A few years back the great and wonderful wisdom of our DNR here in Michigan decided to re-introduce wolves to the Upper Penninsula (U.P.). Since then they have spread over quite an area and the deer numbers have dropped drastically. Also, they have killed a number of farm animals, mainly cows. If a farmer loses an animal to the wolves, he can not kill the wolves, but must sit by and watch and then he can contact the DNR and they will compensate him for the lose of his animal. Now in areas with a high number of wolves, they have taken to praying on domestic dogs. A couple years ago a guy just north of where I live bought 2 black lab pups wih awesome pedigrees. He had great hope for these pups as woud be expected. He went out to feed them one morning and found one pup cowering at the back of the dog box and all that was left of the other was it's head. He had 3 wolves standing at the edge of his yard and even after yelling and bluff charging them they wouldn't leave. He had to buy fencing and make a big pen to keep his last pup in as the wolves were seen in and around his yard many days in a row. He called the DNR and they told him it was sad he lost his pup but there was nothing in the game plan to refund a person for a lost pet. Last year a local doctor was grouse hunting with his English Setter and had just returned to his truck when a wolf jumped out of the underbrus and attacked his dog. He ran up to the fight and fired his shotgun over top of the 2 and the wolf finally jumped off his bird dog, but refused to leave. He wrapped his dog up in his hunting coat and put him in the truck for the race to town and the vet. The wolf was still staring at him as he loaded up the dog. The fight was said to have lasted for less than a minute and yet the bird dog recieved over 100 stitches to put him back together. Again the DNR said it was an unfortunate incident, and the wolf was most likely defending it's territory. Also this past hunting season a guy lost one of his plott bear hounds to wolves. If you ask me, they are getting out of hand and someone needs to take responsibility for the damage they are doing to family pets in our area. If you deer hunt in this area and you hit one at dark and decide to let it go until morning to find it you will most likely find where a pack of wolves has just recieved an easy meal thanks to you. That happened to a friend of mine 2 years ago with a real nice 8 pointer. He shot it right at dark and waited until morning and when he found it all that was left was the skull and some hide. The way I look at it the wolf and the mountain lion are both beautiful creatures, however they were eraticated from this area for a reason and it should have been left at that. The DNR say that hunters wanted them brought back, yet I can not ever recall a vote to see if "hunters" wanted them here at all.