Gray Wolf Hunting

killer · 03-01-2008, 12:01 PM

Here's a wolf skull I found couple years ago by a loggers clearing the wolf up by me are known to hunt hard.

The exended ridge that protrudes off the skull on the rear is to my knowledge to give them more strength in their bite.

http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l8...10-06006-2.jpg

Quote:

Originally Posted by ArkansasHunter

I just sold now a truck I've had sitting in my back yard (Hillbilly yard ornament) so now the sawed off shotgun may be a realialty.
killer I want one with a full butt stock.
Them dang Big Foots, Wolves and attacking Squirrels better not be fugg'in with me !!!

Seems to me I was looking a a Rem police shotgun or something like that with full stock and the price was very cheap I thought...around $350.00

What model you talking AH?

Idaho Dave · 03-01-2008, 12:13 PM

darn it so active i got bumped clear up please mr wingwiper my rebut to your comments of this moring is on post 96 course it was another of my lengthey diatribes

ArkansasHunter · 03-01-2008, 12:48 PM

Killer for what I got for that old truck I'll be lucky if I can buy the Maverick 20" barrelled extended magazine that hold 8 rounds shotgun !...LOL !!!...A.H

fellers I'm sorry I high jacked your thread...LOL

EDIT: For those concerned about Herbert haveing the daylights scared out of him, he's fine now. The hair on his head is still sticking straight up, but buy the time he finish's his brocly it will go down.

Idaho Dave · 03-01-2008, 01:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ArkansasHunter

Killer for what I got for that old truck I'll be lucky if I can buy the Maverick 20" barrelled extended magazine that hold 8 rounds shotgun !...LOL !!!...A.H

fellers I'm sorry I high jacked your thread...LOL

EDIT: For those concerned about Herbert haveing the daylights scared out of him, he's fine now. The hair on his head is still sticking straight up, but buy the time he finish's his brocly it will go down.

I got an old beat up ford in the drive way I never use any more. Maybe i will try and sell it to fund my little boys new shotgun. By the way my youngest is starting hunter safety this month, he already owns a 22 and I am getting him teh shotgun for the day he gradutes. next up the grand baby girl. got a fe years to wait till she can hold a gun though

Wingwiper · 03-01-2008, 03:53 PM

Killer

The Wolf bite is much stronger than a Dog. I raise Malamutes and as strong as they are, their bite is nothing compared to a Wolf.

I looked at all of your pictures and I am by no means an Expert at foot prints. Many had too much snow melt to be able to get a good call on size or a good defination of the print.

Here is my break down and all based on my opinion.

buckmt12-07x0041-1 Seems to be Coyote, Small Not enough spread in toes. Triangler as in Coyote
buckmt1-07xp1017 melting caused enlargement, Not sure, looks more dog, as it is after the melt.

buckmt1-07xp2035 Print is small and looks a little like it could be a Wolf, toes still aren’t spread out enough and both feet seem to be dragging in from the rear. Never noticed this characteristic before, seems like a real lazy walk and not a pronounce one. I could understand dragging if snow was deeper, but not in shallow snow. Not sure on these. I don’t think Coyote, I am not really sure if Wolf and if I had to guess, I would say an overweight, Arthritic or OLD dog.

buckmt1-07xp2039-1 Wish there were some clear, overhead shots of these prints, some of these look very possibly Wolf.

Yes! could be young Wolves, but they would most likely be with older ones
.
I cut and pasted into a Doc and will use some other photo software to clean them up more, for a better look.

