Wolf hunting

Wolf hunt with hounds, 15th century engraving (wolf in upper right)

Wolf hunting is the practice of hunting wolves, especially the Gray Wolf (Canis lupus). Wolves are mainly hunted for sport, for their skins, to protect livestock, and in some rare cases to protect humans.

Wolves

Main article: Gray Wolf

The European grey wolf (Canis lupus lupus) was a popular quarry in Europe of the Middle Ages

The Grey Wolf (Canis lupus) is the largest member of the canidae. Though once abundant over much of North America and Eurasia, the grey wolf inhabits a very small portion of its former range because of widespread destruction of its habitat; in some regions it is endangered or threatened. Considered as a whole, however, the grey wolf is regarded as of least concern for extinction according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. Wolf weight and size can vary greatly worldwide, tending to increase proportionally with latitude as predicted by Bergmann's Rule. Wolves have very powerful jaws, with a biting capacity of 1,500 pounds of pressure per square inch. In comparison, a German shepherd has a biting pressure of 750 pounds per square inch.

Wolves are usually hunted in heavy brush and are considered especially challenging to hunt, due to their elusive nature and sharp senses.

Pelts

Wolves are commonly hunted for their fur. The color of a wolf's fur can vary, although grey is the most common color. Wolves have two kinds of hairs; an outer coat of long, stiff hairs called "guard hairs" and an "undercoat" of soft fur which grows thick in the winter and helps to insulate their bodies from the cold. The five inch long guard hairs which are shed in spring and summer are waterproof, keeping the wolf's underfur dry and warm. The fur of the undercoat may be nearly two and a half inches thick and help keep a wolf warm even in temperatures reaching 40 degrees below zero.

Wolf pelts were important to many Native American tribes and considered by some to be powerful medicine. Sacred articles were wrapped in wolf skin and some tribes also wove wolf and American bison hair together in small blankets. Native American hunters used wolf pelts as disguises to allow them stalk close bison herds. The bison were accustomed to having wolves walk among them and did not fear wolves unless they were vulnerable because of disease, injury, or if guarding young. Wolf pelts were also valuable as clothing, objects for trade and for ruffs or coats. They were also used in ritual dances and worn by some shamans, or medicine men.

In Sport hunting, wolves are usually taken in late Autumn and early Winter, when their pelts are of the highest quality and because the heavy snow makes it easier for the wolves to be tracked. Tundra-dwelling wolves are especially valued, as their pelages are more luxuriant than those of forest dwelling wolves, sometimes selling for twice as much. European wolves typically have shorter, denser fur than their North American counterparts.

Meat

It is rare for wolves to be hunted for food, though some members of adventure sports organisations such as the "Canadian Adventure Expedition" (CAE) in Canada eat wolf meat to survive and provide them the sustenance to bare the harsh weather in the winter. Those who have sampled wolf meat have noted a resemblance to chicken. Most Native American tribes, especially the Naskapis, viewed wolf flesh as edible but inadequate, as it was not a herbivore and thus did not possess the same healing qualities thought to be distinct in plant eaters. In Mongolian folk medicine, eating the intestines of a wolf is said to alleviate chronic indigestion, while sprinkling food with powdered wolf rectum is said to cure haemorroids.

History

In Europe

Britain

15th Century paper instructing on how to trap wolves with snares

The various Norman kings of England (reigning from 1066 to 1152 A.D.) employed servants as wolf hunters and many held lands granted on condition they fulfilled this duty. King Edward I who reigned from 1272 to 1307 ordered the total extermination of all wolves in his kingdom and personally employed one Peter Corbet, with instructions to destroy wolves in the counties of Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Shropshire and Staffordshire, areas near the Welsh Marches where wolves were more common than in the southern areas of England. The wolf became extinct in England during the reign of Henry VII (1485-1509). It is known that wolves survived in Scotland up until the 18th century. The last wolf in Scotland was supposedly killed in 1743, by an old man named McQueen in the Findhorn Valley of Morayshire

Before it's extinction, the wolf was considered by the English nobility as one of the five so called "Royal Beasts of the Chase", which also included the hart, the hind, the Wild boar and the European Hare.

