wolf in my backyard !?

[brew]

so i've written and deleted this post before publishing over a dozen times since our first encounter.  All i can tell you is what we saw and you can make your own judgements about it.  Wife and I bought some land outside of Yelm between Lawrence and Clear lakes and had our dream house built on it.  During the build had our dirt/excavator guy build a shooting berm 100 yards off our back deck so we could shoot our guns anytime we wanted.  Berm is about 20 feet tall and 60 feet wide in the shape of an inverted U.  Moved in late June of last year.  A lot of deer around so its cool watching them hanging out in our backyard.  Middle of last November I'm standing in our bedroom early a.m. getting dressed and I see a pair of legs walking along the top of the berm.  Long tall tan legs is all I see so i think its one of the resident deer until it clears a couple trees and i see it doesn't have that elongated neck and a dog head and bushy tail.  I stand there for a moment coming to grips with what i am seeing.  I hurry out to the living room and tell the wife to look out at the berm.she sees it as well.  It is still standing there staring at our house. it's about 36" at the back, tanish brown looks like a deer but with the dog face and bushy tail...walks over the side of berm and it's gone.  For comparison we have a chocolate lab that weighs 85 lbs and this was a foot taller, and at least a foot longer.  Inner legs were tan like a blacktail deer but body was tan/grey.  mullled it over for a while and thought it could be a wolf...kinda kept it within the family cuz didn't think anyone would believe me.  put out some trail cams but for the next month all i got was pics of some does around the property.  Fast forward to this past Friday.  Just getting out of the shower and wife comes busting in saying it's back on the berm.  I charge out to the the living room windows and it is already gone.  She tells me the same story---way long legged canine, tan inside legs with a tan/gray body-dog head and a bushy tail staring at the house.  Trail cams went back up.  can't tell you what it is but i can tell you what i saw.  I've been hunting for 40 years and can tell you it wasn't no coyote.  went on the WDFW website to report a wolf sighting and found out there are 2 other reports in the exact same area.  I know what i saw so thats all i know.  Haters gonna hate but i saw what i saw....whether it was a cross i don't know but it's kinda unnerving having that thing wandering around 100 yards from my house

[big wood]

Coyote, shoot it

[huntnfmly]

 

[Widgeondeke]

I hope you get some pics on trail cams.

[STARVATION]

Moving target, take the challenge.

[jackelope]

What shape was the tail? Curled or straight or ?? It sounds huge if it was a foot taller and a foot longer than a 85 pound lab.

[haugenna]

Cross breed as you suggested. shoot it for trespassing.

[Skyvalhunter]

Why do you keep messing with it? Put it out of it's misery, no collar dispatch it

[Axle]

During the build had our dirt/excavator guy build a shooting berm 100 yards off our back deck so we could shoot our guns anytime we wanted.  Berm is about 20 feet tall and 60 feet wide in the shape of an inverted U

OK - that's it - I'm totally jealous!!!!!!!!!
 

[PolarBear]

Brew.  There is, or was a gal just up the road from you that raises wolves.  A few years back 6 got out and one made it to my place about 7 or so miles from you.  My neighbor shot it and it was a full blood wolf.  I know of at least one wolf up in Vail.  It was seen by at least a dozen folks that I know of.  There have also been sightings over by the steam plant.  There are a few around this area but it is tough to determine wether it is a wild wolf or one that came over from that crazy lady that raises them.  According to the WDFW we don't have any on this side of the state so it is fair game.  Treat it as I do with stray dogs that wind up in with my cows.  Blap, one it the cap.

[SkookumHntr]

ive had a black german shepard looking thing run out in front of me one time in 667, idk what it was but definetly not a coyote!

[Mudman]

Long history of wolf hybrids around.  Polar probably knows best.  Your area has plenty of cover and feed, deer, elk, chickens.  If its not a pet I would politely chase it away but don't hurt its feelings.  Could claim it accidental if its standing on your shooting berm!   

[W_Ellison2011]

People have sited wolves in bald hills and vail area as well as in Kapowsin and other such areas yet wdfw ignores them. I would shoot, shovel, and shutup. Just my 

[brew]

i've heard stories of someone in the neighborhood that used to have wolves...this is crazy sh*t cuz i've seen them and had them walking around my property....don't care if its an actual wolf, wolf hybrid or what the hell ever it is...all i can tell you is there is something walking around my property the size of a blacktail deer with fangs looking to eat meat...thats pretty god dam unnerving....

[Pegasus]

If you shoot it, make sure you drag it inside your house. Makes for a stronger self-defense argument.