I do not doubt you have wolves near you and I do not doubt you have seen their sign and by your hobby may have even been lucky enough to gain a glimspe. I saw one in the woods once and it was only pure luck. I had just broken a ridge with a wet forest floor and the wind was to my face. When my head cleared the top, I caught sight of one about 30 feet from me, nose down and sniffing. It wasn't but a a couple of seconds and it heard me, saw me or smelled me and took off. It was my only true sighting in the woods. I have seen them in fields from a car, seen one in my yard as I was in the house. Have had a few in the back when my bitch goes into heat. It is strange, because at first we were pestered with Coyotes and my Turkeys would start stirring. I would go out and hear them and take a few shots in their direction, but never connected with one. I have several pictures of Coyotes walking in daylight right through yards. The Wolves will howl at night and then we will know of their presence for a few days and then they are gone. No more Wolves, no more Coyotes. Have alot of Bear in my area and not sure if there is a territory clash with Black Bear and Wolves. Kinda like the Gray Squirrel and the Red Squirrel, you can find one or the other but hardly ever will you find BOTH.
I had a couple of turkey killed a year or two back and it was Coyote, tore the Turkey apart and then carried them away. The Turkeys were in excessive of 25 pounds

killer · 03-01-2008, 04:08 PM

You did make me laugh very hard I'll say that about the overweight, arthritic, old dog. I don't doubt he's an old fat wolf. He's been around for a couple possibly three years now but I've never seen him yet to my knowledge. I have seen a smaller wolf that might be a female that seems to travels with him on and off.

We had a Canadian Lynx in the area too for awhile that really confused me. The tracks were similar but I remember commenting to someone they looked blurred. After I saw the cat then it made sense it was all the extra fur they have on their feet.

There is a pack of wolves working to my south I hear but have yet to determine how many are in it. I did record their howling while bear hunting at sundown this fall. I'm attaching a link to it. It was taken with the digital camera so it's crude but you get about 25 seconds worth starting 1/3 to 3/4 way thru the recording. You'll have to turn it up full volume.

They start out with some type of gutteral growling sound that makes you stop and think, "What the heck is that?" before they break out into the howl. Even the most die hard "Kill all the wolve's" locals where I am at will smile and ask me, "Did you hear the wolves howl last night?"

<embed width="448" height="361" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" src="http://i94.photobucket.com/player.sw...8-07xp4152.flv">

Wingwiper · 03-01-2008, 05:51 PM

all the Lynx and Bob Cat Tracks that I have seen, the toes were more rounded and not elongegated as in the wolf. They also had a pad print that had like a W shape at the bottom and depending where you see the track, that W can be come smoothed out.

I saw a Lynx about two years ago that cleared a large two lane highway in 3 strides. The cars behind me, I am sure had no clue what a rare sight had just passed by.

Made you laugh huh? Glad I could add some humor to your day. I looked at that set of tracks for awhile and I noticed how shallow the snow was, around your boot. I saw not a light drag but a pretty pronounced drag in both feet. Hip Displassa is usually in the rear hip sockets and not in the Foreleg, so I was confused why both showed dragging. Thought maybe you were trying to trick me with an old, fat, arthritis dog and see if I could spot it. SMILE... I have watched them walk in deep snow and they have a tendency to lift and place their feet. These prints seem to be but a casual lazy walk. 3 years old, isn't all that old for a Wolf, males usually mature out at 4, females at around 18 months.
My Mutes have a lot of fur around their pads and their pads do not spread out as much as a Wolf does. They need to walk on snow, so unlike the Coyote, the toes are further apart and the pads larger. Bears have big prints for their size as do the Wolf.

You have some great info, and thanks for the civil way your points are being expressed.

I live in a area that has the Largest State's Black Bear population. In the Fall we can hear them BARK from mountain to mountain. It ain't a howl, it is more of a bark.

Want to hear a sound that will send chills up your back, listen a Bobcat or a Lynx at night. Sounds like someone is ripping the arms and legs off of a human baby and the baby is crying in tremendous pain. I can't sleep for awhile, after hear them. Fisher cats, which aren't even a cat, have a chilling cry as well. Puts chills up my back.

killer · 03-01-2008, 11:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wingwiper

In the Fall we can hear them BARK from mountain to mountain. It ain't a howl, it is more of a bark.

Fisher cats, which aren't even a cat, have a chilling cry as well. Puts chills up my back.

Now that is information about bears and fishers I did not know. We don't have the mountains here so that form of bear communication would probably not work here for them and I have only seen one fisher up here for awhile and that was recently, it dissappeared two winters ago.