Ireland

Despite the extermination of the wolf in the late 1700s, most likely 1786, Ireland throughout most of the first half of the 17th Century had a substantial wolf population of not less than 400 and maybe as high as 1000 wolves at any one time. Although the Irish hunted wolves, it is evident from documentary data that they did not see the same need as the English to exterminate the wolves. Although wolves were percieved as threats, they were nontheless seen as natural parts of the Irish landscapes. The level of rewards and bounties established by Oliver Cromwell's regime after the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland attracted a few professional wolf hunters to Ireland, mostly from England. Politically, the prospect of numbers of armed Irish roaming around the country hunting wolves was not acceptable, given the ongoing conflict between the Irish and the new English settlers, so it was seen as much safer for the English authorities to encourage men from their own country to deal with the wolf problem.

France

Crest of the Wolfcatcher Royal, Marquis de Flamarens

The "Luparii" were royal officials paid by the crown to control wolf populations in France during the Middle Ages. Luparii were responsible for the initial reduction of wolf populations in France, which would become decimated in later centuries.

The office of luparii is today known as the Wolfcatcher Royal. On 9 August 1787 the office was dissolved due to financing issues but was reinstated ten years later. The office was further modified in 1971 and now serves an administrative function regulating vermin and maintaining healthy wildlife populations.

Soviet Union

A Russian wolf hunt, as portrayed on The wolf hunting by Nikolai Sverchkov. 1862.

In early 20th century Russia, the newly formed Soviet government worked heavily to eradicate wolves and other predators during an extensive land reclamation program. In 1917, Lenin himself promised his followers that if the Communists won power they would hunt down the last wolf. Government officials instructed the Red army to exterminate predators on sight; a project that was carried out very efficiently. The USSR destroyed 42,300 wolves in 1945, 62,700 wolves in 1946, 58,700 wolves in 1947, 57,600 in 1948, and 55,300 in 1949. During The Great Patriotic War, when the Russian government focused its attention on repelling the Nazi invasion, wolf populations were given some respite, and actually increased, though after Germany's defeat, wolf exterminations resumed. From 1950 to 1954, an average of 50,000 wolves were killed annually. The wolf survived mostly because of the vast amount of territory devoid of humans.

In parts of Communist Romania during the reign of Nicolae Ceauşescu, a reward equal to a quarter of a month's pay was offered to rangers killing wolf cubs. Full-grown wolves killed by any method at all resulted in as much as a half-month's pay.

In the Kazakh SSR, some 1,000 professional hunters killed thousands of the wolves yearly to collect government bounties. In 1988, just before the Soviet economy collapsed, the hunters killed 16,000 wolves.

In Asia

Japan

Despite being afforded a benign, rather than malignant, place in Japanese folklore and religious traditions, wolves in Japan became extinct during the Meiji restoration period. The wolf was deemed a threat to ranching (which the Meiji government promoted at the time) and targeted via a bounty system and a direct chemical extermination campaign. Hokkaido experienced significant development during this period and the Hokkaido Wolf also suffered from resulting environmental disruption.

In North America

History in the United States

Wolf hunting began out of economic necessity - trappers made a living from the pelts. Later, they were hunted by ranchers to protect their cattle. More recently, in Alaska, wolves have been hunted to help boost the numbers of ungulates. Currently in Alaska, there are only about 7,000 to 11,000 wolves. However, non-Alaskan hunters pay substantial fees to hunt large game animals, so wolf hunting continues in order to make the big game more accessible to hunters. Idaho, Montana and Wyoming are also home to wolves, but in those states wolves are still under the protection of the Endangered Species Act. However, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is planning to take the wolves off the list. Idaho and Wyoming intend to eliminate up to 75% of the wolf population currently living in the Clearwater National Forest district. Idaho currently contains 65 wolf packs with plans to eliminate 54 of the 65 wolf packs currently living there.

In the United States, all hunting of wolves was banned in the contiguous 48 States, where they are listed as endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act of 1973. But, due to successful conservation, they were taken off the Endangered Species list after 30 years. Today, Idaho and other Rocky Mountain states are planning to reintroduce wolf-hunting in the near future. On January 12, 2007 the Associated Press reported that Idaho's governor, Butch Otter, planned to eliminate all but 100 of Idaho's estimated 650 wolves. He was quoted by the AP as saying, "I'm prepared to bid for that first ticket to shoot a wolf myself".

