wildbill
UKC Forum Member
Registered: Jun 2003
Location: cambridge,ohio
Posts: 4143 |
Re: 122# wolf killed in Ohio
quote:
Originally posted by Cheyenne
With all the phone texting and strange stuff that is sent has anyone heard of it? I guess it was killed south of Bellevue "north central Ohio". I guess it was confirmed by the ODNR. Wondered if anyone else got the story and pictures of it as well. And if there is any truth to it?
Article published March 19, 2010
Wolf shooting piques curiosity
Photo
Dusty Gore holds the head of a wolf he shot recently in Sandusky County near York School.
( SPECIAL TO THE BLADE/BRIAN BURY )
Zoom | Photo Reprints
From the you-just-never-know department comes a tale about a large wolf - yes, a wolf - shot this week in Sandusky County:
Dusty Gore of Bellevue and his wife, Tracy, were headed toward Fremont Monday on County Road 205, just south of U.S. 20 between Bellevue and Clyde.
Just about the time they were behind York School, which fronts on U.S. 20, "I spotted what I thought was a coyote in a field about 200 yards from the school," said the 28-year-old Gore. He wheeled around and headed home where he grabbed his varmint rifle.
To shorten the story a mite, Gore shot the beast and went to retrieve it on a three-wheeler. "I didn't realize it was a wolf when I shot. I thought it was an exceptionally large coyote."
Gore took it to Bellevue taxidermist Brian Weider, who in turn notified Brian Bury, state game protector in Sandusky County.
Bury confirmed that the animal indeed was a wolf. He said he has received at least a dozen calls about "a pack of wolves" and added this: "Two more got away. This was a large male, at least 100 pounds. They [the pack] have been covering about a 10-mile area the last few days.
Gore weighed the wolf on a grain scale and it hung between 120 and 140 pounds.
Free-ranging wolves are not found in the wild in Ohio these days, the species' wild breeding populations long ago having been eradicated. But some people keep wolves, or at least wolf-dog crosses.
The nearest known wild populations of wolves are in Michigan's upper peninsula - pegged at 584 in last winter's count. That is at least 350 miles or more from northwest Ohio - quite a ways even though wolves have been known to travel 470 miles, according to Michigan tagging studies.
"We're still trying to get some information on this animal," said Scott Butterworth, wildlife management supervisor for Ohio Wildlife District 2 at Findlay. After a look at several photos, he said, "my guess is that it's not a pure wolf.
"We have no reports of any wolves coming down from Michigan. More than likely it's one of those hybrid animals you can buy as a pet, and someone released it intentionally or it got away."
Butterworth noted Ohio has no rule that protects wolves, and no prohibition against shooting them. Because there are no known wild breeding populations of wolves here, the species is not on the official state game or wildlife lists.
As such wolves would fall into a gray area of being nonentities, much like any stray captive cougars that have been reported and which likely escaped or were dumped. Face it, owners of such potentially dangerous creatures - there are captive bobcats among others - likely are not going to come forward to claim the escapees, lest they become liable for any deaths or damages.
Any wolf observations should be directed to Wildlife District 2, 419-424-5000.
In Michigan, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment is continuing through the month its annual winter wolf survey. The MDNRE is particularly interested in any sighting from the northern lower peninsula. So far most reports have turned out to be dog tracks, though one set of tracks in Cheboygan County in the northeast lower peninsula may have promise, according to reports.
Michigan wolf reports can be posted online at michigan.gov/wolves. Wolves currently are federally protected in Michigan.
now that thing is big and ugly mean looking
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03-20-2010 01:55 PM