My son-in-law was the first to see the fisher scooting across our yard and I thought he was exaggerating the size and it was only one of the many pine marten we have (pictures attached).

http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l8...-07xp41181.jpg

http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l8...-07xp41241.jpg

I got pretty excited with the pine marten pics and simply could not hold still to get a crisp clear shot.

Haaaaaaaaa...if the fisher had started crying the son-in-law would have made a run for the truck a half mile away and I might have been with him since I wouldn't have know what the heck it was either.

The two old guys up here have mentioned fisher many times but neglected to tell me about the fisher cry. I'm usually at the cabin alone and it can get unnerving at times as is hearing things moving about outside let alone some wild unknown cry. Perhaps old Corky and Dean wished it to be a surprise for me.

I had "Two Feathers" my Indian wife and daughter at the cabin the 1st spring we got it and the wolves gathered on top of the hill next to the cabin (called "Buck Mountain") and started howling around 5 a.m. I remember leaning over the bunk and looking down at her face. When her eyes finally popped open as big as pancakes I whispered...."WOLVES."

She was quite upset when the daughter and I came back from some business in the woods one day and emphatically stated a wolf had walked right into the cabin yard and was waiting for her, sitting on it's haunches, as she emerged from the outhouse. I suspect it was a coyote that heard the toilet paper roll and sat down thinking it was a pine squirrel or such.

One breakfast my daughter spilled a cup of bacon grease on the front porch and a bear simply refused to leave that sundown. It was not detered by gun fire and finally a Coleman lantern got it to at least stay off the porch so we could sleep.

I woke up once to see a bear standing and looking in the cabin window at me. That was very spooky since I woke up hearing something outside and shined a flashlight in it's face. All I could see were the yellow eyes and some type of long black snout. I had to go outside to confirm what I was seeing.

Wingwiper · 03-02-2008, 07:44 AM

Dang Dial up, I saw your pics, they look rather small for a Fisher. I have only seen ONE close and it was at my neighbors. I live in the woods and have National Forest, pretty much all around me. Some property owners have the rear of their property butting up to the N.F. so you are bound to see just about anything in your yard. My neighbor had 40 acres next to mine and had done some clearing. He was from Ct. and was trying to be a good Yankee by having Chickens and Goats and the such. He lost his goats to a Fisher and that Fisher was at least 25 to 30 pounds.

Is your wife, Lakota? I had a couple of friends at Pine Ridge, one went to the Red Cloud School. I have a wall of stuff from Pine Ridge. My Dream Catchers are beautiful, some are 3-D, with Dream catchers within Dream Catchers. I have a Short Bow with Arrows, made from sinew wrap and flesh glue over each wrap. I have a Drum and A Ceremonial Banner, ( So-called War lance) it has Sweet Grass, Buffalo fur, Trade Blanket material, Flicker feathers and even some horsehair on it, really Nice. I have an Eagle Claw Dancing Wand and more. When I had my store I had the privilege to deal with Elizabeth Black Elk and Anna Firethunder who made some fantastic STAR QUILTS
We had Black Bear for whatever reason break thru a window at a car dealership and tore up the offices, ruined the paint on the showroom cars and made a helluva a mess trying to get back out. Finally he made it out but what a mess.
When I lived out in Calif. I use to camp out in EL Centro Area in the desert and I had Coyotes come right up to my tent, pretty frequently.

The Cries are very eeerie and haunting. I have no doubt you will get your chance to hear them. Your hobby seems to put you in a perfect set up for it. I swore the first time I heard them, someone was torturing a baby and I was hearing the anguish of the baby in the screams. I got chills jut now, describing them to you.