State Laws

Alaska voted in a state-wide referendum on November 7, 2000 to ban aerial hunting by private citizens. Governor Frank Murkowski, however, chose to ignore the referendum and continued to permit the "land and shoot" practice in certain areas of the state, describing it as public participation in a predator control program. Murkowski was later voted out of office, but the practices he supported continue. Permittees receive no money for participating in the program and are not reimbursed for the cost of fuel or aircraft maintenance. Although the "land and shoot" practice is still in effect it has been altered so hunters may not land and shoot on the same day. They may use only airplanes, no helicopters are permitted as many hunters would fly in very close and kill multiple wolves at a time making wolf numbers drop too rapidly. In early 2007, the Governor of Alaska proposed offering a $150 bounty for all four wolf legs brought in -- a proposal that was blocked in state court. The state has also given the incentive of 180 volunteer pilots as well as gunners due to the low number of wolves killed this previous winter. The left foreleg is to be used in scientific studies to find the age of wolves brought in. These studies will help the state set up policies for future predator control programs.

Methods

Aerial Hunting

Aerial hunting of wolves via helicopter is common in the United States, specifically in the state of Alaska. After the quarry is pursued by helicopter to the point of exhaustion, the hunters land and shoot the immobile animal. Currently, in over 60,000 square miles of Alaska, private citizens with state permits can either land and shoot wolves or shoot them from the air. As before, these hunters use their own planes, pay all expenses of the hunt and are entitled to keep or sell the wolf pelts. Today, hunters must obtain a permit from the state and hunt wolves only within wolf control areas designated by the Board of Game.

Blind

The use of heated box blinds is a popular method of wolf hunting in modern Alberta. Bait stations are set in advance of the hunt, with blinds being erected in the more frequented spots. The method was developed as a response to the fact that finding wolves on foot was almost always a pure luck scenario, due to the wolf's elusiveness. Shots are usually fired when the wolf is 200 yards from the blind.

Calling

Calling is a traditional wolf hunting method of Mongolia. The hunters go to the place where the pack is located early in the morning and will imitate a wolf's howl. The hunters howl in unison with the wolves and wait for the animals to come to them. Mongolian wolf hunting is usually done with the assistance of local herders.

Falconry

The use of raptors in the hunting of wolves is mostly exclusive to Central Asia. The berkut is a type of Golden Eagle which the Kyrgyz people have traditionally used to hunt wolves. In the past, wolf pelts provided material for clothes crucial for the survival of the nomadic people in the severe colds.

File:2Eagles.jpg

Professional eagle hunters from Kazakhstan.

The eagles are used to immobilise the wolves by placing one foot at the back of the neck and another at the flank closer to the heart and lungs. Then the bird must quickly peck out the wolf’s eyes with its powerful beak. Hunters usually only use eagles against cubs, seeing as an adult wolf can cripple in combat even a highly experienced eagle. Losing even one finger or talon will significantly lower the eagle's ability to tackle prey. Only a minor injury to the sinew of a foot may leave the eagle incapable of further hunting. As a wolf is capable of resisting even the best-trained bird, the falconer always keeps near, ready at the first opportunity to help the eagle. However this is done carefully, as the wolf, sensing human presence, fights desperately to tear loose from the bird’s talons, and the eagle can be severely injured. Because of the violent nature of their work, eagles trained to hunt wolves have shorter life spans.

Flagging

In modern European Russia, a traditional wolf hunting method involves encircling the located wolf pack with a 3-5 kilometer (2-3 mile) long tether, having small swatches of fabric stitched to it every few feet. The fabric is usually red in order to be easier spotted over the background of snow by the guides. Since it retains a human scent for several days, wolves tend to stay within the encircled area. When the hunters arrive, the pack of wolves is already “flagged”.

Hunting dogs

The Wolf Hunt, Alexandre-François Desportes

In his book Hunting the Grisly and Other Sketches, Theodore Roosevelt wrote that though the use of Hunting dogs was the most effective means of wolf hunting, wolves were nontheless extremely dangerous opponents for the dogs.

A wolf is a terrible fighter. He will decimate a pack of hounds by rabid snaps with his giant jaws while suffering little damage himself; nor are the ordinary big dogs, supposed to be fighting dogs, able to tackle him without special training. I have known one wolf to kill a bulldog which had rushed at it with a single snap, while another which had entered the yard of a Montana ranch house slew in quick succession both of the large mastiffs by which it was assailed. The immense agility and ferocity of the wild beast, the terrible snap of his long-toothed jaws, and the admirable training in which he always is, give him a great advantage over fat, small-toothed, smooth-skinned dogs, even though they are nominally supposed to belong to the fighting classes. In the way that bench competitions are arranged nowadays this is but natural, as there is no temptation to produce a worthy class of fighting dog when the rewards are given upon technical points wholly unconnected with the dog's usefulness. A prize-winning mastiff or bulldog may be almost useless for the only purposes for which his kind is ever useful at all. A mastiff, if properly trained and of sufficient size, might possibly be able to meet a young or undersized Texas wolf; but I have never seen a dog of this variety which I would esteem a match single-handed for one of the huge timber wolves of western Montana. Even if the dog was the heavier of the two, his teeth and claws would be very much smaller and weaker and his hide less tough.

