King’s Outdoor World Blog

70 Comments Add your own

• 1. doug  |  March 6th, 2006 at 3:17 pm

  Wow..clearly that is a wolf. Im suprised that genetic testing is not a 100% accurate on determining species (third paragraph)..makes no sense..

  Makes me question criminal convictions based on DNA.

• 2. Matt True  |  March 7th, 2006 at 11:24 am

  I think I know why that wolf is in Colorado. He’s obviously not the smartest wolf and has been chasing his shadow ( which clearly he thinks is a swan or goose ) from Yellowstone National Park.

• 3. Bob  |  March 9th, 2006 at 6:53 pm

  Tracks do not match its direction of travel either.

• 4. Mike in Idaho  |  March 23rd, 2006 at 1:37 pm

  Actual video of wolf sighting.
  http://wildlife.state.co.us/NR/rdonlyres/E1327F6D-3039-4857-B4E9-500426E62610/0/ProbableWolfSighting.wmv

• 5. Shannon Foster  |  March 29th, 2006 at 3:11 am

  Wow, Doug that is quite an intelligent and forward way of looking at the future of western wilderness. So glad that there are even more americans like you and Matt still out there. Not that I ever doubted there were. Cannot imagine your line of work. One day nature will prove you so very wrong.

• 6. justin  |  September 28th, 2006 at 12:59 pm

  i live just a little wase from walden colorado in a town called craig and yes there are wolves around us many many sheep hearders have complained of the wolves eating their sheep. and yes i have seen wolves around my house not very often but yes i do. but im also not sayn that picture is real. because it is a horrible copy and paste picture that a three year old could have done better at. but there are wolves in colorado rabbit ears pass has many and i have seen a few on the pass

• 7. Renee  |  November 1st, 2006 at 11:59 am

  the pic is clearly taken from the video, like stated. The shadow looks weird because its a little bump of snow. The tracts are from another time, just watch the video.

• 8. Jessica  |  January 5th, 2007 at 11:45 am

  I saw two wolves, both had tracking collars on, just south of Laramie WY, right off Hwy 287.

• 9. shane  |  January 8th, 2007 at 11:18 am

  that is definately a wolf. i have seen some just like that up here! maybe they will all migrate down there. then we can have some peace up here. NW Wyo. that is!

• 10. jole  |  January 9th, 2007 at 6:04 pm

  I live near Soda Springs, Idaho and about 3 weeks ago we spotted a pack of wolves right behind my house. There were 5 gray wolves and 1 black wolf. We need to do something about this problem before it really gets out of hand!!!

• 11. lester  |  February 3rd, 2007 at 11:52 pm

  i live in laramie and im always hunting coyotes down south of laramie on the wyo colo border and ive never seen them

• 12. jesse  |  February 14th, 2007 at 9:53 pm

  wow…you all need to respect all of god’s creations and let things live in balance with us on the earth. Educate yourself on ecosytems. Also, ask yourself why do I enjoy killing predators or get of on killings other animals for ’sport”? Perhaps alot of people on this site need so psyhcological help. Go to taco bell and get a burrito with beef and enjoy lovestock provided for you instead.

  Men who hunt for only thrill are cowards!!!!!!

• 13. joana duron  |  March 1st, 2007 at 3:25 pm

  I NEED MORE INFO

• 14. martin  |  April 3rd, 2007 at 1:58 pm

  wow lot of emotion here I agree we do need to find a happy middle ground betwent the wolf and us but we also need more information on it before we start casting any stones on who is right or wrong

• 15. jamie  |  April 16th, 2007 at 12:06 pm

  the comment made about someone seeing a pack of wolves right behind their house…and needing to do something about this before it gets out of hand….The only thing that is getting out of hand is ignornat people like you who look at a pack of wolves and think/assume that they are going to atatch you, or that they are going to do something bad. People really need to educate themselves about these wonderful creatures…they are not blood sucking killers…and if they did spot you they would most likely run away because they are so shy by nature. Wolves do not see humans as food; and if you actually were lucky enough to get close enough to see them….tne you should consider yourself honored. Please just try to learn somehting about these sweet beautiful animals!!!!!

• 16. Laura  |  April 20th, 2007 at 5:17 pm

  Sweet and beautiful sure … Only to each other Jamie, and even then only when they aren’t feeling territorial.
  Jan 07 had a pack in NM killing a horse in its corral. Nov 05 had a pack killing a young man in Canada.

  But yeah, I am sure that a wolf won’t atatch me. However, two of my kids have been accosted horseback by agressive wolves.

  There have been some serious habituation problems in the SW. Mostly because the reality of this animals behavior has been covered up. Believe me they are not bambilike at all and having a pack behind your house staking out territory is a bad sign.

  It is great that people love animals but to have so little respect for them is frightening to me and it costs others who have to live with them.