I was watching a MONSTER Series on th Science Channel and these scienctists were in a cabin some 30 miles from the nearest road, up in Canada. There was BIG FOOT who was throwing stones at their cabin. They didn't get to see him, but knew he was coming onto the porch. So they took a plank and screwed a lot of sheet rock screws threw it and then laid it on the porch, points up. With in a day or two they had their proof. There was blood, flesh and hair all over the screws. They sent them out to be anyalized and sure enough, it weren't a bear, weren't a human and was speculated to be BIG FOOT thru the strange and unknown DNA.

killer · 03-02-2008, 11:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wingwiper

Dang Dial up, I saw your pics, they look rather small for a Fisher. Pics are of a pine marten

Is your wife, Lakota? Cherokee

Two Feathers and I renewed our 30th wedding anniversary with an Indian wedding. I highly recommend it to renew your vows. Lots of fun for the guests to dress up. We fired some black powder guns and stuff. You can catch the highlights on my web site, specifically, the Indian Wedding page:

indianwedding2007

Somewhere in Northern MN a few years ago a County road grader was on an isolated road and stopped the grader after coming across some very long human foot prints. He left them alone and brought others out to look at them. They brought out the person from the local town that had the biggest foot (happened to be a woman...haaaaaa now that's funny right there) and took pics of her foot next to mysterious foot prints. I'm still trying to hunt down those pics.

Mange bears have a certain Big Foot look to them.

http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l8...y_bear_PGC.jpg

Wingwiper · 03-03-2008, 06:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by killer

Two Feathers and I renewed our 30th wedding anniversary with an Indian wedding. I highly recommend it to renew your vows. Lots of fun for the guests to dress up. We fired some black powder guns and stuff. You can catch the highlights on my web site, specifically, the Indian Wedding page:

indianwedding2007

Very nice wedding and you have a beautiful wife. Your cabin is located in a very nice spot but I don't see any deciduous trees just coniferous, the soil must be really sour.
I have never seen a Cherokee Wedding or even read about one before, that is really neat.
I like the merge of the two fires, very interesting.
Great Wedding , Killer

Somewhere in Northern MN a few years ago a County road grader was on an isolated road and stopped the grader after coming across some very long human foot prints. He left them alone and brought others out to look at them. They brought out the person from the local town that had the biggest foot (happened to be a woman...haaaaaa now that's funny right there) and took pics of her foot next to mysterious foot prints. I'm still trying to hunt down those pics.

Mange bears have a certain Big Foot look to them.

http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l8...y_bear_PGC.jpg

Yah! they do... creepy looking... he looks rather thin and weak. Was this early spring or was he in trouble?

killer · 03-04-2008, 07:49 PM

The land is indeed sour with clay. Over the last 18 years my buddies and I have owned the cabin we have each purchased new trucks and when we break them in with a run up north the sticky goomba clay gets flung on the underside. You can never wash it off. Whenever it rains and we park our vehicles in the driveway they forever drip the wretched red clay for the life of the vehicle. It's probably an excellent rust protector.

I think that's a summer mange bear. No way he survived winter. Here's one that was on my buddies deer feeder couple summers ago that looks like mange on the butt. Every coyote I've shot the past 7-8 years have mange and the wolf are said to have it too. The fox always look good though.

http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l8...aldassbear.jpg

Wingwiper · 03-05-2008, 02:06 PM

I have never heard of Mange on a Bear, actually I do not doubt it exsist cuz of course you have photos, but I never gave it any thought that a Bear would. I know when Fox are shedding, they look pretty bad, almost like a Bison, big clumps coming out. I have not heard of any epedimic around here.

In the News today there was a CONFIRMED Northeastern Grey Wolf killed in Mass. Many have denied their exsistance for decades, it takes a case such the one in Mass before trhey listen. I had a Catamount on my deck 23 years ago and they told me I was crazy, two years ago, two F&G wardens saw a Catamount and now they say they exsist. So until the F&G sees one, everyone else is on drugs.