[brew]

What shape was the tail? Curled or straight or ?? It sounds huge if it was a foot taller and a foot longer than a 85 pound lab.

tail hung at about a 45 degree angle...dam thing looked like a blacktail deer with a dog head and a bushy tail...yes Brodie (my chocolate lab ) weighs in around 85 lbs and this thing was the same size on stilts...at least a foot taller and at least a foot longer if not more...thats what concerns me

[nwmein199]

Brew.  There is, or was a gal just up the road from you that raises wolves.  A few years back 6 got out and one made it to my place about 7 or so miles from you.  My neighbor shot it and it was a full blood wolf.  I know of at least one wolf up in Vail.  It was seen by at least a dozen folks that I know of.  There have also been sightings over by the steam plant.  There are a few around this area but it is tough to determine wether it is a wild wolf or one that came over from that crazy lady that raises them.  According to the WDFW we don't have any on this side of the state so it is fair game.  Treat it as I do with stray dogs that wind up in with my cows.  Blap, one it the cap.

 

My buddies uncle lived next to the lady that raised the wolves and is in the area Brew described. Its been 6 years or so since I was out there but they brought a couple of the wolves over on leashes and they were gigantic. I have a 34" inseam and their backs were above my waist.

[brew]

i'm feeling better by the minute knowing what i saw was real....not !  WTF do i do now ?  I'm sure the WDFW will take care of the situation before I have to take matters into my own hands...  all i can say is i hope the next time i see it that it doesn't pose a threat

[Magnum_Willys]

Hooray, start of another westside breeding pair.  Dang that feels good.  Yip     


         
3s                                                                                       

[JimmyHoffa]

You know those noises you've been hearing when you go outside at night....................

[notawolffan]

Welcome to the forums, and welcome to the new reality of living with wolves. Like you, I  had an encounter with a wolf in your area. Also like you, it took me a while to comprehend what I was seeing. Briefly, my situation was, I was out in the woods on a logging road, trees on one side and clearing on the other. My dog was tied to a tree and whining, and when I stepped out from behind my van I saw movement down the road. It was the size of a small deer so I figured it was a deer. Then I realized it was gray not brown like a deer. Then I realized that if it was a deer it would be running away, but this thing was running right at me. By that time it was close enough I could make out the canine shape of its head, and I realized I was staring at a gray wolf running right at me down the logging road.

Wish I could say I was brave and tried  to save my dog but I didn't think there  was time so I jumped in my van. The wolf had to have seen me, it didn't care it kept coming. I guess it figured it was going to have  my dog for breakfast. Not knowing what else to do I hit my horn, and the thing darted off into the trees, leaving me stunned in disbelief, did that really just happen? Like you I did not have any photos to prove it. It's hard to think about taking pictures when you have a wolf running at you.

Returned to the area the following week to see if  the situation could be duplicated. Tied the dog  to a tree, it started whining again, this time a different wolf, dark gray almost black and mottled ran across that same logging road. It was slinking like a rat with its head down, think it could smell me but again knowing there were people around didn't deter it from going after what it wanted. Think I read  somewhere that wolves increase in number by something like 30% each year. Isn't that a reassuring thought?

Turns out wolves look at dogs as competition. Because  my dog was whining they probably figured it was prey. Now whenever I'm out there I look over my shoulder all the time, keep my head  on a swivel. Make a lot of noise cause apparently they don't like noise. Very much a feeling of  it's us against them. And right now  they have no fear of people, because  they have no experience of  people being a threat.

I testified in front of the wold advisory group, telling them about my experience. I also applied to be on the wolf advisory committee but was turned  down.

Had another run-in with a wild canine out there but it was probably a coyote not a wolf; however, if you research it, turns out there is only about 2% difference in the DNA of a wolf or coyote or dog. And wolves do mate with both, and there are wolf-coyote hybrids back east that have been known to attack humans.

Some people have said the wolves have always been there, they just follow the elk. I know that before my sighting I would see flattened areas in the clearing where the elk were laying down. Since I saw the wolves the elk don't seem to lay down in the field any more. After my experience I put up trail cams but only got cows, elk and coyotes. I think you said you would be putting up cameras, good luck hope you get proof of a pack in that area so we can get closer to wolf management. 

[Duckgtr]

i'm feeling better by the minute knowing what i saw was real....not !  WTF do i do now ?  I'm sure the WDFW will take care of the situation before I have to take matters into my own hands...  all i can say is i hope the next time i see it that it doesn't pose a threat

Sounds like my neighbor has a wolf hybrid I guess. My other neighbor said it was a wolf hybrid or wolf. What ever it is, it has yet to get out but once it does and is seen around my goats or pigs, it'll take a dirt nap.

[eastsidemallard74]

Just thinking out loud here, but I would do is find a tranquilizer, shoot it, take it to Downtown Seattle and release it.  ? Amongst all the homeless camps, it would find food, and maybe move that trash along also!

[brew]

Just thinking out loud here, but I would do is find a tranquilizer, shoot it, take it to Downtown Seattle and release it.  ? Amongst all the homeless camps, it would find food, and maybe move that trash along also!

yeah i would like to tranquilize it and release it next to that communist seattle councilewoman  kantshwama  sawant...i think thats how you spell/pronounce her name