It's not unusual to see a few deer along Highway 485, but one man said he recently saw a pair of black wolves while driving the road to Laramie.
Van Myers said he saw the wolves near the Muddy Mountain area, about 30 miles south of Casper, during a work trip.
"I drove off the road there, and I watched them for probably 4 or 5 minutes through my binoculars," Myers said. "I just assumed they were probably deer or antelope."
Myers works for an oil company with fields in Laramie and makes the drive on Highway 485 frequently.
"I was very surprised to see them in that area," he said. "I travel that road through Shirley Basin quite often. We see antelope, deer, coyotes and elk, but this was kind of unusual."
Myers said he reported the sighting to the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, but never heard back from anyone.
A spokesman for the Wyoming Game and Fish Department said the agency recently has received calls from several people saying they've seen wolves in the Muddy Mountain area.
"We have not confirmed any wolves in that area," Eric Keszler said. Keszler also noted there have been no reports of livestock attacks.
Myers is certain it was a pair of black wolves that crossed the road in front of him, whether or not Game and Fish can confirm his sighting.
"Like usual when you see Elvis, Sasquatch or UFOs, I didn't have a camera," he said. "We see antelope, deer, coyotes and elk, but this was kind of unusual."
Reach education reporter Jasa Santos at (307) 266-0593 or at Jasa.Santos@trib.com.
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Comments to this story.
JC wrote on Jan 6, 2009 4:49 AM:
Dismayed wrote on Jan 6, 2009 5:38 AM:
Mandy SSS wrote on Jan 6, 2009 7:46 AM:
spazzoid wrote on Jan 6, 2009 11:14 AM:
KMAINWY wrote on Jan 7, 2009 10:20 AM:
G. wrote on Jan 8, 2009 8:59 AM:
havnt you thought that the livestock of us, humans, is food for wolves? also, if you look at the humans... we aslo kill billions of animals for food... so they will leave our livestock not alone, its just natural... so let them be there, ANd if you want to defend/protect your livestock, maybe its better to use quard dogs or use electrical wires to hold of the wolves... o and itsa also usefull to keep your livestock and cattle close to ya "
oh-no wrote on Jan 8, 2009 12:53 PM:
tired wrote on Jan 8, 2009 2:30 PM:
landerite wrote on Jan 9, 2009 3:37 PM:
MECH
• It has not been demonstrated that “a substantial reduction” in wolf abundance will
occur, and my opinion is that it will not because merely to hold a wolf population
stationary requires an annual take of 28-50% per year.(P7)
• Starting with a base population of 1,545 wolves in late 2007 (Final Rule)
and adding the average 24% annual increase shown from 1995 through 2006
yields 1,916 wolves expected to be present in fall 2008. (P7)
• (Here I should note that the estimate of 1,545 wolves is a minimum estimate, i.e.
there were supposedly a minimum of 1,545 wolves. As wolf populations increase,
it becomes increasingly harder to count them accurately and the minimal counts
become increasingly lower than actual. Thus a better estimate of the actual
population could be about 1,700, and thus the 2008 estimate would be 2,108.)P8
• Assuming the minimum figure and that ID actually takes 328 wolves which is its
limit but which seems very unrealistic (Mech 2001) that would still be only 17%
of the minimal population.(P8)
• Wolves from YNP have traveled to central Colorado and Utah, and wolves from
ID have traveled to Oregon and Washington.(P9)
• In any case, the number of wolves projected to be killed under state management
should not jeopardize the viability of the NRM wolf population. Every year, most
wolf populations almost double in the spring through the birth of pups (average =
6/litter [Mech 1970]; most packs produce a single litter, but several YNP packs
produce 2 or 3 litters per pack). For example in May 2008, there will not be 1,500
but 3000!
• Wolf population estimates are usually made in winter when the population is at
the annual nadir. This approach serves to provide conservative estimates and
further ensure that management remains conservative. As indicated above, 28-
50% of a wolf population must be killed by humans per year (on top of natural
mortality) to even hold a wolf population stationary. (P13)
It's time to delist them before their numbers explode to levels that cannot be managed.
Unless you want to see aerial gunning that is. "
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