I am about 2000' elevation in the mountains and I am just at the Pine Line. I have a lot of hardwoods and a good Sugar lot. Birch are the most popular. I have clay but not that God Forbid Red Crap like they got down South too. I had a large area that the soil was very sour and of course that was where the wife wanted her garden. I couldn't get grass to grow, I couldn't get much of anything to grow. I had a friend who had a LArge Nite Crawler business and he had about 5000 that were not lively enough to sell, so I took them and spread them into that area. I now have grass growing where grass ain't suppose to grow, I have Robins that were never here before cuz they would starve. I have a nice lawn now, all do to Nite Crawlers. I tried everytime of additive that they suggested and nothing helped until I got the crawlers.

killer · 03-06-2008, 08:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wingwiper

I had a Catamount on my deck 23 years ago and they told me I was crazy, two years ago, two F&G wardens saw a Catamount and now they say they exsist. So until the F&G sees one, everyone else is on drugs.

Haaaaa....I think some some dude up here took a picture of one on his deck looking in his living room sliding glass doors watching his kids play on the floor. Daughter sent me it couple weeks ago but I deleted it.

03-01-2008, 12:13 PM	#102
Idaho Dave Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Idaho Posts: 560	darn it so active i got bumped clear up please mr wingwiper my rebut to your comments of this moring is on post 96 course it was another of my lengthey diatribes __________________ Living the life

03-01-2008, 12:48 PM	#103
ArkansasHunter Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: South Arkansas. Posts: 17,217	Killer for what I got for that old truck I'll be lucky if I can buy the Maverick 20" barrelled extended magazine that hold 8 rounds shotgun !...LOL !!!...A.H fellers I'm sorry I high jacked your thread...LOL EDIT: For those concerned about Herbert haveing the daylights scared out of him, he's fine now. The hair on his head is still sticking straight up, but buy the time he finish's his brocly it will go down. __________________ IN GOD WE TRUST NRA MEMBER Last edited by ArkansasHunter; 03-01-2008 at 12:52 PM.

03-01-2008, 04:08 PM	#106
killer Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Minnesota Posts: 948 Images: 6	You did make me laugh very hard I'll say that about the overweight, arthritic, old dog. I don't doubt he's an old fat wolf. He's been around for a couple possibly three years now but I've never seen him yet to my knowledge. I have seen a smaller wolf that might be a female that seems to travels with him on and off. We had a Canadian Lynx in the area too for awhile that really confused me. The tracks were similar but I remember commenting to someone they looked blurred. After I saw the cat then it made sense it was all the extra fur they have on their feet. There is a pack of wolves working to my south I hear but have yet to determine how many are in it. I did record their howling while bear hunting at sundown this fall. I'm attaching a link to it. It was taken with the digital camera so it's crude but you get about 25 seconds worth starting 1/3 to 3/4 way thru the recording. You'll have to turn it up full volume. They start out with some type of gutteral growling sound that makes you stop and think, "What the heck is that?" before they break out into the howl. Even the most die hard "Kill all the wolve's" locals where I am at will smile and ask me, "Did you hear the wolves howl last night?" <embed width="448" height="361" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" src="http://i94.photobucket.com/player.sw...8-07xp4152.flv"> __________________ "Yeee Hawww...I'm a cowboy on an iron horse." Killer's cabin: http://buckmountainchateau.com/ Last edited by killer; 03-01-2008 at 04:19 PM.

