Wolf in Whatcom Co.

[wolfbait]

For a wolf to make it to Ferndale, (not coming across the border -from our Cascades), he/she/it would have so so many opportunities to take dairy cows, sheep, and such that for just the travel time, (a dog's gotta eat ya know), I can't believe that there wouldn't be at least ten complaints of domestic animal attack. Any give time of year in a dairy county, there's calves available. There's sheep... There's no way there's a wild wolf in Ferndale.
 
-Steve

Remember the lookout pack showed over night, wolves that travel in USFWS and WDFW trucks travel much quicker.

[AspenBud]

I'm not one for rumors, but I had a chat with friends of mine last night who think they may have seen one while horseback riding. They were up on the Baker Lake Trail and saw what they described as the "biggest coyote" they have ever seen. As in they were pretty sure it was a wolf. Said it just stood there and looked at them when they had stopped to give the horses a break and then slinked off into the woods. They think it had been following them for a while.

This was within the last week or two.

[JackOfAllTrades]

I'm not one for rumors, but I had a chat with friends of mine last night who think they may have seen one while horseback riding. They were up on the Baker Lake Trail and saw what they described as the "biggest coyote" they have ever seen. As in they were pretty sure it was a wolf. Said it just stood there and looked at them when they had stopped to give the horses a break and then slinked off into the woods. They think it had been following them for a while.

This was within the last week or two.

That's a little more realistic!  And... I have mentioned a couple of my (I am not a biologist), visions in the woods on the west side from Rainier to Baker several years ago (Noisy Diobsud and such), and it has been believed that there have been 'lone wolves' and/or hybrids throughout our Cascades for many years.  I just think it is a big stretch to have one in western Whatcom county without having livestock damage. There just isn't enough wildgame/food for a Wolfe to survive.
 
Besides

a wolf spotted in rural Whatcom Co. near Ferndale. Friends of ours heard it howl

,  Seeing, and hearing what they thought is one, given the environment, are two completely different things.
 
-edit - I said Eastern Whatcom Co. and meant western.
 

-Steve

[snowpack]

there was a collared wolf that traveled from NE Oregon to nearly the Northern California coast in a few months.  In other cases collared wolves have gone from Montana/Idaho down to central Colorado and back to Montana.  So, it is not only possible, but likely that wolves have traveled to Whatcom.  It's not a long hike like the collared wolves I mentioned did.  Plus, the wolves have large wilderness areas to travel undetected through, with documented wolf packs that are exploding in population not far away (US and Canada).  Now you also have to consider all the uncollared wolves roaming around and how secretive WDFW is regarding the whole wolf situation.

[AspenBud]

That's a little more realistic!  And... I have mentioned a couple of my (I am not a biologist), visions in the woods on the west side from Rainier to Baker several years ago (Noisy Diobsud and such), and it has been believed that there have been 'lone wolves' and/or hybrids throughout our Cascades for many years.  I just think it is a big stretch to have one in eastern Whatcom county without having livestock damage. There just isn't enough wildgame/food for a Wolfe to survive.
 -Steve

In fairness, there are a number of studies out there that indicate wolves eat more than just big game if they have to.

I honestly have to believe that the reason their numbers are exploding in areas like the Methow is because there has been a lot of game there and there just aren't enough people around to make a difference. My Dad's stepfather used to hunt out that way for many years. He eventually gave up on the Okanogan and started hunting Montana because too many others had discovered the hunting was good there just as the wolves have.  It got too crowded for his taste.

For a lot of reasons, wolves in Western Washington will likely have a harder go of it. Food is harder to come by, more cars, more parvo, and frankly more people willing to take matters into their own hands and stay quiet about it.

[cougarbart]

and wolves do just that also! they don't build a house, if hunting and food is good they hang around, as soon food isn't around they will move somewhere else guaranteed! and food can be wild or domestic!

[NoBark]

Things that came to mine while reading this thread. 

1. I know Steen and I'm not about to doubt her.

2. Let's see, they say wolves travel 25 to 35 MILES a day if they want/need to.   Baker to Ferndale..about that.

3. They say wolves often only eat once every 3 - 7 days.  Maybe we wouldn't hear about it eating as it goes thru the county.

4.  I say declare it a wolf and give the westside it's first 'confimed' pack so we get closer to fulfilling this STUPID wolf plan this state has put together.

 

[jdb]

lmao I heard the same thing around Spokane 4 yrs ago, no wolf would be around Spokane, its just wheat fields south of town and hay fields and houses a little north! oh wait one was hit and confirmed just east of Spokane a few miles down by all the houses? I heard a pack was confirmed eating sheep out by long lake? you guys need to realize these wolves are really moving and expanding where they go, so a wolf could go from Yakima to Olympia in a matter of a few days and back! not saying it is a wolf but get ready cause they are headed your way!

since when are their wolves in yakima?

[CedarPants]

This thread brought to mind an article I remember reading last May.  GPS readings from a collared male in Eastern Washington's Smackout Pack indicate he has traveled 300 miles west.  If this is true (I haven't found anything to discredit it as of yet), a wolf near Ferndale wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility.


The Daily Howler: The Travels Of WA-017M and OR7

By Andy Walgamott, on May 23rd, 2013


A young Washington wolf is on its way to upsetting conventional wisdom about the mixing — err, lack thereof — of inland and coastal wolves in British Columbia.
 
The black-coated Smackout male known as WA-017M, which left its pack in the Evergreen State’s upper right-hand corner earlier this year, is reported as being 300 miles northwest of Oroville, Wash., at last check.
 
