Another wolf attack in NW Montana (pics)
Posted: Wed Apr 07, 2010 12:41 am
This happened to us last week, the story is told by my good freind Mike, Who almost lost his Penney dog.
Scott, who has a lion tag gave me a call on Tuesday night and wanted to see if I wanted to go hunting. Tatum called and his buddy Bill wanted to go so we all made a plan. I picked Scott up in the morning and we headed out. We had 4 inches of good snow where we found a lion track with about 2 inches of snow in the track. So I went up the road looking to make sure the wolves werent around. I had found a good bobcat track just up the road that I thought might be a problem if we turned out. I went back and turned out Penny and Shelby out on the lion track. They took it good and went up about 100 yards and side hilled right into the bobcat and started running it backwards. I caught Shelby on the road and Penny slipped by us. I took Scott back to the lion track, gave him a lead, and Shelby and Scott went up in there on the lion track while I went to get Penny. I caught Penny and went and checked the upper road for the lion track thinking we might have scared it out of there and I finally turned around and then Scott told me he found the lion track going straight up the hill and he turned Shelby loose. I went back down where the track was and started up in there behind Scott. Shelby had found a good bobcat track with no snow in so she went that way leaving the lion track. I got Penny up on the lion track and going before the snow started to melt out of the trees. So thinking where this cat was going the best option was to follow Penny. She went out of hearing in about 30 seconds. No GPS signal and she went over the mountain. Tatum finally calls and he has killed a female lion on the other side of the creek and he was heading over to us. His gps gets a signal on Penny and she is treed. So we head to the road and they pick us up and we drive around the mountain. When we get there within 100 yards from Penny and got out of the truck it is dead silent. I was thinking she might just be over the hill a little bit and we started walking and still no barking. When Tatum and I finally get up there she was laying under a tree. She stood up and walked over to me and the whole side of her hide had been ripped off with several rips and tears from here neck to inside her legs to here back leg. So I started to investigate what had happened I found where the lion track had left out of the area. I then go to where I see the scuffel right on the lion track. It was apparent what had happened when there was 3 of 4 wolf tracks coming into the her from the side. You could see where they attacked her and dragged her down the hill about 20 feet. I then picked Penney up and carried her to the truck. We got back to my truck and I headed for town. Meanwhile Tatum, Scott, and Bill went to find Shelby hoping the wolves hadn't reached her yet. The vet couldn't do anything with her in Libby do to the lack of skin that had been ripped off of here. Phil and I jumped in my pickup and headed to Pullman to the WSU veternarian hospital. On our way out of town Scott called telling me they recovered Shelby. As of right now the cost of this ordeal is $6,022. And most likley there will be a few more thousand involved. There still is a chance of infection. There is a possibility she will need some skin grafts and a couple of surgerys. Something needs to be done about these wolves there is getting to be way to many. Well I thought I would let you know. One thing I keep hearing about wolves is not will they get your hounds it is when they get your hounds. I dont know why they didn't kill her but I am glad they didn't, she had been laying under the tree for quite a little while. She hadn't moved from under the tree from the time Tatum received her GPS signal till we found her. That was probably 20 plus minutes. Take care Mike
Scott, who has a lion tag gave me a call on Tuesday night and wanted to see if I wanted to go hunting. Tatum called and his buddy Bill wanted to go so we all made a plan. I picked Scott up in the morning and we headed out. We had 4 inches of good snow where we found a lion track with about 2 inches of snow in the track. So I went up the road looking to make sure the wolves werent around. I had found a good bobcat track just up the road that I thought might be a problem if we turned out. I went back and turned out Penny and Shelby out on the lion track. They took it good and went up about 100 yards and side hilled right into the bobcat and started running it backwards. I caught Shelby on the road and Penny slipped by us. I took Scott back to the lion track, gave him a lead, and Shelby and Scott went up in there on the lion track while I went to get Penny. I caught Penny and went and checked the upper road for the lion track thinking we might have scared it out of there and I finally turned around and then Scott told me he found the lion track going straight up the hill and he turned Shelby loose. I went back down where the track was and started up in there behind Scott. Shelby had found a good bobcat track with no snow in so she went that way leaving the lion track. I got Penny up on the lion track and going before the snow started to melt out of the trees. So thinking where this cat was going the best option was to follow Penny. She went out of hearing in about 30 seconds. No GPS signal and she went over the mountain. Tatum finally calls and he has killed a female lion on the other side of the creek and he was heading over to us. His gps gets a signal on Penny and she is treed. So we head to the road and they pick us up and we drive around the mountain. When we get there within 100 yards from Penny and got out of the truck it is dead silent. I was thinking she might just be over the hill a little bit and we started walking and still no barking. When Tatum and I finally get up there she was laying under a tree. She stood up and walked over to me and the whole side of her hide had been ripped off with several rips and tears from here neck to inside her legs to here back leg. So I started to investigate what had happened I found where the lion track had left out of the area. I then go to where I see the scuffel right on the lion track. It was apparent what had happened when there was 3 of 4 wolf tracks coming into the her from the side. You could see where they attacked her and dragged her down the hill about 20 feet. I then picked Penney up and carried her to the truck. We got back to my truck and I headed for town. Meanwhile Tatum, Scott, and Bill went to find Shelby hoping the wolves hadn't reached her yet. The vet couldn't do anything with her in Libby do to the lack of skin that had been ripped off of here. Phil and I jumped in my pickup and headed to Pullman to the WSU veternarian hospital. On our way out of town Scott called telling me they recovered Shelby. As of right now the cost of this ordeal is $6,022. And most likley there will be a few more thousand involved. There still is a chance of infection. There is a possibility she will need some skin grafts and a couple of surgerys. Something needs to be done about these wolves there is getting to be way to many. Well I thought I would let you know. One thing I keep hearing about wolves is not will they get your hounds it is when they get your hounds. I dont know why they didn't kill her but I am glad they didn't, she had been laying under the tree for quite a little while. She hadn't moved from under the tree from the time Tatum received her GPS signal till we found her. That was probably 20 plus minutes. Take care Mike
. I think id get real seriouse about killin some wolves