• 17. Wolf Crossing » Blo&hellip  |  April 20th, 2007 at 5:22 pm

  […] wolf sighting in Colorado with photo’s and video links. […]

• 18. tyler  |  April 21st, 2007 at 7:16 pm

  yes i think wolves live in colorado cause in rocky mtn ntl park i saw a few and i new they were wolves

• 19. elkilnfool  |  May 17th, 2007 at 6:49 pm

  I do beleive that hunting any big game animal with a bow takes a great deal of courage especially bear. cowards need not apply.
  As for the wolf we do coexist already ,we do not hunt in there park therefore they should not hunt in mine. As for all you tree huggin hippie ****************** you should go back to star bucks and let us westerners handle are own states laws dealing with the animals that we live amongst. We are not blood sucking predators we just dont need anymore INFORMATION.

• 20. E-ID-Hntr  |  June 14th, 2007 at 10:12 am

  Enjoy the comment from elkilnfool and Laura, the wolves are here and we have no choice thanks to the feds……but as a rancher I will protect by cattle, and YES I will shoot a wolf or wolves that kill my livestock, from being around them they do KILL to KILL, of the 5 calves they have killed so far this year, only 2 were consumed…so don’t tell me they are good to have around.
  We have always had them here in Idaho, but now we have way too MANY of them.

• 21. knyghtwolf  |  July 8th, 2007 at 10:36 am

  I have come across a wolf pack as a child, I was 14 years old & they did nothing to me. They were eating a deer carcass. WE are not the deciders of their fate like we think we are. WE have encroached THEIR domain, not the other way around. WE hunt and kill their sources of food for our own personal enjoyment. WE have left them with no choice but to eat the domesticated animals ranchers tend, IN THEIR TERRITORIES. Too many people believe in the Manifest Destiny crap and we are NOT rulers of the earth nor do we have dominion over it, we suffer from ILLUSIONARY DOMINION. They hunt and kill the sick, deformed & old, not like us who feels we need to keep the sick, deformed, and elderly alive for some antiquated religious cause & keep the profit margins up in the pharmacutical development. I have studied both wolves and humans for over 35 years now and I find that WE are the ones causing problems in our environment, not the other way around.

• 22. matt  |  July 14th, 2007 at 1:06 pm

  sorry i dident put any thought on how to help wolves huntings right huntings wrong this is what i think. wolves need an enviroment right. So lets give em one they need a wooded place with enormous space with plenty of water and prey like deer and mouse so they can live! then we need to introduce wolves so they can form packs not to many because if two wolf packs meet they could fight and lose terrotorry! thats bad becaus then they could not hunt sleep or hide to raise there own cubs and there could definatly be over population. Then they need to be far away from people! live stock too the only reason wolves kill live stock is because there is no prey there needs to be natural prey for wolves if wolves do come near then dont shoot your gun and kill em they cant learn then can they shoot your gun in air so the noiise frightens them then they will keep away. If this does not work then there is no prey or little space for wolves to live or overpopulation in whitch case some must die but in a humane way no guns. most of the time wolves come close to farms and ranches or whatever is couse they needs more space in most cases wolves travel very very long distances to find prey and then bam there in your farm its not there fault.

• 23. THe smarter guy  |  July 21st, 2007 at 8:26 pm

  to the guy below, looks can be decieving. also, as there are numerous wolf/coyote hybrids running around the wilderness, gentic testing can only be so accurate as alaskan malamutes and siberian huskys have DNA nearly identical to that of wolves. hybridization cuold lead to an animal that looks exactly like a wolf, but is only half wolf.

• 24. Brian  |  July 23rd, 2007 at 9:56 pm

  7/21/07 - Bockman Campground Michigan Reservoir Noth Park outside Walden, CO - Woke up in the night to a deep howling sound, not dogs or coyote (have dogs, live around Coyotes) suspect it was a wolf. Any others see/hear such recentlty in this area?

• 25. steph  |  August 19th, 2007 at 8:51 pm

  hunting is wrong people need to learn to stop thats what is causing these problems in animal populations if a wolf or wolves comes close to your live stock try to get a recording of them howling and making other noises then mix the sounds up creating new sounds then play as loud as you can when they come again they will think there is already a pack of wolves around the place and they will back away from the place trust me this WILL work it has been proven if you play them loud enough

• 26. Char Harvey  |  October 6th, 2007 at 9:01 am

  If you had everl lived with a wolf and seen the love, I don’t believe anyone with a concious could kill them. They are THE definition of unconditional, lifetime love. What’s wrong with you people? Are they not supposed to eat when they’re hungry? Would you not kill to eat if you were starving? WAKE UP and RESPECT LIFE!

• 27. Ravenspeak  |  October 8th, 2007 at 11:26 pm

  To E-ID-Hntr -

  Wolves do not kill to kill. That would be a waste of energy. For non-human animals hunting is a matter of life and death. They do not always know when they can secure their next meal. Only we have the luxury of grocery stores. What likely happened, is that you disturbed the carcass. Plain and simple. Wolves are wary creatures, and for good reason. They cannot always consume prey in one sitting, but will return to the meat over the course of days or weeks - depending. AS LONG AS the site is left in peace. This is efficient and also feeds hungry scavengers, allowing for a balanced ecosystem.

