PA Bow/Flinter

I just pulled this off the PGC website. Granted they aren't wild, but they're still out there.

http://www.pgc.state.pa.us/pgc/cwp/view.asp?Q=167471&A=11

GAME COMMISSION SEEKS INFORMATION ABOUT ILLEGAL RELEASE OF WOLVES IN ADAMS COUNTY

HARRISBURG - Pennsylvania Game Commission officials today announced that they are seeking information about the person or persons who may have illegally released a pair of gray or timber wolves or wolf-hybrids that have appeared in Straban Township, Adams County, in recent days. Game Commission Wildlife Conservation Officer (WCO) Darren David is investigating, and any information should be provided to the Southcentral Region Office at 814-643-1831.

According to WCO David's investigation, on Feb. 19, an individual shot one of the wolves. After killing the animal, the individual contacted the Game Commission Southcentral Region Office and turned over the carcass to officers.

"The animal is a male and appears to be around 120 pounds, and was not neutered or collared," David said. "We are going to have it examined and tested to verify whether this is a pure-bred animal and to see if there are any indications about where the animal originated."

WCO David also received reports that a pet collie in the area was attacked on Feb. 16, and injured by repeated bites, which is indicative of an attack by another canine, and possibly one of these wolves. The dog later died at a veterinarian's office from its injuries.

"Anyone who sees the remaining wolf should keep his or her distance from it and contact the Southcentral Region Office at 814-643-1831," WCO David said. "Specific details will be very helpful in determining its possible location."

Mike Dubaich, Game Commission Bureau of Law Enforcement director, noted that there are 35 licensed facilities that are permitted to either possess, breed and/or sell wolves and wolf-hybrids in Pennsylvania, and as part of their permit, must comply with township, caging, public safety and record-keeping requirements. However, he also noted that there are other states with far fewer restrictions or oversight on the sale or possession of exotic wildlife, including wolves and wolf-hybrids.

Agency officials note that this is not the first time an illegally released wolf has been found in the wilds of Pennsylvania. In 1999 and 2003, two different individuals in the Allegheny National Forest and Susquehanna County, respectively, killed wolves or wolf-hybrids that later were determined to have been surgically neutered, demonstrating that these two animals were once held in captivity.

Also, in 2004, two Pennsylvanians, one in Chambersburg and another in Philadelphia, pled guilty to illegally possessing wolves or wolf-hybrids.

Game Commission officials also noted that wolves are not the only exotic or non-indigenous animals to have been possessed illegally in the state. For example, in 2002, a Dauphin County resident was prosecuted for illegal possession of a cougar. A binturong, a native of Southeast Asia that also is known as a bearcat, was found on a Beaver County family's porch in 2002. The animal's owner later pled guilty to charges of illegal possession of wildlife.

In 2001, news reports detailed sightings of an African serval, resembling a small cheetah, which had been possessed illegally and escaped from its Pittsburgh owner several times before being confiscated. Two wallabies escaped from their owners in Ambler in 2001. Also, there have been alligators in Italian Lake in Harrisburg, emus in Clearfield and Dauphin counties and piranhas in various rivers, ponds and streams in the Commonwealth.

Following decades of bounties, the last known Pennsylvania wolf is believed to have been killed in the 1890s. The nearest state or provinces to Pennsylvania with a wild sustainable gray or timber wolf population are Michigan, and Ontario and Quebec, Canada. No state in the northeastern United States has a wild sustainable wolf population. A small red wolf population is known to exist in North Carolina. While the federal government has conducted wolf reintroduction programs in several Western states, there has been no such proposal for Pennsylvania.

"Game Commission policy requires proposed species reintroductions to be appropriate and feasible," said Calvin W. DuBrock, Game Commission Bureau of Wildlife Management director. "We believe that any reintroduction program involving wolves or other large predators would be impractical and inappropriate given the population distribution and density of people in our state. We do not believe that there are any areas remote enough in our state where large predators could be reintroduced without setting up a conflict situation for people or other wildlife valued by people."

livbucks

Some purist wacko is responsible (or irresponsible).
Hunters are the next endangered species.
With all the predators, there will be nothing (left) to hunt.
I hope the other one gets wacked soon.

sproulman

maybe if the PGC was not saying that theseanimals are not here, they would not be having these problems. for YEARS pa. game commission has been saying that you did not see what you saw. now they are asking for help. PGC really makes me shake my head at times.

sproulman

youre right. all coyotes we have here and nothing is done by the PGC .if they were interested in saving deer they would be out trying to kill off these coyotes.lets face it, they want deer dead and they are letting it happen.coyotes are really taking toll on the fawns.

Elkcrazy8

PA Bow/Flinter

I'm not trying to disagree with you, but what else do you want them to do? You can hunt them 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year. Also starting the 27th or there abouts you are going to be allowed to start baiting them for hunting and trapping. Aside of shooting them out of helecopters and poisoning, I'm not sure what else there is.

sproulman

is there butter on that, ummmmmmmmmm

sproulman

well, i am no expert on that.i am just saying that they are doing nothing.i bet if their pay was based on the number of deer here in pa. those coyotes would be gone.you said poison the coyotes,thats a idea but dont know if it is good/bad/ hunting over bait, i like that idea but dont know if its good/bad idea. maybe someone will chime in on this.

Four Sox

I agree, and the lack of caring for what could happen to a child, person, or pet sickens me. Bottom line is this state could not handle these predators without human conflicts.

sproulman

its like cougar i saw here, it was more scared of me.i think in most situations cougar or wolves will run away when they see you.i dont think these aniamals are real threat to us. the problem i have with a wolve or coyote is they eat our fawns.i did not see 1 fawn here in clinton county hunting from sept of 2005 to jan of 2006, not 1 fawn. yet, i find deer hair on pipelines where something killed a deer and looks like it did it in june or july.i have never seen this in my life hunting for 50 years, never.some say bears, well, i saw a lot of bears in 50 years and never saw deer hair on ground UNTIL i started seeing lots of coyotes.