ontario owners of a registered trapline have a minimum amount of beavers that need to be trapped in order to keep their trap line. Out west here we should have the same deal with a wolf minimum. Would also force trappers to actually trap instead of holding onto the line in some hope of selling it for big money

[Stinky Buffalo]

I'm with you, Suzukisam... I just haven't had a lot of luck getting them in range lately!

Will keep trying!

[dmcbride]

Originally Posted by Topwater

In Ontario owners of a registered trapline have a minimum amount of beavers that need to be trapped in order to keep their trap line. Out west here we should have the same deal with a wolf minimum. Would also force trappers to actually trap instead of holding onto the line in some hope of selling it for big money

Wolves are in the area or they are not, how would one set up a minimum for a trap line?

I think a bounty should be paid for whatever it costs to shoot one out of a helicopter since are government is already doing that.

[Suzukisam]

We have found if they are in your area you can call them in by howling and the answer back. They will send in 2 or 3 to check you out. Only problem the howling scares the crap out of all other game

[marky_mark]

Hardest part is finding them. There range is just so vast
I’ve found that if you can split the pack then your chances increase
I agree there should be a bounty Alberta wide

[nube]

Originally Posted by dmcbride

Wolves are in the area or they are not, how would one set up a minimum for a trap line?

I think a bounty should be paid for whatever it costs to shoot one out of a helicopter since are government is already doing that.

Exactly! Some areas have wolves and some don't. You can't put a min. on it. Heck some guys can't even catch them and sure try a lot as well

[Dallen Baugh]

Agreed! No minimum per trap line. That will only tick people off. Humans tend to respond much better to incentives for doing things rather than dictating how they should run their business. Something our NDP government hasn't figured out yet. The trouble with wolves, Up in the northern boreal in particular, is culling them is a near impossible task. Their intelligence, swift reproduction rates, and the young pups become effective hunters with in a year. You could never kill them fast enough. The only thing that really determines their population effectively is the amount of food they have available and the severity of the winters. Boom and Bust cycles. Unfortunately that means low ungulate numbers is needed to starve them to death. Not great news for hunters. Another factor that is fueling the fire on wolf population growth is the amount of logging and new roads we are currently putting in. These roads and huge cut blocks make the wolves job of killing animals a simple task, especially during winters with deep snow, thus leaving them with more available food. Still, we absolutely do need to hunt them as hard as possible to minimize the damage, but I feel the problem will never really go away unless all their food is also non-existent.

[Jayhad]

I'd be happy to shoot a wolf or two but I haven't seen one for years... Ive never targeted them but I'll try howling in area where I know there is a few.

[GMX]

I know a guy who knows a guy that is as successful killing/shooting wolves as anyone I’ve heard about. He spends the time collecting scraps for hunting or butchering during the fall puts it in buckets with a little water and a rope to tie it up in a tree ( meat sickles ). Then finds road kill stores that up and puts it out when the snow starts getting deep in a good location to sneak into with cell service. Puts out a trail camera that sends pictures to his cellphone once the dogs start coming in he heads out for the ambush. I’m personally not a fan of hunting over a camera but I sure would in this case. Most of my moose deer and elk spots have taken a kicking for the wolves the last few years and I’ve only managed to get a few of them in my travels. The cougar population explosion hasn’t exactly helped the ungulates either.

[Big Grey Wolf]

We have discussed this many times on the trapping forum. Trappers like Nube can really hit them hard and moose and elk numbers come back quite fast. However Nube looses money on ever wolf he traps. Thus a bounty at minimum of $500/wolf is necessary with diesel and gas at $1.30/liter and traps in hundreds of $$. Last wolves in NAFA auction sold around $100 each will never come close to paying our input costs.
Lastly hunters should do their part, maybe something like 2-3 points added to your draw status for each wolf taken.

[3blade]

Originally Posted by Big Grey Wolf

We have discussed this many times on the trapping forum. Trappers like Nube can really hit them hard and moose and elk numbers come back quite fast. However Nube looses money on ever wolf he traps. Thus a bounty at minimum of $500/wolf is necessary with diesel and gas at $1.30/liter and traps in hundreds of $$. Last wolves in NAFA auction sold around $100 each will never come close to paying our input costs.
Lastly hunters should do their part, maybe something like 2-3 points added to your draw status for each wolf taken.

Like. That would motivate the hunters who have the time and means.

Absolutly agree with the bounty, guys like nube are the ones that can make a significant impact within their areas.

All that being said, it is widely agreed that poisoning is the only way to make a long term impact. Always has been, always will be the most effective and efficient. The nature of the animal dictates that hunting and trapping can only take so many, and all of the forested lands in Alberta are overpopulated with wolves. We need a broad campaign of wolf elimination to bring things back into balance.