• 28. Gabe  |  November 5th, 2007 at 8:36 pm

  What most people don’t realize is that wolves are not just bloodthirsty killers and will attack anything on sight. True they are carnivores, but they must hunt to survive. Attacks on humans are so rare that they say you’ve got a better chance of having a piano fall on you’re head or being struck by lightning. There had used to be over 2 million wolves throughout the world and a the largest range of any other animal besides humans. today only a small 200,000 exist throughout the entire world. That’s 1.8 million wolves that were killed for an incredibly inane reason. “They were bothersome.” Geez, if i thought Los Angeles people were bothersome and i killed most of their population would that be right? No, it wouldn’t. Look, I’m not saying that wolves are perfect being but they are better than we are, and people need to stop looking at them as pests and more as just another living creature god brought to this earth. Extinction is forever people, and we often wait till is to late to realize what we have done wrong. So give wolves a chance and treat them as the proud animals they truly are.

• 29. anonymous  |  November 23rd, 2007 at 12:33 am

  This is the world we live in. There are animals that can overtake us. There are animals tha we can overtake. Thats life. If we started building homes under the sea would we eliminate all sharks? If we built home high into the sky would we eliminate all birds of prey? It is so cliche to remind ourselves that heart disease, car crashes, disease etc kill more people a day than have ever been killed by wolves. We are of this earth, there was a time when we didn’t have guns, or solid walls but lived out in the elements with these animals and we survived to carry on our genes didn’t we? Well we have some almost inpenitrable protection now and why are we still so scared? There are problem bears and we deal with them and leave others to roam out forests, why not wolves. I will tell you an absolute fact, I would rather die by a wolf anyday than in a car crash, by a heart attack, or a terrible disease. And if you have to ask why well I will pray for you then.

• 30. Kele  |  November 27th, 2007 at 4:20 pm

  Does anyone have any wolf sightings in Colorado? if so, where and any details?

• 31. Tia  |  December 4th, 2007 at 10:54 pm

  I’ve seen them south of Denver-Lone Tree, by the golf course. 4 of them.

• 32. Sharan  |  December 9th, 2007 at 11:05 pm

  I live in northwest Arvada, Colorado and yesterday my husband saw a grey wolf at the end of our cul-de-sac. He said there was no way it was a coyote, they are usually mangy looking, this was beautiful. It was large and well filled out, maybe a wolf hybrid?
  Question? When they are in packs, do they yipe? We have heard a pack of something twice in the last month going thru the neighborhood. They are yipping like they are trapping something,

• 33. john  |  December 26th, 2007 at 1:50 pm

  Possible black wolf spotted in Rocky Mountain National Park. Its in the local news paper.

• 34. Troy  |  January 4th, 2008 at 2:57 pm

  Definately wolves in Northern Colorado. My family has had mountain property for over two decades and I am very familiar with the type of wild life in the Rocky Mountain National Park area. The property is 30-35 miles west of Fort Collins, CO and about 5 miles north of the edge of RMNP at about 8400 feet in elevation. I saw a wolf casing the house from about 50-75 yards out while I was cooking on the grill. It was very timid and disappeared everytime I went out on the deck to check the grill. Definately a wolf though…..not a mangy looking coyote. This animal had a full, very nice coat of fur. Reminded me of my friends dog that was part husky anad part wolf.

• 35. Lori  |  January 19th, 2008 at 7:42 pm

  We saw a wolf up on the Western Slope side of Rocky in October of 2006, pretty sure, I have been a supporter of “Mission Wolf” for a while now and have also been face to face with a coyote on Cnty Rd 1 in Boulder County, the difference is unmistakable and I have been teaching my soul mate the difference. He saw it first…sure did appear to be just that. He was in a meadow up by Grand Lake. God welcome the wolf to our area….will take care of alot of disease and bring us back to where we should be!!!!! (and I come from a very long line of farmers…..don’t want them here…but I do.}

• 36. vero  |  January 26th, 2008 at 7:42 pm

  all you have a problem. i bet you anything that all of those “attackes” were probabley by coyotes. the population of wolfs is at an all time low so think for a sec and realize how uneducated you are.

• 37. mad mat  |  January 29th, 2008 at 7:25 pm

  i am so excided that wolves might be comming here. & i dont under stand why every one is so scared of them i mean we already got moutin lions…

• 38. Jbird  |  February 4th, 2008 at 7:31 am

  I was out cross country skiing yesterday and surprised two wolves traveling together, I was so shocked! I had to come home to the internet to see if others had sightings in Colorado. Now I know I wasn’t seeing things! I was in awe. Still am!
  ji

• 39. Ron Dodson  |  February 6th, 2008 at 12:48 am

  There aren’t supposed to be but a couple wolves in Oregon, but we saw a pair in 1990.

• 40. Brian  |  February 6th, 2008 at 11:19 pm

  Anyone hear of Chronic Wasting Disease? Any elk hunters afraid of it? Before humans drove wolves deeper into the wilderness, herds of elk and deer were far less prone to these kinds of diseases, which show at least some possibility of infecting humans through ingesting the meat of an infected animal. Wolves, mountain lions, and bear are the only large predators on this continent, and of those, only wolves have the capacity to keep large herds of animals such as antelope, deer, elk, moose, and (long ago) buffalo healthy through culling of the weakest members. Humans don’t perform the same function — we take the healthiest, strongest-looking animals when we hunt, leaving in the herds the weakest members to pass on disease or less-fit traits within the herd. We absolutely need wolves back to maintain the health of countless other large animals we have come to associate with the West.

