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Nealz
Joined: 06 Jan 2003 Posts: 131 Location: Alpine, Arizona
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Posted: 5/10/2006, 12:17 pm Post subject: Finally saw a wolf |
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The Mexican Grey Wolf has been reintroduced throughout The Blue and Alpine areas in eastern Arizona about six years ago. The packs have been slowly increasing in both population and range. I have heard 'em around Alpine, seen both sign and an elk cow kill on the property, and last evening, saw one in the flesh at the edge of the meadow just in the trees. This would be about forty feet from the house. What a treat! It was twilight and I could not tell the gender but from the size, I'm going to guess it was a male. He or she skedaddled into the woods before I could get either my field glasses or a camera.
I was tipped-off by my the maniacal barking of my idiot dog, another equally territorial canine, who wanted nothing more than to chase the wolf off.
The whole reintroduction program http://www.fws.gov/ifw2es/mexicanwolf/ is not without controversy and everybody around here has an opinion, pro or con, about wolves. Still, to actually spot one, is rare and from my perspective, really exciting.
-Nealz |
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evenstar
Joined: 03 Jan 2003 Posts: 5548 Location: SCW by way of CA
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Posted: 5/10/2006, 12:26 pm Post subject: |
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Very cool! _________________ John Richardson and Richie Rich, El Perro de Playero
http://members.tripod.com/~evenstar/index.html
http://www.arizonahikers.com
When the Man waked up he said, "What is Wild Dog doing here?" And the Woman said, "His name is not Wild Dog anymore, but the First Friend, because he will be our friend for always and always and always. Take him with you when you go hunting."
--Rudyard Kipling, from Just So Stories, 1902 |
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kurthzone Thread Killer
Joined: 31 Dec 2002 Posts: 1097 Location: Peoria, Arizona
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Posted: 5/10/2006, 12:35 pm Post subject: |
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Hey Neal How are you?
My daughters and I saw one just east of Sheeps Crossing almost three years ago to the day. It was very pretty and seemed to me to have a thicker coat than in pictures that I've seen. Maybe that's because when I first got a glimpse of it I thought it was a coyote. Only took an instant to dispell that thought though. _________________ ;o)> |
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mike What box?
Joined: 30 Dec 2002 Posts: 3134
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Posted: 5/10/2006, 12:37 pm Post subject: |
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I heard a pack howling during the night when we were camping at Terry Flat a few years ago. It would be very cool to see one! _________________ [/size] |
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Nealz
Joined: 06 Jan 2003 Posts: 131 Location: Alpine, Arizona
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Posted: 5/10/2006, 1:40 pm Post subject: |
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kurthzone wrote: |
Hey Neal How are you? |
Just dandy, thanks. Seems like years since I last posted here... maybe it has been.
From what I hear from my Forest Service Biologist neighbor, the wolves get a winter coat and a summer coat, not much different from domestic dogs, if mine is any example. The one I saw looked 'thick' as well.
I keep hoping someone will discover that dog hair has better insulating and lofting properties than 900-fill goose down. I'll be a rich man. |
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maryphyl Grand Canyon Enchantress
Joined: 04 Jan 2003 Posts: 669 Location: Flagstaff
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Posted: 5/10/2006, 4:13 pm Post subject: |
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LMAO--nice to see you Neal--Mary _________________ Shikekeh hozhoogo naasha.
I walk in beauty. |
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Nighthiker
Joined: 05 Jan 2003 Posts: 1714
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Posted: 5/10/2006, 5:05 pm Post subject: |
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Very very cool. Have you heard of a grizzly bear in the area as well ? |
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Shihiyea
Joined: 20 Oct 2003 Posts: 1135
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Posted: 5/10/2006, 7:16 pm Post subject: |
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I saw my first wolf backpacking the Cabin Loop trail on the rim a few years ago. It was a very exciting moment for me. I watched him run up a hill and slowly walk the ridgeline while he kept his eyes on us. He blended in so well, if I hadn't seen him move, I might have missed him altogether. Nature can be so awesome! Mary _________________ Courage affects what we are willing to do for ourselves as well as what we are willing to do for an other person.
C. Myss |
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MikeInFHAZ
Joined: 15 Feb 2004 Posts: 1401 Location: location location
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Shihiyea
Joined: 20 Oct 2003 Posts: 1135
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Posted: 5/10/2006, 10:14 pm Post subject: |
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That is so cool, I think you are right Mike! Mary _________________ Courage affects what we are willing to do for ourselves as well as what we are willing to do for an other person.
C. Myss |
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CatValet Got Gear?
Joined: 04 Jan 2003 Posts: 735 Location: Scottsdale
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Posted: 5/10/2006, 10:41 pm Post subject: |
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Nighthiker: Have heard of a remnant griz population in the South San Juans, but nothing in the eastern AZ or Gila NM areas. Doubt there are any left in the Sierra Madre either. |
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azbackpackr Hi Tech Wizardess
Joined: 31 Dec 2005 Posts: 3639 Location: Needles CA
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Posted: 5/11/2006, 5:36 am Post subject: |
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I read a book about that remnant griz population. The Lost Grizzlies, by Rick Bass.
I talked to Game and Fish one time about the wolves, their management headaches. I said to them, "Well, now you've got the wolves almost established, how about a grizzly bear?" One of the guys answered, "They start talking about grizzly bears, that's when I'm going to retire from this job!"
Have you read A Sand County Almanac, by Aldo Leopold? It is considered one of the basic books of the environmental movement, originally published in 1966. You can usually find a whole stack of used copies at Bookman's. There is an essay in that book about the last grizzly bear in Arizona, Old Bigfoot, which lived on Escudilla Mountain. Worth reading. |
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Nealz
Joined: 06 Jan 2003 Posts: 131 Location: Alpine, Arizona
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Posted: 5/11/2006, 3:49 pm Post subject: |
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Nighthiker wrote: |
Have you heard of a grizzly bear in the area as well ? |
I really doubt there's griz around here, although there is one old curmudgeon... not naming names, in Nutrioso who swears he's seen tracks. My gut sez it's an urban, or rural myth on a par with Bigfoot and the Locke Ness monster. Although if Game & Fish were to consider reintroducing grizzly in Arizona, the far eastern Apache-Sitgreaves NF would be a likely site. Plenty of high-lonesome, and unpopulated, and protected areas around here. |
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Sande J Calamity J
Joined: 06 Jan 2003 Posts: 725 Location: Mesa, AZ
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Posted: 5/11/2006, 5:11 pm Post subject: |
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That is cool Nealz ....nice that you are enjoying the benefits of your place out there. _________________ And this our life, exempt from public haunt,
Finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, Sermons in stone, good in everything..
-William Shakespeare- |
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Nighthiker
Joined: 05 Jan 2003 Posts: 1714
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Posted: 5/11/2006, 6:37 pm Post subject: |
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Don't think it was a resident but a visitor from NM. |
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