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| -Short Attention Span Theater- |
| Forest Service employees get helicopter for rescue from howling wolves |
| 2006-10-11 |
| Two U.S. Forest Service employees from Utah were evacuated by helicopter from the Sawtooth Wilderness in late September after encountering a pack of howling wolves about five miles east of Graham in the Johnson Creek drainage. Johnson Creek is the southwestern portion of the Sawtooths and in the North Fork of the Boise River drainage. I hope that clears that up. According to Ed Waldapfel, spokesman for the Sawtooth National Forest, the incident occurred Sept. 23 at about 10 a.m. when the employees observed wolves chasing a bull elk across a meadow. "A little while later they started hearing wolves howling all around them," Waldapfel said. "They called on their radio or satellite phone and asked their supervisor if they could leave the area." "No matter which way they went they said they could hear the wolves," he added. "They climbed onto a rock outcropping and continued to communicate with their supervisor. "They admitted they were very scared and wanted to get out of the area." "It was the sound of the howls that scared them," Waldapfel said, "and the fact (the employees) were from another part of the country. They're not part of our regular workforce and so they hadn't had training for this kind of wildlife encounter." Yeah, they were from Utah, an adjacent state. If they were from Delawere, it might be different. Steve Nadeau, the state's wolf program supervisor for the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, was shocked that wolf howls would elicit a helicopter evacuation in a wilderness area. "Holy moly—sounds to me like someone's read too many of Grimm's fairy tales," Nadeau said. "I'm flabbergasted that (the Forest Service) would go to that extent over wolves howling in the woods because wolves howl in the woods all the time. That's how they communicate. If they felt threatened I guess the Forest Service reacted appropriately. But I can't imagine why the feeling was any more than anyone else walking in the woods." While there are no documented cases of wolves attacking humans in Idaho, Waldapfel acknowledged "these employees probably were not aware of that fact." Of course not, being in the Forest Service and all, what would they know about wild animals? Arooooooooooooooooooooo. |
| Posted by:Jackal |
| #3 These poor Forest Service folks were probably not armed. And even if they were, they probably were not allowed to shoot 'endangered species' (there are plenty of humans after all.) |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2006-10-11 19:18 |
| #2 Ordinarily, I wouldn't be concerned with American wolves, either, aside from rabies. But this sounds a bit abnormal. First of all, the wolves had been on the hunt, and might have gotten pumped up and a bit too focused, which can even be a problem even with dogs. i.e., never interpose your body between two large dogs that are fighting. Second, wolves have a superb sense of smell, and if there was any human odor within many miles they ordinarily scram. Third, if they were correct that the wolves were circling them, this is not good. I would be inclined to beat feet myself, rather than trust my life to some wolf researcher who is certain that they never attack humans. On the upside, it was west of the Mississippi. There are considerable concerns that on the east side, wolves have been cross-breeding with coyotes. Two very different personalities and two very different kinds of intelligence. Now, that is a hybrid I would be very worried about. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2006-10-11 16:43 |
| #1 They shouldn't have brought that big dish of beef chow mein. |
| Posted by: Abdominal Snowman 2006-10-11 15:59 |