• 41. Bill Smith  |  February 10th, 2008 at 8:45 pm

  The astonishing lack of understanding and tolerance by the general public is alarming. First of all, if people don’t want wild animals around, why would they live in a rural area? It is almost childish to think that a few wolves would really be any threat to humans. Let them live and do what nature intended them to do. I would be more concerned with protecting my family from criminals like child predetors and coorporate CEOs that steal from pension funds. Wolves are an important part of the cycles and balance of nature. The problem in this country is Urban sprawl and irresponsible land developement. We need to have more land for wild animals. Sometimes I feel the people of this country are dead set on destoying the natural world. By saving the wolf (all wildlife) we can set man kind on a path to saving the environment and saving mankind in the long run. We must realize the resources of this planet are finite. We, people, are our own worst ememy. God’s creatures are not our ememies. Grow up people.

• 42. Sherry Allen  |  February 14th, 2008 at 3:08 pm

  Why is it that city people think wolves are gods and country people don’t? Could it be there are wolves in the country and not in the city? Personally, I think city people should worry about the pollution they’re causing and the land they’re destroying (50,000 acres were paved in Colorado last year for roads, parking lots, and driveways) and let the country people manage the environmental situations in their area. Why can’t we turn wolves loose in City Park? Golf courses? Playgrounds? After all those precious little wolfies wouldn’t hurt a soul, would they?

• 43. Bill Smith  |  February 14th, 2008 at 6:32 pm

  There goes a real rural person (not). I guess number 42 from February 14th is severly threatened by the hordes of wolves in her neck of the woods. Those wolves are going to destroy our economy and kill the live stock and murder all the children. Forget it, lets just destroy the whole species. Shoot them all. Kill, kill, kill. She hates the city folk but doesn’t like nature either. She wants to live in the country side but only wants to see animals that are convenient to her. Tolerance please. I guess we need to have tolerance for sherry also. I can really pick Sherry apart, but I won’t.

• 44. Art  |  February 15th, 2008 at 3:36 pm

  Hey Bill #43,
  Sherry #42 makes a very good point. Yet, your interpretation of her statement is rediculous. She talks management you convert that to kill, kill, kill. REDICULOUS! She states that if City folk are concerned about nature they should start in there own neighborhood(something they should know about) and let country folk take care of the concerns in their backyard(something they know about). You convert that to she hates city people. REDICULOUS!
  What I don’t have tolerance for is people(like you Bill) that think they know something about an issue they have no experience with what so ever. Venture beyond the Starbucks once in a while and come back to reality whenever you’re ready.

• 45. Cat  |  February 15th, 2008 at 9:31 pm

  Another wolf sighting was reported recently. Nothing has been said for the past month though. I think wolves are beautiful creatures that deserve a second chance at living in a world that WE came into. We effected their habitat and we need to make amends for our negative actions. I personaly want to work on a wolf project like the Dutchers. They lived with wolves for seven years, in the Saetooth mountains. Their movie from discovery Channel is called, ‘Living With Wolves.’

• 46. Stags  |  February 16th, 2008 at 4:38 am

  I am from Northern Wis. Now for the past 3yrs. wolves have been on the rise here. They are cool animals, but I do belive in hurd control, It is something the feds. need to look at. It is getting out of hand. 1 adult wolf will eat up to 20 deer a yr. I not from a big city nor is there a really big city that is close. The problem is that they just keep multielying. I just think it is time to start giveing some tags out and get a handle on this growing ever so rappidly issue.

• 47. Bill Smith  |  February 16th, 2008 at 10:31 am

  Guys, it would take too long to write an argument with examples, scientific facts etc.. explaining to you the necessity of all animal species and of conservation. Let me just say that conservation is just as important to the survival of the human race as it is to other forms of life on the Earth. Sherry makes a good point about road building which actually speaks to my point about Urban sprawl (over developement) the building of too much or poorly conceived infrastructure in this counrty (especially when the existing infrastructure is in need of maintanance). These are failing economic policies that are destroying, for example, wolf habitat. Sherry is also correct in saying that people unfamiliar with wildlife should not dictate how to live with wildlife. Sherry is correct in saying Wolves are not pets. They should be respected as wild animals that can be dangerous. However, last I heard most people are smarter than wolves and I think we can figure out a way to live with them if we try just a little. However, wolves need open space. Therefore, it is needless and unfair for humans to build a home, for example, in the woods and then complain that there are too many of God’s creatures walking through their back yard. These are not the frontier days when people can move to rural areas and simply exhaust the resources of the area and then depend on there being millions of more acres of land to exploit for further use. Space and resources are limited. We live in the country side and look out our window and see open space, however, in the grand scheme of things the open space that is left is barely enough to sustain the human population on this planet. We have struggles in our lives and we love to blame other entities. So, many peolpe will blame the government, nature, the city people, (or the city people blaming the rural people)… Let us not take it out on the wolf either. Bottom line is that the wolf needs room to live. People do not have the moral right to NOT allow other animals to exist as a species. Biodiversity is the key to life on the planet. In the long run this will help not hurt people. By the way, I live in the country side not the city or suburbia.

