# do we have wolves in our area?



## prairie ogre (Oct 21, 2012)

Long story short, we had a young hen that went broody out in the weeds not far from the house. We couldnt keep her in, she wanted to go sit those eggs. 3-4 days after she started sitting something got her. the wife and I were still in bed, but distinctly heard a big dog barking, just a couple of barks, nothing too dramatic. Deep voice, etc, not a toy poodle as an example, but a big dog. We have lots of coyotes and bobkats in the area, and im 110% sure it werent one of them. 

We live out in the sticks, 18 miles from town. Our nearest neighbor is a couple of miles away. We know everyone within 10 miles or so of here and NOBODY has a big dog that runs loose, and NOBODY has seen any stray dogs round. We all (the neighbors and us) are outdoor sorts, running/feeding cattle, sprinkler irrigating, farming etc, so we all get out and see the country everyday. Stray dogs dont generally make a habit out of hiding themselves in my experiance, and weve shot a few packs over the years.

Also the neighbor lady says her cattle have been going nuts for about a month or so right before the sun comes up, this being penned and fed herd of angus crosses brought to the house for winter. She hasnt seen this in them before.

The f'ing dnr in this state is notorious for tagging problem critters and bringing them into our area. They dont admit to it until there is a dead 'problem child' w collar and transmitter laying smashed on the side of the road.

Area is SE Colorado, close to the ks border, and also some national grasslands..........

What da ya think folks?

:shrug:


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## arcticow (Oct 8, 2006)

The way the cattle are acting sounds more like a mt. lion than a wolf... wolves can bark, but mostly growl, whine or yip. Heard more coyotes bark while in AK than I did wolves...


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## Micheal (Jan 28, 2009)

Don't even know if'n Id tie the 3 things together....
As to the hen anything from a cat to a canine to something that flies could have done her in. 
You hearing a dog bark? Just cause you haven't seen a dog running loose doesn't mean there wasn't one.
As to the cattle, I've had them spook over a skunk, fox, and even a turtle. Although something larger could be just as much of a blame...... And if'n they have been this way for about a month I'd be looking more for something who's travel range is small and that would rule out a wolf.....

In turn you could be right........ maybe a wolf ???


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## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

According to FWS yes, wolves are in that general area:
http://ecos.fws.gov/speciesProfile/profile/speciesProfile.action?spcode=A00D

ETA; just because you haven't seen a loose dog doesn't mean there isn't one. Had one here a couple years back that wandered all over the area for months before someone finally caught it. Right now it lives next door and stays home only as long as the electric fence is on. Nice dog though, probably a drop-off. He was even neutered and house broken. New owners love him dearly.


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## Lilith (Dec 29, 2012)

I've been around wolves in the wild since the late 90's. 
1. Wolves don't normally stake out an area for more than 4 or 5 days, so the month long cattle issue doesn't match. I have also seen wolves pass an entire heard of cattle without the cows ever knowing it was there. The only time the cows knew wolves were there, something died.
2. Wolves easily take down Elk and other large game in the wild .... with penned cows nearby, why would they bother with your chicken? 
3. Adult Wolves don't bark like other canines. They growl, howl, yip, kyayh, and when they do bark, it sounds more like a short cut off air raid siren in an extremely low tone than a bark. Barks are used primarily for warning other pack members that they are being approached by intruders, or as an aggressive warning to other wolves that they are not welcome. 
4. With a lack of numerous or large animal kills (other than a single chicken) I doubt you have a wolf problem. 

Other Animals that would fit the bill are Coyotes, foxes, large cats, and feral dogs. You can also include the possibility of skunks, badgers, and feral house cats. It is most likely that you have several culprits of varied species. Med to large live traps baited with dry cat food should rule out the feral cats, skunks, young badgers, and foxes. Foot traps and head snares would be better suited for capturing the larger potential animals. If you are worried about being humane, I would stay away from the head snares, animals caught in a head snare tend to dehydrate quickly and are very stressed, usually resulting in death for the animal over a 12 hour period.


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