Wednesday, March 07, 2007

Wolves attack moose

Today a friend sent me this picture sequence, showing a pride of wolves attacking a moose. The attached note said; “Wolf tag or no wolf tag, this wouldn’t have happened if I would have been in that tree stand.”

Somehow I am not surprised to read that comment. Many hunters get upset when they see pictures of wolves taking care of their dietary needs. I often wondered why that is so. I came to the conclusion that the only reason hunters do not like wolves must be because they are hunters too. Or in other words, some of us might view the wolf as direct hunting competitor. This thinking is in line with what some hunters told me, saying something like; “The wolf steals our game.”

Of course it is utter nonsense that the wolf “steals our game”. The animals we hunt are not our game. We share the game animals with other hunters, like the wolf, the coyote, grizzly bear and other predators that have as much right to hunt for food as we do. Together we are all part of natures check and balance system that has worked so well for millions of years and hopefully will continue to work well for all of us, humans and animals alike.

The wolves found a cow moose (probably an old weak animal). The two wolves chase the moose to tire her out.











The two wolves are soon to be joined my other pride members that circle the moose and make an escape impossible. The fate of the moose is sealed, would that moose be a fully grown bull he would have a good chance to break loose from the deadly circle.










The older and experienced wolves are the ones that do the killing by holding the prey animal mouth and nose closed (suffocating) while other wolves bite the animal in the neck. For us humans this is a gruesome death. However, research has clearly shown that animals have a much higher pain tolerance than humans, plus the prey animal is in shock at this stage and feels no or very little pain.











The table is set and the non-hunting members of the wolf pride join in the feast.










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5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Good post and great pictures. I agree with you about wolves. Some outdoor publications, namely the one that recently fired Zumbo, tend to fan the the flames of anti-wolf sentiment.

Of course, there aren't any wolves anywhere near where I live so I give people that do live in wolf-inhabited areas the benefit of the doubt. But God made wolves just like he made moose and deer and rabbit and humans. We've all got to get food, and every animal has its own way of doing it.

Anonymous said...

I am writing from a textbook company and we would like reproduce this image of the wolves taking down an elk in a book. Can you please put me in touch with the photographer? We will pay reproduction fees, but I need to contact photographer as soon as possible!!
Thank you,
Nancy Tobin
ntobin@bellsouth.net

Bongi said...

i find it shocking that someone would try to stop a wolf from getting its prey. i just don't understand it.

i fully agree with you. with all respect, people who discriminate against predators like this should simply not go into wild places.

shocking.

TC said...

Wolves are carnivores that kills for hunger and survival. They weed out the sickly and the weak which is why carnivores were created as to keep a HEALTHY ECO-BALANCE where else man who is no 'natural" predator in the animals kingdom only a store bought "predator" and they kill the strongest with the big rack and weakens the gene pools. I am sure the animals attacked by wolves feel pain but that is part life and death in the wild unlike man killing animals for sports and trophy while leaving hundreds upon thousands wounded and crippled on the forest ground.

Othmar Vohringer said...

Matthew 5-7.

man IS part of nature and a predator. Those who hunt have returned to the roots of man and the important role man plays in nature.

Only animal rights and "domesticated" people would argue that man is not part of nature. Hunters more than anybody has made sure, and still do, that wildlife prosper and habitats are protected. It is because of the hunters that ducks, elk, deer, turkey and many other wildlife species have come back from the brink of extinction and can be found in numbers never seen before.

I would like to see the source where you got the "hundreds upon thousands wounded and crippled..." by hunters. I could almost bet on it you read that on some animal rights website notorious for making things up as they go along or grossly exaggerate to coax money out of well meaning people.

-ov-

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