Grey Wolves

[rtm]

I heard a local police officer who is a big trapper, trapped 3 Grey wolves during last years trapping season. Has anyone else heard of Grey wolves being found in northern Indiana or anywhere else in Indiana? I love to trap and i was just wondering, I have now heard rumors of both wolves and mt. lions, I believe both are endangered, but i think it is interesting that both species are showing up in Indiana.

 

[Vlad the Impaler]

I had a neighbor mistakenly think a coyote was a gray wolf, but it got me thinking about the reintroduction effort in northern MI and if they have made it down this far.
The maps are conflicting. One I looked up had them as far south as very northern Indiana, but another had them only in the western great lakes region and the MI UP:
USF&W

You can see that the "core population" (whatever that means) spreads across MI and around the tip of Lake Michigan.

I'm interested if anybody has some expertise here, helping me and the OP out.

I, unfortunately, have to make a roadtrip to Chicago next month. I'll let you know if I see any. Flash mob vs. wolf pack sounds good actually.

 

[AGarbers]

I remember reading a report about a grey wolf making its way down from Minnesota or Wisconsin a few years ago. It was collared or chipped somehow so they knew where it had originated at. They suspected it had been run off from its pack so it was looking for a new territory.
Historically most of Indiana was the realm of the red wolf.

 

[scott delaney]

wolf park in battle ground has wolves that have gotten loose before.
i know in 1988 they lost 13 in one night only to have 5 brought back to them.
i have heard reports of aggressive coyotes in this area.....maybe there is something going on in tyhe wild woods

 

[Vlad the Impaler]

I understand that there's a large population of gray wolves on T-shirts in Indiana and they pack up at gun shows occasionaly. Just a rumor?

Okay...time to get some sleep.

 

[Indy_Guy_77]

I KNOW I remember reading a news story about a wolf that was found dead up in NE Indiana about 5-6 years ago...

Think that's the same story that AGarbers referenced above.

I've also got friends in Evansville who SWEAR they've seen a panther / mountain lion out NE of the airport. And I've seen photos of big cat prints that were recently found in the Hoosier National Forest.

Now all we need are bears!

-J-

 

[Plinkuh]

Pretty interesting topic for sure. Came across this thread on another forum;

Wolf seen this AM in Richmond, Indiana (Linton: 2011, live in) - City-Data Forum

 

[Plinkuh]

Now all we need are bears!

NOOOOO! I don't have the means to take one of those beasts down! Majestic, but scary as hell.

 

[nipprdog]

i know in 1988 they lost 13 in one night only to have 5 brought back to them.

Did you hear that from a reliable source??

 

[DarkRose]

I believe my dad told me it was either he and his father, or he and my other grandfather hunting and saw a black panther... probably 35-40 years ago...

I saw one of those shows where they cahse urban legends and tested a carcass someone was passing off as a "chubacabra" and it turns out the DNA results were hybrid wolf/coyote, THAT's a scary thought...

Coydogs are one thing, but Coy-wolf? Smart sneaky opportunistic loners with size?

 

[dcary7]

There are no established populations of them in Indiana... if any ventured in, they would likely have traveled down from Wisconsin.. they have an extremely large home range. It is always a possibility, but not very likely. Idk about an officer trapping 3 in one season.. never heard anything about that... based upon the odds of how few/if any wolf currently reside in Indiana... I would say it is unlikely he trapped that many... but .... couldnt find any info on that. If he lived in the NW corner of Indiana, I wouldnt rule out seeing/trapping one.. but wouldnt hold my breath on it.

dcary7

 

[spencer rifle]

Black bear, wolves, mountain lions, buffalo, all used to live here. But our ancestors had to make Indiana safe for sheep, so they were all killed off long ago. Any that are here now are isolated, either escapes from captivity, or stray long-range wanderers. As such they are not particularly dangerous (except the mountain lions). But even a raccoon can be dangerous under certain circumstances. Any wild aimal you can approach closely is probably not safe - disease or human habituation.

