Wisconsin's bear hunters are being urged to watch out for another predator. This is the time of year when Wisconsin bear hunters train their hounds – and contend with the depredations of the state's wolf population.
The DNR's Adrian Wydeven says hunters are beginning to see a slight geographic shift in wolf attacks on hunting dogs. "Most of the depredations on hounds have been in northern Wisconsin," Wydeven says. But on July 4 wolves killed a hound in southwestern Clark County. On July 7 another wolf pack killed another hound in western Clark County near the Eau Claire County line.
"It's usually ten percent of our packs that do attack hounds," says Wydeven. "But we do want to let hunters know when a pack has taken on a specific behavior, they want to exercise more caution when they train or hunt in those areas." Wydeven says most experienced hunters will know the signs of wolves when they see them. The DNR has also posted on-line maps of wolf caution areas . If that all fails, hunters – and pet owners – can be compensated up to $2500 for the loss of their dogs. The record year for dogs killed by wolves as 25 in 2006.