03-02-2008, 07:44 AM	#109
Wingwiper Banned Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 789	Dang Dial up, I saw your pics, they look rather small for a Fisher. I have only seen ONE close and it was at my neighbors. I live in the woods and have National Forest, pretty much all around me. Some property owners have the rear of their property butting up to the N.F. so you are bound to see just about anything in your yard. My neighbor had 40 acres next to mine and had done some clearing. He was from Ct. and was trying to be a good Yankee by having Chickens and Goats and the such. He lost his goats to a Fisher and that Fisher was at least 25 to 30 pounds. Is your wife, Lakota? I had a couple of friends at Pine Ridge, one went to the Red Cloud School. I have a wall of stuff from Pine Ridge. My Dream Catchers are beautiful, some are 3-D, with Dream catchers within Dream Catchers. I have a Short Bow with Arrows, made from sinew wrap and flesh glue over each wrap. I have a Drum and A Ceremonial Banner, ( So-called War lance) it has Sweet Grass, Buffalo fur, Trade Blanket material, Flicker feathers and even some horsehair on it, really Nice. I have an Eagle Claw Dancing Wand and more. When I had my store I had the privilege to deal with Elizabeth Black Elk and Anna Firethunder who made some fantastic STAR QUILTS We had Black Bear for whatever reason break thru a window at a car dealership and tore up the offices, ruined the paint on the showroom cars and made a helluva a mess trying to get back out. Finally he made it out but what a mess. When I lived out in Calif. I use to camp out in EL Centro Area in the desert and I had Coyotes come right up to my tent, pretty frequently. The Cries are very eeerie and haunting. I have no doubt you will get your chance to hear them. Your hobby seems to put you in a perfect set up for it. I swore the first time I heard them, someone was torturing a baby and I was hearing the anguish of the baby in the screams. I got chills jut now, describing them to you. I was watching a MONSTER Series on th Science Channel and these scienctists were in a cabin some 30 miles from the nearest road, up in Canada. There was BIG FOOT who was throwing stones at their cabin. They didn't get to see him, but knew he was coming onto the porch. So they took a plank and screwed a lot of sheet rock screws threw it and then laid it on the porch, points up. With in a day or two they had their proof. There was blood, flesh and hair all over the screws. They sent them out to be anyalized and sure enough, it weren't a bear, weren't a human and was speculated to be BIG FOOT thru the strange and unknown DNA. Last edited by Wingwiper; 03-02-2008 at 07:53 AM.

03-04-2008, 07:49 PM	#112
killer Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Minnesota Posts: 948 Images: 6	The land is indeed sour with clay. Over the last 18 years my buddies and I have owned the cabin we have each purchased new trucks and when we break them in with a run up north the sticky goomba clay gets flung on the underside. You can never wash it off. Whenever it rains and we park our vehicles in the driveway they forever drip the wretched red clay for the life of the vehicle. It's probably an excellent rust protector. I think that's a summer mange bear. No way he survived winter. Here's one that was on my buddies deer feeder couple summers ago that looks like mange on the butt. Every coyote I've shot the past 7-8 years have mange and the wolf are said to have it too. The fox always look good though. http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l8...aldassbear.jpg __________________ "Yeee Hawww...I'm a cowboy on an iron horse." Killer's cabin: http://buckmountainchateau.com/

03-01-2008, 03:53 PM	#105
Wingwiper Banned Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 789	Killer The Wolf bite is much stronger than a Dog. I raise Malamutes and as strong as they are, their bite is nothing compared to a Wolf. I looked at all of your pictures and I am by no means an Expert at foot prints. Many had too much snow melt to be able to get a good call on size or a good defination of the print. Here is my break down and all based on my opinion. buckmt12-07x0041-1 Seems to be Coyote, Small Not enough spread in toes. Triangler as in Coyote buckmt1-07xp1017 melting caused enlargement, Not sure, looks more dog, as it is after the melt. buckmt1-07xp2035 Print is small and looks a little like it could be a Wolf, toes still aren’t spread out enough and both feet seem to be dragging in from the rear. Never noticed this characteristic before, seems like a real lazy walk and not a pronounce one. I could understand dragging if snow was deeper, but not in shallow snow. Not sure on these. I don’t think Coyote, I am not really sure if Wolf and if I had to guess, I would say an overweight, Arthritic or OLD dog. buckmt1-07xp2039-1 Wish there were some clear, overhead shots of these prints, some of these look very possibly Wolf. Yes! could be young Wolves, but they would most likely be with older ones . I cut and pasted into a Doc and will use some other photo software to clean them up more, for a better look. I do not doubt you have wolves near you and I do not doubt you have seen their sign and by your hobby may have even been lucky enough to gain a glimspe. I saw one in the woods once and it was only pure luck. I had just broken a ridge with a wet forest floor and the wind was to my face. When my head cleared the top, I caught sight of one about 30 feet from me, nose down and sniffing. It wasn't but a a couple of seconds and it heard me, saw me or smelled me and took off. It was my only true sighting in the woods. I have seen them in fields from a car, seen one in my yard as I was in the house. Have had a few in the back when my bitch goes into heat. It is strange, because at first we were pestered with Coyotes and my Turkeys would start stirring. I would go out and hear them and take a few shots in their direction, but never connected with one. I have several pictures of Coyotes walking in daylight right through yards. The Wolves will howl at night and then we will know of their presence for a few days and then they are gone. No more Wolves, no more Coyotes. Have alot of Bear in my area and not sure if there is a territory clash with Black Bear and Wolves. Kinda like the Gray Squirrel and the Red Squirrel, you can find one or the other but hardly ever will you find BOTH. I had a couple of turkey killed a year or two back and it was Coyote, tore the Turkey apart and then carried them away. The Turkeys were in excessive of 25 pounds

