Campus Dakota

The Union => The Water Cooler => Topic started by: Admiral Ackbar on March 06, 2011, 01:21:54 PM

Title: This is cool, someone shot a gray wolf near Hillsboro, ND!
Post by: Admiral Ackbar on March 06, 2011, 01:21:54 PM
Shooting the wolf wasn't so cool, but it's interesting how close we can be to some animals and never know they're around.

http://www.grandforksherald.com/event/article/id/195753/
Title: Re: This is cool, someone shot a gray wolf near Hillsboro, ND!
Post by: pmp6nl on March 07, 2011, 06:46:19 PM
Interesting.  You never really think about the types of animals that could be lurking around.

Now im not a hunter or anything, but couldn't you tell the difference?  The article states during a recent tournament the biggest coyote was 33 pounds and female gray wolves typically weigh from 50 to 85 pounds.  Thats a pretty decent difference.
Title: Re: This is cool, someone shot a gray wolf near Hillsboro, ND!
Post by: gh on March 07, 2011, 07:08:28 PM
Wow, that is interesting. I do think that hunters should be able to distinguish the wolf and coyote, so I found this picture from the Michigan DNR (http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,1607,7-153-10363_10880_10996-31682--,00.html). It definitely seems like with the height and length alone, you'd be able to tell them apart because the gray wolf is so much larger! At least the hunter was honest and called up the game warden after realizing his mistake, so hopefully if charges are pressed, they will take that into consideration. There probably would have been a lot of people that would have left the wolf laying where it was shot and not reported it after they realized their mistake.

Identifying Wolves and Coyotes
  Hunters should know the difference between the gray wolf and the coyote.
 
  GRAY WOLF (Canis lupus)   
(http://www.michigan.gov/images/wolf_silhouette_26392_7.gif) (http://www.michigan.gov/images/wolf_pawsize_26394_7.gif)
   
Height: 30" average
Length: 4.5 feet to 6.5 feet
Weight: 50 to 100 pounds
 
 
 COYOTE (Canis latrans)
   
(http://www.michigan.gov/images/coyote_silhouette_26395_7.gif) (http://www.michigan.gov/images/coyote_pawsize_26396_7.gif)
 
   
Height: 18" maximum
Length: 3 feet
Weight: 25 to 45 pounds