Hunting for wolves

There are some wolves in the area I hear..I've always wanted to get a shot of one. Anyone got any advice for tracking or hunting for them (photographing) ?

Or..anyone got any advice on what to do if you encounter a pack?

Safety, tips, tracking, that kind of thing.

Karl Johnston wrote in post #9159858
There are some wolves in the area I hear..I've always wanted to get a shot of one. Anyone got any advice for tracking or hunting for them (photographing) ?

Or..anyone got any advice on what to do if you encounter a pack?

Safety, tips, tracking, that kind of thing.

Probably going to be very spooky. Maby a 1200mm mounted on a helicopter?

Tie a pork chop around your neck!!! lol

I think you spend more time gettin into trouble than you do shooting!! Hmmm lemme see thats a pack of hungrey wwwwwwolves, and I'll I have is a tripod and a Canon camera. Think meybe they'll let me take their piccy?

I'd think about hiring a guide that knows the critters, the terrain and can watch your back. Study up on their behaivour, their attack patterns and such. I had to give a class to my officers for the Santa Cruz mountains because the Mountain Lion numbers are way up and the tree huggers won't let them be hunted until they kill somthing important - like your kids or a bicyclist or two. They attack from the back, and like moving prey. Bear mace is ineffective due to their attack patterns and how close they are when you have to spray. Wolves are not a current predator here in CA. But I think it goes without saying that they will see you first, and establish an attack pattern before you make visual contact.

But before you get et I want to buy some of your art. It will be imposssibly expensive for me to buy once you are wolf chow... lol

Be safe will ya??

Get in a treestand, and have a fresh kill out for them, they'll be there in a flash!!!

LBaldwin wrote in post #9161137
Tie a pork chop around your neck!!! lol

I think you spend more time gettin into trouble than you do shooting!! Hmmm lemme see thats a pack of hungrey wwwwwwolves, and I'll I have is a tripod and a Canon camera. Think meybe they'll let me take their piccy?

I'd think about hiring a guide that knows the critters, the terrain and can watch your back. Study up on their behaivour, their attack patterns and such. I had to give a class to my officers for the Santa Cruz mountains because the Mountain Lion numbers are way up and the tree huggers won't let them be hunted until they kill somthing important - like your kids or a bicyclist or two. They attack from the back, and like moving prey. Bear mace is ineffective due to their attack patterns and how close they are when you have to spray. Wolves are not a current predator here in CA. But I think it goes without saying that they will see you first, and establish an attack pattern before you make visual contact.

But before you get et I want to buy some of your art. It will be imposssibly expensive for me to buy once you are wolf chow... lol

Be safe will ya??

That's for sure ! I really get into more trouble when I'm not photographing than when I am - photo-trouble is more of the fun stuff..especially since I can write or tell fun stories about it. I've encountered them before, even a mountain lion within yards from me but never had the opportunity to take my camera out (of course...was walking in the other direction pretty damn quick..or actually come to think. Now I take the camera everywhere

A friend actually mentioned that I do that..she said she knew she isn't supposed to but she left steaks outside for her dogs (sled dogs) though she suspects the wolves are coming around her place more.

They've been picking off dogs and pets and stuff like that and even one ran up while a woman was walking her dog and nicked it. . . so maybe they're a bit too vicious right now to risk the pork chop idea. I was actually seriously thinking about setting up a blind on a cabin roof out in the wilderness somewhere and see if I can chance one wandering by. It's not too bad an idea to use bait if I could but I think it's actually illegal around here so I'll probably keep hunting for trails or stuff like that.

I may have to give that a bit of a think, or shoot from my car we'll see....

From the website:

Don't those two contradict each other?

Damn. Looks like that ended my fun

Act like a wounded caribou.

Seriously, I like the idea of a blind on a stand. If you can't bait them, you need to have an idea where they will be. A tree camera might give you some info over time. Be sure to have your rifle along, too, just in case.

I'm surprised that if you are out at night taking pics of auroras that you haven't heard them before.

We have wolves aplenty here, currently there is much political foolishness and very little facts or common sense. There are no, zero, not a one, documented attacks by wolves on humans although pets are fair game and a wolf will defend that kill. I have personally been within 100 yards of a pack 15 strong in the North Fork along Glacier National Park and would get closer if the buggers would let me. And I am a small, shall we say, older woman. They are very secretive and wary of humans although they can be mildly curious.

Just like any wildlife, don't offer them food in the form of baiting. Does no body any favors and yes is illegal in many areas. Wolves require some knowledge of the pack's home turf, your local wildlife managers are a good place to start, and the patience to find them, get some idea of their routine. They may be wolves that are just coming through or a young group starting a new pack. An established pack would probably be well known already, certainly by wildlife managers.