• 48. Bill Smith  |  February 16th, 2008 at 11:05 am

  Also, for the record, I am a hunter and outdoors man. However, I hunt without baiting and I don’t hunt animals that are not numerous.
  I hunt with a bow or standard shot gun. Not with semi automatic weapons. I don’t need to kill an animal to feel I have had a successful hunt. I will usually bag a deer once every couple of years. I am not one of those people who don’t believe in hunting or fishing but will eat meat or fish.

• 49. jake  |  February 17th, 2008 at 12:39 am

  The pic at the top of this page makes me think that it is made up ans it is pasted like a three year old did it like some one said. If you click on the link and watch the movie of it, it looks real. Also if you pause it at 21 sec the so called wolf crosses over a shadow to make the goose shadow and the tracks were already there. I think that it is cool that the wolves might make a come back to co..
  I am a hunter and rancher and love the outdoors. It is my job to keep my animals safe and if they get eaten then thats to bad for me. Also I do not think the wolves will impact the live stock in my life time

• 50. werewulf  |  February 17th, 2008 at 9:35 pm

  Okay people, JEEZZ
  Get a grip. It makes me angry just to read this and hear a bunch of bickering. Most, not all, have good points. Think of it this way… If you were in the wolves’ position, what would be going through your head? SURVIVAL. That’s the natural state of anything that wants to live. I’m pretty sure that every human being on this forsaken planet wants that for sure. Sure, there are those who like hunting and gaming. My grandfather does that. But, he hunts for food. Yeah. Big deal. People wolves are something that we have to accept on this planet. We invaded their territory, we took their food, we take their lives. They are just trying to live like us. When you put livestock out in the fields, what are they supposed to do, ignore their empty stomachs? Or their cubs back home? You can call me a tree loving-hippie if you want, but i have meet a wolf, i’ve seen and heard plenty enough to defend them. Tolerance is needed. I’m pretty sure that they are tolerating us now. Would you tolerate yourself if you were in the wolves position?

• 51. werewulf  |  February 17th, 2008 at 9:40 pm

  OH and might I add that the Native American people lived with them. Why can’t we?

• 52. Hillbilly Al Canada  |  February 18th, 2008 at 8:23 pm

  Born in a small town , and going out to the wilds every year to hunt and fish. I,ve only seen wolfs twice . Once was hunting with a buddy,we had just drove out a side logging to a clearing. My buddy said look theres a wolf ,when I looked across a clearing there he was ,Ithougt it was cool to see it .My hunting buddy said stop as he wanted to shoot it ,I said no , one thing you need a tag ,which costs $50.00 non B.C. reident, as he was from up north were they shoot wolfs every year he tells me.So we watched the wolf run off. I think it was a good thing if I told my wife we shot a wolf ,I would never hear the end of it .As we have a husky, Wolf ,Germany sheperd dog at home , which has been a great bush dog.Always been a good wolf dog ,with kids never biten anyone . The other time I seen a wolf was a few miles from were I saw the first one . I was camping with family,and got up at six in the morning and looked out my camper window and saw a big black wolf . She looked like a female ,as soon as iI opened the door , she run fast away. I was gald because I didn’t want my dog to see her go after her as he is a male dog.

• 53. TJ  |  April 13th, 2008 at 8:22 pm

  It has been widely discussed whether a healthy wild wolf has ever attacked a human on this continent. In fact, many say such attacks have never occurred in North America. Well, 70 years is a long time and people forget, time heals all wounds etc etc….
  History states otherwise. Although attacks on humans are uncommon, they have occurred on this continent, both in the early years of settlement and more recently.

  http://www.aws.vcn.com/wolf_attacks_on_humans.html

  http://blog.kingsoutdoorworld.com/2006/09/13/six-people-injured-by-wolf-attack/

  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ID1CNsdw4NA

  http://www.wildsentry.org/WolfAttack.html

  Wolves must be managed, just like any other predator or game animal. In fact, more so. The only predator the wolf has, is human. This can be achieved only two ways. By allowing seasonal hunting and for ranchers to proactively defend thier livestock.

  In a pack, wolves fear nothing.

  The think otherwise is to be naive.

