| Hunting: Wolf threat hits
home in Marinette County: Sturgeon Bay man's hound killed during bear
training
(Note: This man's dogs are his property.)
August 31, 2006
Green Bay Press-Gazette P.O. Box 23430 Green Bay, Wisconsin 54305-3430 920-431-8327 Fax: 920-431-8379 http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com To submit a Letter to the Editor: forum@greenbaypressgazette.com
Baudhuin, 70, was with four of his eight bluetick and redtick hounds, taking advantage of the final weekend of bear dog training before the Sept. 13 season opener. Even though no one in his party has a Zone B kill permit this year, Baudhuin knows it's only a matter of time before they get wind of someone who does. "We're always looking to get out there," Baudhuin said. "The thrill isn't necessarily in the kill; it's in the hunt." Baudhuin's 3-year-old bluetick hound, Dixie, was trailing a black bear early that afternoon west of Athelstane, not far from McClintock Park on Parkway Road. When three of his other dogs returned to the truck -- and Dixie's radio-tracking collar showed no signs of movement -- Baudhuin and another hunter walked in. Baudhin found Dixie mutilated, her hide stripped off, and partly eaten. "It wasn't a total surprise, because I've seen pictures," Baudhuin said. "As soon as I saw it, I knew what it was." It was a wolf kill, confirmed later by a U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services employee. "It was a letdown," Baudhuin said. "It's an unfortunate situation that has happened to a number of friends of mine, and now it hit home." A Green Bay-area hunter, along to get a taste of what hound hunting for bears was like, was shocked at what he saw. "He had no clue that this kind of thing happens," Baudhuin said. After reporting the loss, Baudhuin waited while another hunter went in to check out the scene. The wolves had been back, leaving little uneaten. Dixie wore a bell, something that was believed would help deter wolf attacks. "A lot of people would like you to think the wolves are protecting young ones, but (the pups) are born in March," Baudhuin said. "As far as I'm concerned, they're already in the hunting mode, and probably a player in the kill." Adrian Wydeven, a state Department of Natural Resources wolf expert, said wolves have killed 12 bear hounds and injured six others in Wisconsin this year. While Baudhuin's loss was the first confirmed wolf kill on a dog in Marinette County history, seven of the 12 bear hound deaths were caused by the same pack in western Bayfield County, near Drummond. Two years ago, a different pack in Ashland County, near Glidden, killed nine dogs. "It's always an upsetting situation," Wydeven said. "It seems to vary so much year to year, and pack to pack." The state's gray wolf population was estimated by wildlife biologists to be close to 500 animals before pups were born this spring, with some 115 packs and at least 12 loners. "I think it's good to have wolves, but now we've got an overpopulation, with no method of control," Baudhuin said. "I think it's just a matter of time before we have problems right here in Door County." Hunters are reimbursed at the current market value for their hounds, up to $2,500. "I projected Dixie was a $5,000 dog," Baudhuin said. "I say that, based on a good bloodline and because, from start to finish, whether bear, bobcat or coyote, she was head and shoulders above your average hound." Wolves are listed as a protected wild animal by the state. However, the federal government lists wolves as an endangered species. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced in March its intent to remove wolves from the endangered list in Wisconsin and adjacent states and return all management authority to the states. Once that's done, likely early next year, special permits from USFWS for lethal controls on wolves will not be needed.
Additional related reading:
Wolves make way into Door County
June 15, 2003
By Kevin Naze, Green Bay Press-Gazette correspondent wildtimes@itol.com, 920-487-2006 or 920-304-2333 (c) Green Bay Press-Gazette P.O. Box 23430 Green Bay, Wisconsin 54305-3430 920-431-8327 Fax: 920-431-8379 http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com To submit a Letter to the Editor: forum@greenbaypressgazette.com
Door County isn’t supposed to have wolves, but someone forgot to tell the state’s largest canine predators. Whether they came across the ice in winter in recent years or through fragmented tracts of timber near Green Bay, one or more gray wolves may be calling the popular peninsula home. Department of Natural Resources conservation warden Mike Neal said an individual near Baileys Harbor shot an 82-pound male gray wolf in his yard on May 28. Neal said though the man could have been fined more than $1,000, he wasn’t written a citation. “He thought it was a coyote,” Neal said. “We’re not supposed to have wolves here.” Instead of trying to hide his kill, the shooter drove right over to the warden’s home. Since Neal was traveling out of state, his wife contacted him via cell phone. Neal instructed the man to put the animal in his freezer. Upon returning to Door County, Neal shot pictures and sent them to the state’s top wolf biologist, Adrian Wydeven. Wydeven called it “an apparent wolf,” but since wolf-dog hybrids occasionally show up in the wild, he wants the animal checked at a federal lab in Madison. On Friday, Neal showed a 5-minute video of what appears to be another wolf -- one much darker in color -- that was taken earlier this year on a wild turkey hunt near Sturgeon Bay. In addition, Neal said he saw a wolf last year near Baileys Harbor, and said another individual saw two wolves -- one with an ear tag similar in color to what the Michigan DNR uses -- near Carlsville in March 2002. “From now on, guys are going to have to be real careful,” Neal said. “It’s not the old saying, ‘Shoot first and ask questions later.’ There are no more free rides.” Wolves commonly average 60-90 pounds, while coyotes typically run 30-45 pounds. Coyote hunting is legal year-round in Door County and much of the state. An exception is during gun deer seasons in parts of northern Wisconsin, a rule put in place to try to prevent accidental shootings of wolves. The DNR reported 58 dead wolves in the state in 2002, and at least 14 appeared to be shot. Intentionally shooting a wolf can bring fines of up to $25,000 on the federal level and more than $10,000 from the state, plus possible jail time and revocation of all hunting privileges. The wolf shot in late May had some mange -- a contagious skin disease marked by loss of hair -- but otherwise appeared to be in good health. Wisconsin’s population of gray wolves overcame an outbreak of mange in recent years and was estimated at between 335 and 354 animals prior to the birth of pups this spring. The count included 94 packs in northern and central Wisconsin, and at least 12 lone wolves -- the most likely animals to be undercounted, Wydeven said. DNR regional wildlife biologist Tom Bahti of Green Bay said unconfirmed wolf sightings have been increasing in Northeastern Wisconsin in recent years. One wolf was hit by a car in Waupaca County; another was illegally shot in Oconto County near Suring. Natural Resources Board chairman Trygve Solberg of Minocqua has asked the DNR to report to the board later this month about ways to let people kill depredating wolves. He joined some Wisconsin Conservation Congress and Wisconsin Bear Hunters Association leaders in echoing sentiments that wolf numbers are underreported in the state. Wydeven said Wisconsin has begun the process of taking the wolf off the state’s threatened species list, which could take about a year. He said the federal process could take even longer. The state reclassified wolves from endangered to threatened in October 1999, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service made the federal change effective April 1, 2003. The federal change gave state biologists more flexibility to deal with problem wolves, including allowing government agents to destroy wolves that kill domestic animals. Four cattle-killing wolves since have been trapped and euthanized in Burnett and Barron counties. Previously, problem wolves were relocated.
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