Story originally printed in the La Crosse Tribune or online at www.lacrossetribune.com
Published - Sunday, May 04, 2008
Marc Wehrs: Wolf inspires wonder, fear, bloodlust
When a hunter in Crawford County mistook a gray wolf for a coyote and shot the radio-collared canis lupus, visitors at www.lacrossetribune.com had a wide variety of reactions.
Many castigated the hunter for not knowing for certain what he was shooting at. A few marveled that a wolf had wandered that far south of its normal range. And some thought the hunter was on the right track — with the gray wolf off the threatened species list, it’s time to start hunting them.
Here’s a sample of our readers’ comments:
HonestAbe wrote: “Open the season back up and put a bounty on them. They’re no longer on the endangered and threatened species listing. They cause problems for farmers and kill game species ... although I suppose with all the new earn-a-buck BS we’ll need them to help thin the herd when everyone starts hunting other states. ...”
Mack wrote: “Wolves are an important part of the balance of nature and our country’s wild heritage. Anybody who does not know what they are shooting is not fit to hunt. He should be fined AND lose his license.”
ryeguy wrote: “Wolves are an essential part of the ecosystem. They feed mainly on weak animals and help to maintain a healthy deer herd. Obviously our hunters and our automobiles are not up to the job of maintaining suitable numbers, so give the wolves a shot at it. ...”
The Wizard wrote: “Just wait until a wolf grabs a kid at a bus stop. I hope it’s a tree-hugger’s kid.”
Tax justice wrote: “In the past 50 years, there has never been a human being killed by wolves in ALL OF NORTH AMERICA. ...”
Sportsman wrote: “I have been hunting for more than 40 years, and I will say that this person who shot the coyote did identify this animal as a coyote — and if anyone thinks he didn’t, go on the Internet and look up ‘coyote’ and then look up wolf. This being a young wolf they are identical. This person is a true sportsman ... he called the DNR. My opinion is this person broke no laws and definitely should be issued no fine. ...”
The Moderate wrote: “There would be a lot more postings had it been a cat that got killed.”
What? Me worry?
The story about a poll that showed 18 percent of residents believe climate change is extremely problematic in Wisconsin got visitors typing at www.lacrossetribune.com.
Declining water levels in rivers, lakes and in the ground was the top concern, cited by 21 percent. Two-thirds said Wisconsin’s environment is in good or excellent shape.
Here are some the comments visitors left behind:
Lee wrote: “This is upsetting! Only 18 percent? The article says the margin of error is only 4 percent, but I can’t believe that more people aren’t scared to death over global warming, the effects of which will be devastating to everyone. Unreal.”
ACE wrote: “I’m more worried about ‘Global Freezing’... is it ever going to freakin’ warm up?”
Darwin wrote: “The only way many people will change their habits is if it benefits them financially (and immediately). You can’t show them a picture of dying polar bears and expect them to give a rip. A revolting statement, but true. And surprisingly, gasoline at $3.59 is not enough to get the steady stream of SUV drivers to carpool. It’ll be interesting to see how expensive gas gets before we change our habits. People, in general, will do what is easiest — not what is rational. I’m not endorsing any global climate change claims, but is it rational to overload landfills with plastic bags and diapers, or truck paper bags around the country when it’s easy to use cloth bags? I’m just sayin’.”
jenisgone wrote: “... The climate issues we are experiencing may be caused by a natural cycle of the earth, but why take that chance? We should be trying to impact the earth as little as we can just because it’s the right thing to do ....”
mk wrote: “The sky is falling, the sky is falling! At least that’s what liberal ‘green heads’ want us to believe. Sorry, I don’t have time to worry about global warming because its something we CAN’T alter. Even if global warming is the result of human activity, how are our actions going to do anything beneficial when billions of people in Asia (i.e. China, India, Japan) continue to consume more and more of the world’s oil. It’s like trying to put a Band-aid on a gaping wound.”
Pfrancis wrote: “I’ve only got one question for the global warming crowd: How many consecutive winters like this last one will it take before you start whining about global cooling.”
By the numbers
A few numbers from our daily just-for-fun online poll at www.lacrossetribune.com.
You may reach Tribune online editor Marc Wehrs at mwehrs@lacrossetribune.com or (608) 791-8218.
All stories copyright 2000 - 2006 La Crosse Tribune and other attributed sources.