— Hunting the Grisly and Other Sketches, Chapter VIII Wolves and Wolfhounds

Sighthounds

Sighthounds specialize in pursuing prey, keeping it in sight, and overpowering it by their great speed and agility. Sighthounds may have existed for at least 5,000 years, with the earliest known sighthounds appearing in Eurasia. The earliest description of a sighthound in European recorded history comes from Arrian's Cynegeticus, of the 2nd century AD.

Borzoi

The Borzoi or Russian Wolfhound was historically used by the Russian nobility to hunt wolves

The Borzoi is a sighthound of Russian origin, thought to trace itself back to the 13th century. Until the abolition of serfdom in 1861, the Borzoi was used almost exclusively by the nobility. When embarking on a wolf hunt, the duke would usually take 35 couples consisting of three hounds - two dogs and a bitch, which would be restrained on short leads. The Borzois would usually be accompanied by Foxhounds, whose job was to flush out the wolf. Once the wolf was driven from it's lair, the Borzois would be released. The Borzois would run alongside the wolf and harass it. Once the wolf lost its balance and fell, it was immediately grabbed at the ears and throat and held down by the three dogs. The hunters then rode up and bound its legs and wedged a wooden block between its teeth. These wolf hunts lasted about an hour each and any young healthy wolves would then be released again.

The Irish Wolfhound is an ancient breed bred by the Celts to hunt and kill wolves

Irish Wolfhound

The Irish Wolfhound is an ancient sighthound originally bred by the Celts to hunt large game, including wolves. Unlike the Borzoi, the Irish wolfhound was bred not just to track and chase down wolves, but to directly kill them, shaking their quarry till their necks broke. After the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland, wolves were considered such a threat that a ban was imposed on the export of Irish wolfhounds so that the problem of wolves in Ireland could be tackled. By the later part of the 19th Century when wolves had by then been completely exterminated in Ireland, the wolfhounds very nearly became extinct.

Lurcher

This lurcher is a cross between greyhound and terrier

The Lurcher is not a dog breed, but rather a type of dog that is generally a cross between a sighthound and a working breed, usually a pastoral dog or Terrier. Though originally bred by Irish Gypsies for poaching small game, they have on occasion been used against wolves. Wolf hunting lurchers were a personal favourite of Theodore Roosevelt who wrote;

Nothing can possibly exceed the gallantry with which good greyhounds, when their blood is up, fling themselves on a wolf or any other foe. There does not exist, and there never has existed on the wide earth, a more perfect type of dauntless courage than such a hound. Not Cushing when he steered his little launch through the black night against the great ram Albemarle, not Custer dashing into the valley of the Rosebud to die with all his men, not Farragut himself lashed in the rigging of the Hartford as she forged past the forts to encounter her iron-clad foe, can stand as a more perfect type of dauntless valor.

— Hunting the Grisly and Other Sketches, Chapter VIII Wolves and Wolfhounds

He wrote that exclusively purebreed greyhounds were uneccessary, sometimes to the point of uselessness in a wolf hunt. Some Bulldog blood in the dogs was considered helpful, though not essential. Nevertheless, Roosevelt wrote that no two greyhounds or deer-hounds were a match for a wolf, stating that it was preferable for a dozen or so dogs to be released simultaneously on the wolf. Greyhounds were usually used in unison with scent hounds and large mongrels. The greyhounds would pursue and surround the wolf after the scent hounds had tracked it. They would then wait for the larger dogs to attack the wolf before going in for the kill themselves. Some hunters prefered the smooth greyhound, because of its great speed, and others the wire-coated animal, the rough deer-hound, because of its superior strength.

Knife traps

The Native American used two kinds of knife trap. One method was to encase a sharp blade in in fat and frozen upright on a block of ice. The wolf would cut itself while licking the blade and bleed to death. The other method was a baited torison spring which when triggered, would stab the wolf in the head.

Scent hounds

Scent hounds are hounds that primarily hunt by scent rather than sight. They are generally regarded as having some of the most sensitive noses among canines. Most scent hounds were used for hunting in packs, sometimes with multiple dogs in a single pack. Longer-legged hounds ran more quickly and usually required that the hunters follow on horseback; shorter-legged hounds allowed hunters to follow on foot.