  Besides, this is a young country with much less history of co-habitation with the wolf.
  Europe

  In Scotland, during the reign of James VI, wolves were considered such a threat to travellers that special houses called “spittals” were erected on the highways for protection.[1] The people of the Scottish Highlands used to bury their dead on offshore islands to avoid having the bodies eaten by wolves.[2] In Imperial Russia 1890, a document was produced stating that 161 people had been killed by wolves in 1871.[1] During the First World War, starving wolves had amassed in great numbers in Kovno and began attacking Imperial Russian and Imperial German fighting forces, causing the two fighting armies to form a temporary truce to fight off the animals.[3]

  A hypothesis as to why wolves in Eurasia act more aggressively toward humans than those in North America is that in the past, Old World wolf hunting was mostly an activity for the nobility, whereas American wolf hunts were partaken by ordinary citizens, nearly all of them possessing firearms. This difference could have caused American wolves to be more fearful of humans, making them less willing to venture into settled areas.[4]

  Nevertheless, with the exception of one attack on a French shepherd in 2001,[5] modern Western Europe has had very few attacks and no recent fatalities. “Lupus,” a German group of wildlife biologists says it has documented 250 encounters between people and wolves in the Lusatia region and there were no problems in any of the cases.[6]

  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fatal_wolf_attacks

  North America

  Though most Native American tribes revered wolves, their oral history does confirm that they were in fact on occasion attacked by wolves long before the arrival of European settlers. Woodland Indians were usually the most at risk, as they would often encounter wolves suddenly and at close quarters. An old Nunamiut hunter once said in an interview with author Barry Lopez that wolves used to attack his people, until the introduction of firearms, at which point the attacks ceased.[7]
  Reminds me of the old adage, “walk softly and carry a big stick”. A boomstick that is.

  Causes

  Habitat loss can cause the wolf’s natural prey to diminish and thus cause the local wolves to turn to attacking livestock or on some rare occasions, even people. Close proximity to humans may also cause habituation. In this case, wolves lose their fear of humans and consequently approach too close. Habituation usually happens when people encourage wolves to come up to them, usually by offering them food, or when people do not sufficiently intimidate wolves. Habituation can also occur accidentally. With unrestricted hunting, forest clearing and intensive livestock grazing there is little natural prey, therefore forcing the wolves to feed on domestic animals and garbage, thus bringing them in close proximity to humans. However, wild wolves are often timid around humans, and usually try to avoid contact with them, to the point of even abandoning their kills when an approaching human is detected.[15]

  From what I have read, human populations are only going to increase exponentially in the future. There will most definately be more habituation.
  Either control the number of wolves or the number of humans. It is that simple.

  Also, last summer while hiking the Western U.S. forests, I actually saw a posted recommendation, that if you were going to camp, to do so only in hard-shell, not a tent. Such as a camper or trailer etc….. I, for one, grew up with no wolves in the back country. Yes, they are beautiful, but so are Cougars, Wolverines and Bears.

  Fortunately and finally, the wolf is now de-listed in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming. The power to regulate now falls within each States jurisdiction.

  I for one, will continue to carry my 357Mag and my 45-70 to alleviate any and all such threats when I travel the back country of our lands.

  And bill S.2616 best pass or I will never get to see Yellowstone.
  http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/thomas

• 54. Mal Shepard  |  April 14th, 2008 at 11:49 pm

  “Although (wolf) attacks on humans are uncommon, they have occurred on this continent, both in the early years of settlement and more recently.”

  TJ, you should realize that many local newspapers in the 19th centrury were in the habit of printing sensationalistic fictional stories for entertainment value. For example, there were many stories of bigfoot encounters from that era that nobody takes seriously because of the known sensationalism and dishonesty of papers from that time period.

  The fact is that there has been only one probable wolf-caused death in North America (and even that case isn’t completely conclusive). Now, contrast that with the 19 documented cases of people who were killed by mountain lions in North America since 1890. Or the more than 52 documented human fatalities caused by black bear attacks. Does it make sense to hate the wolf and call for its extermination, while at the same time accepting large populations of these other predators in our forests?

  Also consider that nearly 5 million people are attacked by domesticated dogs in the U.S. each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 26 people are killed each year by domesticated dogs and over 800,000 require serious medical attention.

  I have to laugh at the people who are afraid of wolves. How many of these people who claim that they are afraid of wolves even give a second thought to walking through their neighborhood? You are literally many millions of times more likely to be attacked by a dog in your own neighborhood than by a wolf in the wilderness. It is so laughably irrational. I can’t believe that anybody would use that as an excuse for why wolves must be exterminated or aggressively controled.

  I am also sick of some wolf-haters acting as if all rural people share their biased and irrational view of the wolf. I was born and raised in the White Mountains of Arizona very near the Mexican wolf recovery area. I hike and fish in the wolf inhabited country all the time. I am a rural person. I have talked to more people in this area who support the return of the wolf than those who oppose it. The vociferous anti-wolf crowd always try to paint the picture of them being the majority but it just isn’t true. Several independent polls have shown that a majority of people in the wolf recovery area are in favor of returning the wolf to our ecosystem.

  Whereas 80% of city residents might favor the restoration of the wolf, 50 or 60% percent of rural people might be in favor. So, it’s true that there are more people in rural areas that are opposed to the wolf but it isn’t because they know more about what they are talking about, as many of them like to believe. Quite the contrary, it has more to do with a certain ingrained cultural ignorance. You see, many of these people are intoxicated by the romance of the cowboy and visions of an untammed western frontier.

  Early ranchers, with the help of the federal government, killed off many predator species, and these modern day “cowboys” refuse to believe that the tradition which they cherish so much could possibly have made a mistake when they killed off species such as the wolf. Thus, they continue in their traditional hatred of the wolf, despite all the mountains of evidence that show the vital role that wolves play in a healthy ecosystem.

