A wandering Wolf has found a mate

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A wandering Wolf, you know that title got me. I love good stories about animals. I hate bad ones, I don't usually look at those. Anyway, this Wolf, dubbed, OR-7, has been tracked from Northeastern Oregon all the way to Northern California and back again, all to find himself a mate. And he did. A beautiful black female. OR-7 and his new partner were caught on wildlife cameras and it is presumed that they now have pups. Awww. I love that. He was lonely and he walked thousands of miles to find his girl. He managed not to starve, be killed in an accident or get shot. I like him also because he has no history of bothering domestic animals. He's no threat to livestock. This guy totally survives in the wild and on it. Now those genes will be passed on.

Great story, right? Yeah, I love him. But, something in the story bothered me. There was this.."The conservation group (Oregon Wild) won a court ruling barring the state from killing two members of OR-7's home pack for preying on livestock and later won a settlement strictly limiting when wolves can be killed."

I understand that we have to protect Wolves, I've always known and supported that. They need to have better numbers in areas they're native to. I don't have a lot of experience with Wolves here in the Iowa prairie. If I saw that guy by the road (there where he's standing), I'd think he was a lost Husky mix and stop and try and get him in the car. If he snarled at me, it wouldn't deter me. Doh. That's how my brain works. Even when I figured it out, I'd still want to help him all I could. He'd have to run away fast to get rid of me. I'm sure I'm not alone there. People who love animals are all over now. I hope he stays clear of roads.

But, anyway, here's what bothers me. They stopped the killing of two Wolves who killed livestock. Yeah, you'd think some big rancher could afford to lose a couple of steers or sheep or whatever. Don't kill the Wolves! But, even though my only experience with Wolves have been the half domesticated kind, I know how smart they are. They know livestock are associated with Humans and they know better. Oh, some instances of it can be excused. A young Wolf who's learning or a starving Wolf in a bad Winter. That's different. Cut them some slack. But, when they make a habit of it, it's bad and it needs to be stopped.

The way that article worded it, it sounded like they'd done it more than once. If you sympathize only with the Wolf, think of it this way, I've had predators take my 'livestock'.  I typed it like that because I'm not a rancher or farmer. My livestock was part of my 'family'. How would you feel if it wasn't some anonymous cow who was going to the packing plant anyway, but, some great large Nubian Goats you'd had for years and who roamed in and out of your house and rode in your car to pick up the kid at school? And who'd just given birth to the sweetest, cutest babies you ever saw? What if it was a starving, fragile, baby colt you'd just adopted because he was separated from his mother? And you'd been tube feeding him, but, he finally graduated to a bottle and was finally, finally on his way to becoming a healthy, gorgeous, registered Quarter Horse? And you have him IN your barn where you thought he was safe?

That shit breaks your heart and people call it loss of 'livestock'. No, that's fuckers who know better using my house and yard as a wildlife McDonalds and I aint havin' it. So, I did what I had to do. And I was successful, which made it a very bad day for me personally. Where do you draw the line? I keep wondering. OR-7 keeps wandering. He's a good boy, a smart boy, he stays out of trouble. Somehow, in my troubled brain, I know him and his kind are the ones we have to protect and let breed at all costs. I believe that mysterious, innate knowledge he has about how to stay out of trouble will be passed down to his litters. Wolves who kill livestock will mostly be handled by the people who own the livestock and no one will know about it. The ranchers/farmers sure aren't going to contact Oregon Wild. If they (Wolves) do it more than once, they probably get what they deserve. Oregon Wild is doing a great job of keeping an eye on them though. Okay, I'll shut up now and you can jump my ass in comments if you want to.

Off the subject, sort of, every time I do one of those silly "What's Your Spirit Animal" quizes, I'm a Wolf. I don't agree with it, but, I'm always a Wolf. I am not a Wolf (or Sheldon, aggg!). HERE's one for you. What's your spirit animal and do you agree?