Wolves were reintroduced into Idaho in 1995 and 1996 in an effort to facilitate the recovery of the gray wolf into the Northern Rocky Mountain States. Within a few years, there was substantial evidence that there was a self-sustaining, reproducing population that was spreading through-out Idaho and other Western states. A wolf ’s main prey consists of elk, moose, deer, bighorn sheep, mountain goats and small furbearers.
In the fall archery season of 2005, the presence of wolves in northern Idaho was obvious. The elk numbers were down, there was less vocalization amongst the elk, and finding wolf kills, tracks and scat was a sure indicator that they were present in the immediate area I’d hunted for years. On many occasions one could hear the deep howls of the large canines, sometimes far away and sometimes close up. The other game animals had become extra cautious and were always on alert.
Wolves are the apex predator. There are times when one would come face to face with them and they