[nube]

Originally Posted by Dallen Baugh

Agreed! No minimum per trap line. That will only tick people off. Humans tend to respond much better to incentives for doing things rather than dictating how they should run their business. Something our NDP government hasn't figured out yet. The trouble with wolves, Up in the northern boreal in particular, is culling them is a near impossible task. Their intelligence, swift reproduction rates, and the young pups become effective hunters with in a year. You could never kill them fast enough. The only thing that really determines their population effectively is the amount of food they have available and the severity of the winters. Boom and Bust cycles. Unfortunately that means low ungulate numbers is needed to starve them to death. Not great news for hunters. Another factor that is fueling the fire on wolf population growth is the amount of logging and new roads we are currently putting in. These roads and huge cut blocks make the wolves job of killing animals a simple task, especially during winters with deep snow, thus leaving them with more available food. Still, we absolutely do need to hunt them as hard as possible to minimize the damage, but I feel the problem will never really go away unless all their food is also non-existent.

I agree and dissagree with some of what you have said. They do no populate as fast as you think and not all females in a pack reproduce yearly.
If you can take out 3/4 or more of a pack in a year or 2 you will have a lot of years before that pack grows back into a killing force if it ever really does again on it's own.
My trapline had 3 or 4 major packs and I have baiscally wiped out 3/4 of them and the population of wolves is stable and not really growing if any or at all since I have smacked them hard. 38 dead wolves in 4 years now...... The game population is doing way better. Excited to see how it will be this winter now again.
Wolves will not kill many moose or elk if there are only 3 or 4 in a pack I have found. Too much work and too dangerous for them. Knock a pack down to size and you will see a difference but hunting them is near impossible to kill that many with. You need traps and snares....

[Dallen Baugh]

Originally Posted by nube

I agree and dissagree with some of what you have said. They do no populate as fast as you think and not all females in a pack reproduce yearly.
If you can take out 3/4 or more of a pack in a year or 2 you will have a lot of years before that pack grows back into a killing force if it ever really does again on it's own.
My trapline had 3 or 4 major packs and I have baiscally wiped out 3/4 of them and the population of wolves is stable and not really growing if any or at all since I have smacked them hard. 38 dead wolves in 4 years now...... The game population is doing way better. Excited to see how it will be this winter now again.
Wolves will not kill many moose or elk if there are only 3 or 4 in a pack I have found. Too much work and too dangerous for them. Knock a pack down to size and you will see a difference but hunting them is near impossible to kill that many with. You need traps and snares....

Wow! That is impressive! A huge thanks to you sir. We need many more people like you spread out around the western provinces. Thanks for the great info as well.

[Torkdiesel]

Originally Posted by 3blade

All that being said, it is widely agreed that poisoning is the only way to make a long term impact. Always has been, always will be the most effective and efficient. The nature of the animal dictates that hunting and trapping can only take so many, and all of the forested lands in Alberta are overpopulated with wolves. We need a broad campaign of wolf elimination to bring things back into balance.

100% sir !!!

Bring back the widespread poison campaigns and see a real difference 👍

[Big Grey Wolf]

Tork, with all the "animal rights do gooders" we never will get a significant poison campaign again, like the rabies extermination in the 50's. However I do agree it sure brings back the ungulate population when you significantly trim back the top food chain preditor.

[nube]

Originally Posted by Dallen Baugh

Wow! That is impressive! A huge thanks to you sir. We need many more people like you spread out around the western provinces. Thanks for the great info as well.

No prob. I am about done chasing them hard now tho. It has cost me too much money for the years I have done it and the novelty has worn off now. If there was funding and a way to get unlimited bait I would be all over it again but the Gov't has my hands tied now with them being so cheap on giving a little to us trappers to make it worth the time and expense. I would love to see what the actual cost is to them with their flying around and gunning them from a helecopter!!

[Big Grey Wolf]

Nube, I have seen heli costs per wolf range from a low of $2000 to as high as $6000. Lots of $$$ to pay trapper a decent incentive to trap them.

[Dallen Baugh]

Originally Posted by nube

No prob. I am about done chasing them hard now tho. It has cost me too much money for the years I have done it and the novelty has worn off now. If there was funding and a way to get unlimited bait I would be all over it again but the Gov't has my hands tied now with them being so cheap on giving a little to us trappers to make it worth the time and expense. I would love to see what the actual cost is to them with their flying around and gunning them from a helecopter!!

Yes, an incentive to trappers would likely go a long way. Heck, as hunters, IMO there is common interest in coming together and funding it ourselves. I know I would invest in a public program dedicated to wolf harvests by trappers and hunters.

The province could actually be generating revenue off of this if they legalized wolf hunting from a helicopter. Some outfitters would be all over that, and so would a lot of their clients, including myself. Government hired sharpshooters have done this with wolves and a pile of deer in CWD zones, why not commercialize it for wolves?? Imagine how quickly the ungulate populations would rebound and the hunting opportunities that would arise. It's unfortunate that too many uneducated feelings would be hurt by something like that, so it would most likely never happen.