That’s a round figure and a rough description of its location based on the GPS collar that hangs around its neck, but it puts the animal roughly in the middle of the coastal mountains.
 
And dangerously close to fouling up the DNA of the “genetically distinct” salmon-eating, red-coated Canadian wolves thereabouts.

https://nwsportsmanmag.com/editors-blog/the-daily-howler-the-travels-of-wa-017m-and-or7/

Could be false, I'm not sure but like I said so far I can't find anything published saying this isn't true.  Maybe someone on here knows more about this 

[Kain]

Been a few documented cases of wolves making some insane migrations. 

http://www.wildcalifornia.org/blog/wolf-enters-california-wild-california-just-got-a-little-more-wild/

[Whatcom]

I highly doubt that a wolf has made it to ferndale.  just to many city folk that see and hear coyotes.  And if it was plenty of county boys that would take care of it.   

  People where I live would handle it also!

Hell yes, I'm one of the county boys, just let me know where......

[wolfbait]

This thread brought to mind an article I remember reading last May.  GPS readings from a collared male in Eastern Washington's Smackout Pack indicate he has traveled 300 miles west.  If this is true (I haven't found anything to discredit it as of yet), a wolf near Ferndale wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility.


The Daily Howler: The Travels Of WA-017M and OR7

By Andy Walgamott, on May 23rd, 2013


A young Washington wolf is on its way to upsetting conventional wisdom about the mixing — err, lack thereof — of inland and coastal wolves in British Columbia.
 
The black-coated Smackout male known as WA-017M, which left its pack in the Evergreen State’s upper right-hand corner earlier this year, is reported as being 300 miles northwest of Oroville, Wash., at last check.
 
That’s a round figure and a rough description of its location based on the GPS collar that hangs around its neck, but it puts the animal roughly in the middle of the coastal mountains.
 
And dangerously close to fouling up the DNA of the “genetically distinct” salmon-eating, red-coated Canadian wolves thereabouts.

https://nwsportsmanmag.com/editors-blog/the-daily-howler-the-travels-of-wa-017m-and-or7/

Could be false, I'm not sure but like I said so far I can't find anything published saying this isn't true.  Maybe someone on here knows more about this 

"A young Washington wolf is on its way to upsetting conventional wisdom about the mixing — err, lack thereof — of inland and coastal wolves in British Columbia."

Everything wolf is turning out to be "Coastal" instead of Northern Alberta wolves. If you like your doctor, or health plan you can keep it.

I remember a few years back a few people on W-H spouted that the Lookout wolf pack came from the coastal region of British Columbia, right up to the point where I posted an article by the wolf specialist Scott Fitkin. He said that the lookout pack was from northern Alberta and Idaho. He didn't mention that they came to WA via ID, MT and Wyoming in the back of the USFWS trucks.

Welcome to WDF&Wolves.

I think it's time we turned up the heat, find out what became of the wolf attack at Harts Pass?

You know if it was against the hunter it would be all over the front page of every news paper!!!!!!
 

[wolfbait]

Draw a line on a map, tell a story about a wolf going from A to Z, throw a bit of I love the wolf BS in and you have several thousand people who know nothing about wolves, leaping to their feet with joy, some of them even breaking tears.

The USFWS brain-washed a generation of people.

[idahohuntr]

The silver lining to wolves in Whatcom co would be meeting the requirements for de-listing the darn things

Twice in this thread wolfbait claimed wolves were intentionally transported into washington by WDFW/USFWS.  This is false.  Wolves (that were transplanted into my home state of Idaho) have migrated to Washington...probably some from B.C. too.  Spreading false information damages the credibility of sportsmen...which will be necessary in convincing politicians in this state to manage wolves anything close to how Idaho, Montana, or Wyoming is managing them.   

[wolfbait]

The silver lining to wolves in Whatcom co would be meeting the requirements for de-listing the darn things

Twice in this thread wolfbait claimed wolves were intentionally transported into washington by WDFW/USFWS.  This is false.  Wolves (that were transplanted into my home state of Idaho) have migrated to Washington...probably some from B.C. too.  Spreading false information damages the credibility of sportsmen...which will be necessary in convincing politicians in this state to manage wolves anything close to how Idaho, Montana, or Wyoming is managing them.   

"Spreading false information damages the credibility of sportsmen...which will be necessary in convincing politicians in this state to manage wolves anything close to how Idaho, Montana, or Wyoming is managing them."

I would be more inclined to believe the USFWS and WDFW have a credibility problem, if it would have been up to the "sportsmen" wolves would be listed as a predator in WA.

What about all the sightings of WDFW and the USFWS releasing wolves in WA? How did WA start out with 8 wolves in the Okanogan and suddenly there are more wolves covering WA then WDFW want to count?

You say the Politicians will decide the wolf Plan? Is that after Defenders of Wildlife get done suing themselves="USFWS-WDFW"?

Which Politicians are you talking about?

"The silver lining to wolves in Whatcom co would be meeting the requirements for de-listing the darn things "

The Silver Lining would have been WDFW going with a sensible wolf plan from the start, instead they choice an extreme pro-wolf plan, with 15 wolf packs. WY, MT, And Idaho ended up with 30 packs for all three states.

The Silver Lining would have been WDFW confirming 15 packs in 2009, instead of dragging their feet and being forced to confirm every wolf pack.

 Do you think people should just be quiet and wait for delisting, in other-wards trust that WDFW will do the right thing for sportsmen, ranchers and the wildlife?