RIPP:
I called, but the line was busy... 
The way the Indians and Scandi-settlers here got rid of them was by denning them in the winter/early spring. Lots of snowshoe time, locating dens of pups and eliminating all of them. Such work required strong men capable of travelling long, hard distances in winter, and when I gaze at the belt lines of most fellows these days, I am pretty much convinced we are not a nation of strong men any more, tho there are some left.
Anyway, I believe Wildlife Services {USDA hunters} has used the same method in pack elimination, their work being made easier by the occaisional collar that assists in locating them.
"Home" itself may, probably will, become "bait" enough as game numbers decrease. As far as danger to humans is concerned, that is coming, the "bait" being us and our livestock and pets. We probably will not see the hundreds of people killed as occured in the 1800's in Italy, Russia and Finland, mostly due to the radical difference in travel methods {they walked, we drive} but right now where I live people have lost their ability to enjoy their land and the woods itself as far as their children are concerned. Nobody around here lets a kid play in the woods alone anymore, something everybody did just a few years ago. We expect more and more wolf activity close to homes as game is depleted. Making them easier in some ways to kill, I suppose. Staking out a goat is not really a joke. I have three butcher lambs left that are running around a close pasture, and four dogs that bark, but I really have no idea if wolves care about the dogs. We had one wolf standing on the old railroad tracks behind my house, watching the horses and sheep, yes, you can laugh who don't live here, but probably licking his lips merrily... It jogged off when confronted, but now, with a tag in my pocket, it might not get away so cleanly.
Calls, decoys, baying dogs, not sure what else.
As stated, most of the ones killed this year appear to have been killed like lion in Washington or bear in Pennsy, just bumped into while doing something else. NOT an efficient way to reduce the numbers of a critter that increases its population by 20%-30% per year.
-------------------- What are the Rosary, the Cross or the Crucifix other than tools to help maintain the fortress of our faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God?
|