The small wolf I call the “native Idaho wolf” started showing up in 1976 after the 1080 poisoning program was halted. About the same year I saw the first set of wolf tracks on the North Fork river road. Bear hunters started seeing a pair of wolves in the late 70s in upper Kelly Creek. In the 1980s wolf sighting increased with wolves being seen near Woodland, around Pierce, Weippe and in the back country. Most sightings were singles or pairs.
A local hound hunter reported a pack of wolves (1980s) near Smith Ridge. I witnessed them howling in 1992. A grey and black wolf pair was seen by many folks around Weippe in the fields in the late 80s. I was able to video the black wolf on the Weippe Prairie hunting mice. Much of this information gathered on sightings and documented wolf tracks was shared with the Federal Fish and Wildlife and the Idaho Department of Fish and Game. The wolf video was also sent to the Federal Fish and Wildlife. The smaller “Idaho wolf” was not creating a problem with the public, wildlife or domestic stock.
After the wolf introduction program was implemented a federal wolf biologist told me that there is no difference in sizes of wolves, all are Canis lupus species. However the rule of body size is “further north, the bigger the body” of animals such as the Alaska moose compared to the Idaho moose. Same for wolves: the re-introduced red wolf and the Mexican wolf are much smaller than the “Idaho native wolf” which in turn is smaller than the Alberta “buffalo wolf”. It is a matter of a larger body mass retaining more heat in a colder climate.
So we had documented wolves and breeding pairs, why was the non-native “non-essential” much larger pack wolf introduced? What went wrong? What were the Governor and the Direction of the Fish and Game thinking about? Now we have a problem. Personally I liked the small Idaho timber wolf and enjoyed seeing the black wolf hunt mice near my ranch. Since 2000 the Lolo Creek “buffalo wolf” pack has made regular visits to my ranch and leave their tape worm Echinococcus granulosus infested droppings topped with whitetail deer rump hair along the driveway. The latest visit was a month ago at 10 am, fifteen feet from the front door. His track measured 5 ½ inches by 6½ inches. Meeting this large predator at the front door close-up is a fearsome and a chilling experience. I have faced a charging grizzly bear in Alaska, and I can tell you that when the yellow eyes of a 100 pound plus wolf stare at you from a few feet away, it is like facing a charging bear; maybe worse, a bear doesn’t look you in the eye.
Another change from the “Idaho Wolf” is the sightings are frequently wolf packs of eight to 12 wolves especially along the Lolo Motor Road where dried wolf scat can be seen in abundance. Perhaps four-wheeling could be hazardous by inhaling airborne tapeworm spores? I wish some folks in the city that are much kinder to this large predator could experience them as we country folks do. I am sure that they would love their children, dogs, horses, cats (cows, sheep, goats and chickens) the same as us.
