By Kaitlyn Riley
Eau Claire (WQOW) – While very few of us will ever see them face-to-face, local wildlife experts say we are closer to wolves than you may think. Saturday, the Timber Wolf Information Network (TWIN) hosted a Timber Wolf Ecology workshop near Eau Claire.
They are the comeback species. The estimated statewide population of 660 wolves is high considering they were just extinct in Wisconsin in the 1970’s.
“There’s a lot of people that have no knowledge about wolves other than what they were raised with: little red riding hood, the three little pigs,” TWIN’s Dick Thiel said.
But their return has been nothing short of controversial, especially in the light of recent attacks on dogs.
“If there are dogs walking around in let’s say in the Clark County forest, let’s say a bear hound is loose out there, then that bear hound is in mortal danger,” UW-Eau Claire Biology Professor Chris Floyd said.
A problem Thiel said can be solved with a leash. “You’re the owner, you should be watching what your little puppy dog is doing, and you shouldn’t let it free range out there,” Thiel said.
But dog attacks aren’t the only concern. The Federal Government recently put Wisconsin wolves back on the endangered species list, preventing even livestock owners from killing wolves attacking their animals.
“Unless Wisconsin to manage its wolf population at a high enough level, the federal judges and the courts are going to continue to scrutinize wolf populations and the management of this,” Floyd said. “I think it’s better to keep them at a high level so we can maintain that population.”
He said most of us will never encounter a wolf, even though they may be back to stay.
“The great part of wolves, I think, is that they are an integral part of Wisconsin, a part of our past, and we have a chance to do something to rectify a mistake that was made a long time ago,” Floyd said.
He said there are three wolf packs less than an hour’s drive from Eau Claire. A hunting season for wolves was started in 2012 to manage the population but the government has put Wisconsin wolves back on the endangered species list.