Dogs killed by wolves hits record in northern Wisconsin
A recent surge in the number of dogs killed by wolves has the fish and wildlife service taking a second look at listing wolves as an endangered species. Jay Stephenson has more.
2006 marked the highest number Wisconsin has had in the number of dogs killed by wolves. 25 were killed compared to 17 in 2005.
A deadly attack on a Beagle in northern Wisconsin has further drawn attention to the issue. Though the Beagle mauling is the first in Wisconsin, wolf specialist Adrian Wydeven says hound dogs are more susceptible to attack than other dogs.
It seems to be mostly the hound type dogs that it occurs in, it doesnt happen to the bird hunting type dogs the Brittanys and English Setters and the Pointing dogs those dogs, we dont have attacks on those, its the various hound type dogs. Wydeven says most hunting dogs are attacked when humans are not near by.
In most cases the hunters are probably sometimes miles away and rarely do they actually observe the attack. They may get to the site right after the wolves have made the kill and scare the wolves off, but almost never do they see the beginning of the attack itself.
The recent attacks are a result of a growing wolf population. Wydeven says this is partly because wolves are an endangered species, which may change in the near future.
The fish and wildlife service has been planning for nearly a year now to de-list the wolf populations in our region – in the western great lakes region – and we expect that delisting to be finalized within the next couple of months. Wydeven says strange wolf behavior should be reported to the Department of Natural Resources or the Department of Agriculture.