Much as it would be nice to get our ecosystems back in balance through predator reintroduction, it ain't gonna happen. Hoosiers are afraid enough of wild things that aren't even there. Giving them something real to be afraid of will just push them over the edge.

 

[rtm]

There are no established populations of them in Indiana... if any ventured in, they would likely have traveled down from Wisconsin.. they have an extremely large home range. It is always a possibility, but not very likely. Idk about an officer trapping 3 in one season.. never heard anything about that... based upon the odds of how few/if any wolf currently reside in Indiana... I would say it is unlikely he trapped that many... but .... couldnt find any info on that. If he lived in the NW corner of Indiana, I wouldnt rule out seeing/trapping one.. but wouldnt hold my breath on it.

dcary7

When i was told about this, the guy said the info is on his facebook page, so i tried to look at it but couldn't because i was not a registered friend of his. But I know an officer that works with him and i will contact him to confirm the story.

 

[SemperFiUSMC]

There are a few wolves in Steuben County near Pokagon. There have been many confirmed puma sightings between Fort Wayne and Muncie, and in the Terre Haute area. Terre Haute I think was a captive escape. One confirmed sighting in Fort Wayne was by an LEO whose 100 lb German Shepherd was mauled. Happened within the past couple months.

 

[MidwestMuzzleloader]

Wolves...that is suprising to me. How did the officer trap the wolves? I would expect a wolf chew his leg off rather than stay traped.

 

[Dirty Steve]

If you enjoy deer hunting, you don't want any part of any type of wolf in Indiana. I have hunted in north western Wyoiming near Yellowstone for about the last 15 years. They have totally devastated the moose population and have put a serious dent in the elk population. It is not worth hunting in the area anymore. They have almost completely eliminated the elk herd in some units in Idaho adjacent to Yellowstone. Montana and Idaho just got the rights to manage wolves back, but wacko environmentalist blocked the same State control over wolves in Wyoming and the Great Lakes region. Wolves in those States will remain on the endangered species list. Wolves found in Indiana should be given the S-S-S treatment. Shoot-shovel-shut up.

Dirty Steve

 

[johntheplinker]

Another possibility is somebody getting one or more of those wolf/dog crosses then when they get too big or whatever turning them out in the wild. IIRC I've seen some adverts for the crosses that are supposed to be 90+% wolf.

 

[DarkRose]

My dad just e-mailed me and said he just heard a report of a wolf sighting in the Muskatatuk River area east of Westport here in South Central Indiana...

He says "the fun is on!"

I'll be going out to shoot/mow at our woods with him tomorrow (our woods borders the Muskatatuk river, east of Westport...) and I'll try to get more details from him then...

Edit:
He just e-mail again to add " *** also said there are confirmed wolf sightings in BrownCounty between the state park and Belmont. (T.C. Steelememorial)"

(name left out because I don't know the other party or where he got HIS info from...)

 

[nipprdog]

wolf park in battle ground has wolves that have gotten loose before.
i know in 1988 they lost 13 in one night only to have 5 brought back to them.
i have heard reports of aggressive coyotes in this area.....maybe there is something going on in tyhe wild woods

Still waiting for conformation.

 

[DarkRose]

Was talking to dad today, apparently a few years ago (probably in the 80's) a Brown County farmer client of the lawyer my mother works for told my dad that he'd had problems losing some animals and called DNR. He said the DNR guy who talked to him said that before they allowed hunting in Brown County State Park, the DNR had tried some natural solutions, and quietly released 2 pairs of black bear, and a few wolves and mountain lions, back in the late 70's.

The bears were collared and within several months, all had either disappeared from the area, or been killed and collars destroyed. This is how the story came to him, and to me.

He and his father saw a black panther/cougar by the Azalia bridge MANY years ago (well before my time, probably in the 60's or early 70's).


The guy that told him about the recent wolf sightings in Jennings/Decatur county has property there, but never told dad who the sightings were "confirmed" by.