03-01-2008, 05:51 PM	#107
Wingwiper Banned Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 789	all the Lynx and Bob Cat Tracks that I have seen, the toes were more rounded and not elongegated as in the wolf. They also had a pad print that had like a W shape at the bottom and depending where you see the track, that W can be come smoothed out. I saw a Lynx about two years ago that cleared a large two lane highway in 3 strides. The cars behind me, I am sure had no clue what a rare sight had just passed by. Made you laugh huh? Glad I could add some humor to your day. I looked at that set of tracks for awhile and I noticed how shallow the snow was, around your boot. I saw not a light drag but a pretty pronounced drag in both feet. Hip Displassa is usually in the rear hip sockets and not in the Foreleg, so I was confused why both showed dragging. Thought maybe you were trying to trick me with an old, fat, arthritis dog and see if I could spot it. SMILE... I have watched them walk in deep snow and they have a tendency to lift and place their feet. These prints seem to be but a casual lazy walk. 3 years old, isn't all that old for a Wolf, males usually mature out at 4, females at around 18 months. My Mutes have a lot of fur around their pads and their pads do not spread out as much as a Wolf does. They need to walk on snow, so unlike the Coyote, the toes are further apart and the pads larger. Bears have big prints for their size as do the Wolf. You have some great info, and thanks for the civil way your points are being expressed. I live in a area that has the Largest State's Black Bear population. In the Fall we can hear them BARK from mountain to mountain. It ain't a howl, it is more of a bark. Want to hear a sound that will send chills up your back, listen a Bobcat or a Lynx at night. Sounds like someone is ripping the arms and legs off of a human baby and the baby is crying in tremendous pain. I can't sleep for awhile, after hear them. Fisher cats, which aren't even a cat, have a chilling cry as well. Puts chills up my back.

03-05-2008, 02:06 PM	#113
Wingwiper Banned Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 789	I have never heard of Mange on a Bear, actually I do not doubt it exsist cuz of course you have photos, but I never gave it any thought that a Bear would. I know when Fox are shedding, they look pretty bad, almost like a Bison, big clumps coming out. I have not heard of any epedimic around here. In the News today there was a CONFIRMED Northeastern Grey Wolf killed in Mass. Many have denied their exsistance for decades, it takes a case such the one in Mass before trhey listen. I had a Catamount on my deck 23 years ago and they told me I was crazy, two years ago, two F&G wardens saw a Catamount and now they say they exsist. So until the F&G sees one, everyone else is on drugs. I am about 2000' elevation in the mountains and I am just at the Pine Line. I have a lot of hardwoods and a good Sugar lot. Birch are the most popular. I have clay but not that God Forbid Red Crap like they got down South too. I had a large area that the soil was very sour and of course that was where the wife wanted her garden. I couldn't get grass to grow, I couldn't get much of anything to grow. I had a friend who had a LArge Nite Crawler business and he had about 5000 that were not lively enough to sell, so I took them and spread them into that area. I now have grass growing where grass ain't suppose to grow, I have Robins that were never here before cuz they would starve. I have a nice lawn now, all do to Nite Crawlers. I tried everytime of additive that they suggested and nothing helped until I got the crawlers.