• 55. Hop  |  April 26th, 2008 at 2:40 pm

  I’m a Colorado kid through and through (well, an old kid now).

  1) I believe there are (some) wolves in Colorado, and it is political spin (hello, DOW) to state there are not.

  2) I believe wolves do target and attack livestock, and it is ignorant to claim they do not.

  3) I believe wolves can be dangerous to humans, and it is naive to think they can not.

  It’s too bad that it will always be the case that some people will make sensible thinking about certain ‘emotional’ issues an impossibility. ‘Animal rights’ is one such example. Progress cannot be made because people have made a religion out of saving animals (at any cost), rather than seeking a balanced approach. I think it validates a need they have for a sense of nobility. No responsible person would advocate wholesale slaughter of the wolves. Protection, however, is another matter entirely.

  I remember that Timothy Treadwell guy pleading the plight of the mistreated grizzly bears — until one ate him & his girlfriend. Let’s reason together, folks.

• 56. jody  |  May 1st, 2008 at 7:51 pm

  We came over Gore Pass (Colorado) today, May 1,2008.
  We saw what we initially thought was a coyote but on slowing down and really getting a look, 5 of us believe that is was a wolf. Too large and very full coat and thick neck. Dark in color.
  Have there been any sightings in this area?

• 57. jk  |  May 17th, 2008 at 2:36 pm

  I ran into a large wolf last wednesday hiking in the south san juans near the continental divide. i was so excited to see him first. then he saw me and scampered away. he seemed to be tracking me as i was doubling back through snow on a forest service road. his prints were near mine for 1/4 mile.

• 58. j nelson  |  July 19th, 2008 at 3:58 am

  I was backpacking on the Colorado Trail near Lake City, CO in 2005 when I looked up and saw what I would swear was a wolf run across the trail in front of me. It was large, dark in color with patches of lighter brown. I asked a couple of people in town if they thought there were wolves around, one said yes, one said no.

• 59. Jessica  |  August 27th, 2008 at 10:31 am

  Genetic testing isn’t accurate enough because wolves and dogs are so closely related. Canis Lupus (wolf) and Canis Lupus Familiaris (Domestic Dog) are technically considered to be of the same species (as of 1993) with dogs being a subspecies of the wolf. Therefore, they are nearly impossible to differentiate via DNA testing. This is why so many people with Wolf-Dogs get away with owning them in States where it may be illegal. It’s also the reason that “Hybrid” is actually an incorrect term for Wolf/Dog crosses, because “hybrid” implies the crossing of two different species.
  Could this be a wolf? Absolutely. Or it could be a Domestic Dog that looks remarkably like a wolf, or a Wolf-Dog mix. Behavior would be the main indicator here, along with the presence of other sightings.
  Personally, I hope it’s a wolf. We (as humans) seem to think that they should be contained within certain areas that we (humans) have designated for them. We tend to forget that they used to range across the ENTIRE country, and that humans lived among them for centuries before we decided to start wiping them out. Not only that but we WOULDN’T HAVE DOGS IF IT WEREN’T FOR WOLVES. Considering the Domestic Dog is directly related to them.
  While focusing on reporting sightings is important, education about the species in areas where they are reappearing is even more important. Simple understanding could save this beautiful creature’s life.

• 60. JO  |  October 27th, 2008 at 4:18 pm

  ON MY WAY TO WORK OCT 23 I SAW 2 WOLVES TROTTING,FOR LACK OF A BETTER WORD, ACROSS A FIELD THAT HAD MINIATURE DONKEYS GRAZING IN IT, I WAS TOTALLY SURPRISED, AND THRILLED TO THINK THAT WOLVES MIGHT BE IN OUR AREA. I LOVE AND RESPECT ALL WILDLIFE. I LIVE IN BELLVUE COLORADO ACROSS FROM A STATE PARK THAT BACKS UP TO NATIONAL FOREST. I’M PRETTY FAMILIAR WITH COYOTES BECAUSE WE HAVE LOTS IN OUR CANYON. WHAT DO YOU THINK?

• 61. Dan O'Donnell  |  January 26th, 2009 at 10:29 pm

  I saw what appeared to be a wolf crossing I-70 between Vail Pass and Eisenhower Tunnel on Saturday 1/24/09 around 4 am. It moved with unbelievable speed and strength crossing each side of the road in two bounds hitting the top of the concrete median and then climbing the mountain on the north side of the highway about 100 yards before stopping and looking back. Maybe he was being chased by a mountain lion?

• 62. C J Faust  |  February 9th, 2009 at 9:58 pm

  Tonight at about 8 P I saw what appeared to be a wolf on Mount Crested Butte. It was alone and standing near the ski resort base (just past Silver Queen lift). It sat quietly and watched me walk by but did not retreat. He was a large animal who looked healthy and well fed.