In wolf hunts, they usually played no part in the actual physical confrontation and were usually accompanied by sighthounds which would follow them until the wolf was found. Some hunters noted that scent hounds were usually difficult to work with on wolf hunts, as they would often become intimidated by the wolf's scent.

Trapping pit

Across the top of the trapping pit was a thick stick or pole, and on this was fastened a plank, which covered the top of the trap. On one end of this plank was a piece of venison, and on the other a stone. The way the trap was meant to work was this: The wolf would come to the venison, and just as it got on the plank to eat it, the plank would turn, causing the wolf to fall into the pit. The weight of the stone at the other end would bring the plank up again, ready baited for another wolf.

Wolf hunting today

Bulgaria considers the wolf a pest animal and there is a bounty equivalent to two weeks average wages on their heads. .

In Norway, in 2001, the Norwegian Government authorised a controversial wolf cull on the grounds that the animals were overpopulating and were responsible for the killing of more than 600 sheep in 2000. The Norwegian authorities, whose original plans to kill 20 wolves were scaled down amid public outcry. In 2005, the Norwegian government proposed another cull, with the intent of exterminating 25% of Norway's wolf population. A recent study of the wider Scandinavian wolf population concluded there were 120 individuals at the most, causing great concern on the genetic health of the population.

Under the Berne Convention wolves in France are listed as an endangered species and killing them is illegal, though official culls are permitted to protect farm animals so long as there is no threat to the species in it's entirety.

Though wolf populations have increased in Ukraine, wolves remain unprotected there and can be hunted year-round by permit-holders.

Since the fall of the Soviet Union, wolf hunting in Kazakhstan has decreased in profit. About 2,000 are killed yearly for a $40 bounty, though the animal’s numbers have risen sharply.

In Russia, government backed wolf exterminations have been largely discontinued since the fall of the Soviet Union. As a result, their numbers have stabilized somewhat, though they are still hunted legally. It is estimated that nearly 15,000 of Russia's wolves are killed annually for the fur trade and because of human conflict and persecution.

In 2006, the government of the People's Republic of China began plans to auction licences for foreigners to hunt wild animals, including wolves which are the only carnivores on the list of animals that can be hunted. The licence to shoot a wolf can apparently be acquired for $200.

Aerial hunting controversy

Aerial hunting is the main reason that some people are fighting to put a ban on wolf hunting. Many people of Alaska see it as inhumane and barbaric slaughter of the wolves, and want it to stop. Since 2003, when aerial hunting first became legal, more than 550 wolves were killed. Just in 2006, there were more than 150 wolves killed. Many other Alaskans view this as the only practical mechanism to allow ungulates to rebound in areas where their populations are depressed. While many wolves have been taken in these control programs since the early 1970's, Alaska wolf numbers are not diminished throughout their historic range in the state.

For

Alaskans largely view wolf hunting as predator control, necessary to build and maintain moose and caribou. Many Alaskan residents rely on moose and caribou for all or most of their meat. Ground trapping is not normally able to reduce wolf numbers sufficiently to allow prey populations to increase because of the vast areas involved and limited access. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game operates predator control programs "when the Board (Alaska Board of Game) determines that people need more moose and/or caribou in a particular area, and restrictions on hunting aren't enough to allow prey populations to increase".

Against

There are many people who are trying to put a stop to the aerial shootings of wolves. One such group is called The Defenders of Wildlife, which produced a mini-documentary on aerial hunting of wolves in Alaska. This group is based in Washington D.C. They are teaming up with the Anchorage Wildlife Alliance in a lawsuit against aerial hunting. Another group helping to put a stop to the aerial hunting’s is the called Alaskans for Wildlife. They have put many petitions into circulation in Alaska to try and put a stop to aerial hunting.

See also

• Beast of Gévaudan, a famous episode of wolf-hunting
• Luparii, medieval wolf-hunters
• Wolfcatcher Royal, which evolved from the luparii
• Hunting of Jean-Baptiste, a notable wolf-hunt from 1780
• List of fatal wolf attacks, some of which have spurred hunts

References

• A case history of wolf-human encounters in Alaska and Canada. McNay, M. E. Alaska Department of Fish and Game, 2002.
• BBC News: Wolf Cull
• Opposing Wolf Hunting
• Spain's Wolf Hunts
• Case Study: Wolf Habituation as a Conservation Conundrum
• Anchorage Daily News
• Alaska's News Source
• P.A.W.S.: Prevent Another Wolf Slaughter
• Aerial Wolf Hunting Flies Again
• The Alaska Wildlife Alliance