[West O'5]

I'm not sure that there's really any will on the part of government to reduce wolf numbers just to please hunters that compete for the same prey species.
I know from conversations with the provincial deer bio in NB,an avid and very passionate deer hunter himself,as we were all frustrated with crashing WT numbers,he explained that his mandate/job description is NOT to manage the herd for maximum numbers and hunting opportunities(as much as he wishes it was)but rather to manage and maintain a sustainable population of WT deer within the province.
So that said....define sustainable population of deer? Is that 1000 head,10,000....100,000??
Point being...don't assume that the provincial government has any responsibility to recreational hunters in ensuring that there's lots of deer and moose for us to hunt by reducing wolf numbers.Who says wolf numbers are even "out of balance" as stated in previous posts? Yes,wolves are hard on the local ungulates.....then they move on and terrorize a new territory,they've been doing so for eons,and the local ungulates bounce back...and then the wolves come back cuz they've eaten everything where they moved to....and so on.
Don't get me wrong,I'm a far cry from being a wolf hugger and will enthusiastically shoot every wolf I can get my crosshairs on....I just don't see them as the curse of mankind and all things wrong with wildlife management,rather,just part of nature......and I really don't see the government having a whole lotta desire to spend huge money reducing wolves just because they are killing moose that a buncha whiny complaining hunters want to kill for themselves.

[nube]

Originally Posted by Dallen Baugh

Yes, an incentive to trappers would likely go a long way. Heck, as hunters, IMO there is common interest in coming together and funding it ourselves. I know I would invest in a public program dedicated to wolf harvests by trappers and hunters.

The province could actually be generating revenue off of this if they legalized wolf hunting from a helicopter. Some outfitters would be all over that, and so would a lot of their clients, including myself. Government hired sharpshooters have done this with wolves and a pile of deer in CWD zones, why not commercialize it for wolves?? Imagine how quickly the ungulate populations would rebound and the hunting opportunities that would arise. It's unfortunate that too many uneducated feelings would be hurt by something like that, so it would most likely never happen.

Feel free to send me a wire transfer anytime you want....

[mcreg]

Originally Posted by nube

No prob. I am about done chasing them hard now tho. It has cost me too much money for the years I have done it and the novelty has worn off now. If there was funding and a way to get unlimited bait I would be all over it again but the Gov't has my hands tied now with them being so cheap on giving a little to us trappers to make it worth the time and expense. I would love to see what the actual cost is to them with their flying around and gunning them from a helecopter!!

A Bell 206 runs about $2000/hr Add 2 C.O's @ 100K/year? And in most cases it would be a 1 1/2 -2 hour round trip just to get to the wolves. They would have to shot a lot of wolves each trip to break even - assuming they were offering $300/wolf? I know in the GP area they were shooting some by helicopter they just kept it quiet.

[nube]

Originally Posted by mcreg

A Bell 206 runs about $2000/hr Add 2 C.O's @ 100K/year? And in most cases it would be a 1 1/2 -2 hour round trip just to get to the wolves. They would have to shot a lot of wolves each trip to break even - assuming they were offering $300/wolf? I know in the GP area they were shooting some by helicopter they just kept it quiet.

Even if they offered $500 a wolf they still would be saving money from what it costs doing it from a plane! If it was $500 a wolf I think more guys would give it a go also.

[Big Grey Wolf]

The most efficient, low cost, non-poision technique I seen used was the Outfitters and CO's in Northwestern BC a few years back. They would scout the wolf packs with their small planes and direct the chopper with sharp shooter.
Kept the cost per wolf very low and quite effective!

[NCC]

If we want to have any appreciable amount of game in the non-developed areas, something needs to be done about the wolves. In my opinion, poisoning would be the best solution. It's not pretty, but neither is a pack of wolves dragging down a pregnant cow moose in 4 feet of snow and eating her guts while she's still alive.

A couple of easy solutions that would help and not draw the attention of the wolf loving public, or cost AER a nickle would be:
1. Remove all licensing requirements and season restrictions
2. Remove the requirement to salvage the pelt. Packing a 100lb wolf out of the bush and then spending 5 hours prepping a September pelt would deter me from shooting one.
3. Allow licenced resident trappers to trap any line which wasn't actively trapped for wolves the previous year. The two trappers that have owned the line where my grazing lease was located haven't hung a snare since I moved there in 1997 and it was covered up with wolves. Myself and at least two of my neighbors would trap it if we were allowed to.

Another solution that wouldn't cost anything but would draw some attention is to allow people to shoot wolves out of helicopters. People pay a small fortune to shoot pigs out of a chopper, I'm sure they would do the same for wolves.

[st99]

Originally Posted by NCC

3. Allow licenced resident trappers to trap any line which wasn't actively trapped for wolves the previous year.

Either that or remove canines (coyote and wolves) from the exclusivity list and allow us to trap everywhere, like hunting and fishing.

[Couchtater]

I have some experience trapping and calling wolves and coyotes, if a rancher is willing to give me access I will gladly get rid of some of them for you. Message me