• 63. Lismana  |  April 26th, 2009 at 5:04 pm

  I saw a wolf yesterday 4.25.09, in the foothills of loveland colorado, he was travelling down a remote road and I whistled to him to get him to look at me, he turned and started walking towards me (in my jeep)he was also large and healthy looking probally around 150 lbs, thick brown and black fur and a big beautiful face with haunting eyes…I’ll never forget this experience

• 64. Michal  |  May 3rd, 2009 at 11:11 pm

  Well I am thrilled to hear of the recent sightings. I know there is a Private Mexican Wolf Recovery just out side of Salida, CO. I have been there and seen them. What beautiful animals no matter how dangerous they may be. I have a lot of respect for any wild animal. If it wasn’t for the wolves howling one night in alert I wouldn’t have been alerted to the black bear close by our camp. I knew they bears were around but in the middle night I heard the wolves in the distance(We were safe in a motorhome). There is a wolf place in West Yellowstone, Idaho has a place to observe wolves and Grizzlies. There is also one just south of Rapid City, SD and you can drive among them and the bears. I think that is called “Bear Country”. 2 places I recommend where you can be real close and it is NOT zoo like!

• 65. ka hiking  |  May 4th, 2009 at 8:30 am

  My dog and I took a long hike on a common trail around Dillon Lake in between Breck and Frisco yesterday (sunday, 5/3). I was about an hour from the trailhead head at about 5pm , had an eerie feeling and looked up to my rt and not even a 100ft away was a creamy colored huge wolf/coyote (i didn’t see any others), i kept walking to see if it was following and in continued to get closer and closer (in a stalking position). i started to yell and then my dog started barking and the wolf/coyote started to howl/cry (loud, piercing cries). I took off to the water and saw the wolf/coyote pacing on the trail behind me-howling and crying for another 15 min. Eventually, it retreated. The animal looked to be very large and skinny, the size of an 70-100 lb animal.

• 66. Trout Fisher  |  August 5th, 2009 at 10:34 pm

  While Trout fishing this past week on the Big Wood river in Idaho, north of Ketchum - Sun Valley, south of the Galena pass, I spotted and took pictures of a black wolf. It dawned on me that I had seen wolves several times while fishing out west. Last year in Yellowstone park in the northern section while fishing on the Lamar river we encountered a grey wolf standing on our path as we made our way back to our car.

  But surprisingly, I also saw a grey wolf on the Dolores river, north of Cortez near the town of Dolores, Colorado in 2006. My brother and I stoped along the side of the road to check out a potential fhishing spot, when to our surprise, standing on the bank of the river across the stream was a full bodied Grey Wolf.

  I have been an avid Trout Fisherman and small game hunter for over 35 years and have seen several “wild’ animals, including Black Bear, Grizzles, Moose, Elk, Buffalo and countless coyotes. The animal we saw in Colorado was unmistakenly a Grey wolf. There is no doubt in my mind.

  While others may not believe that a wolf would have migrated so far south in Colorado, so soon after being reintroduced into Yellowstone, I am absolutely convinced that the animal I spotted was a wol.

• 67. Mike  |  August 20th, 2009 at 3:16 pm

  Wolves have been sighted and heard for the last seven years, by myself and others in the sierra Madres in southern Wyoming. Just north of Colorado. The Wyoming game and fish has denied this until recently. (one of their people spotted one). These wolves are taking a toll on the deer and elk. Beware Colorado, they are heading your way.

• 68. will  |  August 30th, 2009 at 11:31 pm

  It’s really funny to listen to people argue about wolves. Let’s use common sense. If wolves do move into Colorado let’s manage them. When there populations get big enough let’s hunt em. It’ll be great sport just like coyote hunting. Did I mention I love predator hunting. Hey one more predator to hunt during the winter months would make my year. Hey Bill Smith I hunt with semi-automatics, single shots, recurves, long bows, bolt actions, crossbows, cedar arrows, and anything I can get my hands on. Hunting is the king of sports. The reality is GOD put the animals here for us to manage. We do a better job then mother nature could ever do. GOD gave animals instincts not mother nature. When prey animal numbers get low predators have smaller litters, and vice versa. No biologist will ever understand how this happens. I suspect their is a GOD and he designed these things to happen this way. Everything in nature was intelligently created by GOD. We are not intruders in this land. This land was given to us by GOD. Animals can live without man obviously. But GOD put them here for us to use ,and be entertained. Accept Jesus Christ into your heart and the same revelation as I do.

• 69. mike  |  September 21st, 2009 at 5:30 am

  I can’t say what anyone else has really seen or not. I personally have seen some pretty big coyotes that weren’t mangy looking at all. I watched one sit and clean himself in a clearing for about 5 minutes at a distance of 30 yards. I thought it was a wolf at first but it was a coyote. I know his general area and have seen him twice since. He was almost as big as a german shepard but definitely a coyote. I would say he weighs around 50 lbs but in the winter he looks bigger. Wolves and coyotes can look a lot alike. Especially on the run or if someone is all excited. I do agree though that they could be here. I doubt in LoneTree or western Arvada though. Not impossible but not likely. I would like to check these “wolves” out.

• 70. mike  |  September 21st, 2009 at 5:41 am

  Sorry for the double post.hehe It is possible that a few animals here and there leave thier normal ranges. There were several sightings of a Mountain lion in Louisville last summer and we get the occasional moose all the way down to Boulder.

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