A Northeast Oregon elk hunter has reported to authorities that he shot a wolf in self-defense on Friday, Oct. 27, according to an Oregon State Police report. 
Anyone with an IQ above 40 is not buying this. The hunter claimed he thought they were coyotes. He also said, “it ran at me!” Pictures released by state police showed that the wolf was shot midbody on its right side and bullet exited on the left near upper shoulder. In addition, it was shot just 27 yards away!
Anyone with a bit of knowledge about wolf behavior can tell you that wolves are very shy and elusive. They try their best to avoid humans even though far too many have encroached on the land of the wolf. Daniel MacNulty, a wildlife-ecology professor at Utah State University who has done research on Arctic wolves, shared with National Geographic that in 16 years of studying wolves in Yellowstone National Park, said ” I have never been approached by a wolf or wolf pack. On the contrary, when I’ve inadvertently bumped into wolves they turn and run away—which is a problem when my objective is to observe them!”
Unethical hunters and bad ranchers would like you to think wolves stalk people and are dangerous to justify killing them. All of this fear mongering will not work on those that actually have a functioning brain. We actually have far more to fear from cows. They kill at least 20 people per year. Wolves have killed zero per year! Not in the last 100 years! https://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/animals/stories/11-animals-more-likely-to-kill-you-than-sharks If you count the disease and all the pollution from cattle then the numbers are far greater.
Killing wolves is never acceptable and in this case, it deserves far more scrutiny because wolf poaching is a huge problem in this state!
http://www.dfw.state.or.us/news/2017/11_nov/110217.asp
http://www.kgw.com/news/local/animal/oregon-hunter-kills-wolf-claims-self-defense/488528341
News Release : OSP investigates wolf killed by elk hunter – Union County PREVIEW News Release from Oregon State Police On October 27, 2017 at about 11:30AM, an OSP Fish and Wildlife Trooper and an Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife Biologist responded to the report of an elk hunter, who had self-reported shooting a wolf in Union County. The two responded to the hunter’s camp in the Starkey Wildlife Management Unit The hunter, a 38-year-old male, from Clackamas, told the trooper he had been hunting elk alone, when he repeatedly noticed some type of animal moving around him. A short time later, the hunter observed three of what he assumed would be coyotes. He said at one point one of them began to run directly at him, while another made its way around him. The hunter stated he focused on the one running directly at him. He began to scream at it, and fearing for his life shot it one time. He said what he still believed to be a coyote died from the single shot. He stated that after the shot the other two disappeared out of sight. The hunter said he returned to his camp and told fellow hunters what had occurred. He said he was still uncertain if what he shot was a coyote. He said they returned to the location and came to the conclusion it was a wolf. The hunter then notified ODFW and OSP. Further investigation at the site of the shooting indicated the hunter was 27 yards from where he shot and where the wolf died. The wolf was seized and later released to ODFW for examination. The Union County District Attorney’s Office was consulted regarding the investigation and based upon the available evidence the case will not be prosecuted as this is believed to be an incidence of self-defense. It is unlawful to kill a wolf in Oregon, except in defense of human life (and in certain instances involving wolf depredation of livestock). According to ODFW, this incident marks the first time that a wolf has been reported shot in self-defense in Oregon since they began returning to the state in the late 1990s. ODFW examined the wolf shot and determined it was an 83-pound female associated with the OR30 pair of wolves occupying the Starkey and Ukiah WMUs in northeast Oregon (Union and Umatilla Counties). Initial examination does not indicate that the wolf was a breeding female, but the wolf’s DNA will be analyzed to confirm this. “Dangerous encounters between wolves and people are rare, as are such encounters between people and cougars, bears and coyotes,” said Roblyn Brown, ODFW Acting Wolf Coordinator. “They will usually avoid humans and leave the area when they see, hear, or smell people close by. If you see a wolf or any other animal and are concerned about your safety, make sure it knows you are nearby by talking or yelling to alert it to your presence. If you are carrying a firearm, you can fire a warning shot into the ground.” ###
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