We ski into Glacier all winter, especially the Norh Fork where there are several packs and wolves are the least of our worries. There is nothing like hearing them howl, makes the wild seem that much wilder somehow.

Despite having heard them regularly, seeing them has been a rarer treat. The tourists who see them regularly in Yellowstone's Lamar valley have no idea what a unusual thing for the rest of us they are often seeing. I don't have any pics good enough to post or I would.

If you are out there getting aurora shots, you likely have what it really takes, patience and cold tolerance. I'd start by talking to the wildlife managers and getting some potential locations scouted out. Good luck!

I have heard and seen them, just never had a camera on me at the time thanks for the info, that's not a bad idea about approaching parks canada or the wildlife managers...they haven't been too keen on coming to talk to me, though, since their budgets got slashed so horribly this year...I think their whole tourism dept. has $10 000 for the year which is a shame because it's such a renewable industry and in order to attract people to the area you need to show them the beauty that's awaiting them here..

Karl Johnston wrote in post #9172513
I have heard and seen them, just never had a camera on me at the time thanks for the info, that's not a bad idea about approaching parks canada or the wildlife managers...they haven't been too keen on coming to talk to me, though, since their budgets got slashed so horribly this year...I think their whole tourism dept. has $10 000 for the year which is a shame because it's such a renewable industry and in order to attract people to the area you need to show them the beauty that's awaiting them here..

Yea but then you have 2k Americans with P&S looking to capture a wild grizz!

Some times I think it is best if us flatlanders just watch you real outdoorsmen from the comfort of the couch!!

I must admit that I am more than a little jealous of your location. BUT I can't stand snow after leaving Germany. so....

BTW can you post some sort of map of your general location? I'd love to get an idea of where in the NWT you are? Sled dogs? Really? What the reindeer are on strike?? CA is overrun with chihuahuas at the moment, so how many do you need for a sled???

Don't tell me you can see Russia from your back yard.... lol

You won't be jealous of my location when you see this:

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Whoa! 40 below and it doesn't matter which scale you use. That is extremely cold, but not as bad as some places, I suppose. I was in Dawson City once, considered going to Inuvik but chose not to. I regret that decision. Of course, it was June. Loved the Yukon Territory, never got into NWT. Paid $8 for milk in NL several years ago. Nothing cheap in "God's country", only he can afford it.

LBaldwin is a funny mutha@#%, had me cracking up for like half an hour...this wolf thing sounds like nothing for the amateur or faint of heart, gluck mayn! Chihuahuas, FTW! haha

Hi, Karl!

I'm sure there is some way to get the wolves close to you - legally. Even if you've heard that baiting is illegal, make sure that the law doesn't only refer to hunting. In many places, it is illegal to use bait while hunting, but legal to do so if no weapon is present.

Even if baiting is illegal, you have two other options which may prove quite effective:

1. Calling. I think the most effective call would be a CD recording of wolf vocalizations. Perhaps a combination of both howling and a wolf in distress. Or a coyote, dog, fox, etc in distress. These CDs are generally available thru hunting supply shops and mail order houses.

2. Lure. The proper scent will not only appeal to the wolves, but may also help to mask your human scent somewhat.

In either case, staying hidden in a blind is probably going to be essential. Also, you will probably have to spend several days in the blind before you find success. You could build a blind then leave it out there unattended for a couple weeks so the animals get used to it and so it begins to look more natural.

Good luck!

Oh, one other thing - it may pay to have 3 or 4 different blinds in different locations. It can be quite beneficial to have different locations to choose from.

Your best chance for photographing wolves is probably to just go ahead and make the trop to Yellowstone. Sure there are wolves all over Canada and Alaska, but the unique thing about the wolves in the greater Yellowstone ecoystem and thier implication upon wolf research, is their accesibility and viewability.

Researchers such as David Mech say they spend decades in the wilds studying wolves with only a handfull of actuall sightings. Then Yellowstone came along and blew the top off the glass ceiling of research.

there are some hardcore didicated wolf watchers out there who make annual pilgramages to the park to watch the wolves. The easiest place to see them is in the Lamar valley in the winter time. These wolves have become so accustomed to the park visitors that they are viewable pretty much everyday even from the roadside as they hunt.

I use to live and work as a wildlife guide in the area and Lamar valley is where its at. Like I said, winter is key as this is when wolves are forced to concentrate all of thier efforts on the bigger prey like elk and therefore become much more visable in the proccess.

I'm sure there are other places to photograph them, but as far as ease of access - its work paying a visit.