Questions tagged [wolves]

Wolves, ancestors of the dogs. Loved and hated, an encounter in nature is possible.

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8 votes
1 answer
430 views

Why would a polar bear or other top predator give away his kill, as opposed to merely allowing scavengers to clean up after it?

I am reading Three Among the Wolves by Helen Thayer, who is best known for walking and skiing to the North Magnetic Pole accompanied only by her husky, Charlie. In a subsequent trip, she and her ...
14 votes
2 answers
5k views

Why do predators seem as abundant as prey in trail camera footage?

From basic thermodynamic principles, I would normally expect prey species to be much more abundant than predators. Applying that to North American species like deer, wolves and bears, I would expect ...
3 votes
1 answer
315 views

Do predators understand human footprints?

I am guessing that because bears have extremely sensitive smell, even if a bear understood footprints, they would not find this nearly as reliable as following their scent. But could it actually be ...
0 votes
1 answer
193 views

Are predators attracted by fire?

While I know that bears and wolves can be scared off by, say, a burning stick, wouldn't they also know that a fire indicates there are humans who either have food or might be eaten themselves?
11 votes
2 answers
3k views

Do wolves hunt on moonless nights?

Wolves have better night vision than we do, enough that they can quite happily hunt on moonlit nights. But what about when there is no moonlight? Intuitively it seems to me that with no moon or nearby ...
13 votes
1 answer
2k views

Is it possible to differentiate between a dog howl and a wolf howl?

I was camping at around 1500m in the Italian Alps, and around midnight I heard howling that sounded very much like a wolf. I know there are wolves in the area (a friend of mine was lucky enough to ...
25 votes
3 answers
2k views

Why did the wolf-pack withdraw from attacking me?

While this has happened about 22 years ago, I never really stopped thinking about it and still regard it as unsolved mystery. While I asked plenty outdoormen, nobody had this experience. Having ...
17 votes
3 answers
15k views

Is bear spray effective against other animals?

Is bear spray (pepper spray specially formulated to be effective against bear attacks) effective against other animals, especially mountain lions or wolves? Or is there something in it specifically ...
5 votes
1 answer
201 views

Artificial reintroduction of wild animals: how frequently does it happen, and what is the purpose?

One of the most debated issues concerning wilderness, in Italy, is the reintroduction (or bizarrely large increase in the population) of animals almost extinguished till recently. While in most ...
18 votes
3 answers
10k views

How to camp in wolf country?

How safe is sleeping in bear country? I, too, like to sleep in a bivy sack under the stars. And while during the summer I am not too concerned about wolves (in spite of locals reporting attacked ...
21 votes
1 answer
1k views

Did I see a wolf's pawprint?

This weekend, I was hiking in the Spanish Sierra de Guadarrama. On a small trail north of Navacerrada (used by only a handful of people each day at the moment), at 1905m height, I encountered the ...
20 votes
3 answers
6k views

Should a hiker be concerned about wolves in the back-country?

In this question, it was asked whether bear-spray was effective against other animals, such as wolves. I know the old adage that "there has never been record of a healthy wolf attacking an adult" is ...
16 votes
3 answers
2k views

How effective are portable electric fences?

I am worried about bears and wolves when camping so I'm looking at portable electric fences. Are they effective and more importantly just how dangerous are they?
23 votes
1 answer
1k views

Do I need to worry about feral dogs or even wolves if I camp in random areas while hitchhiking in Georgia (the country)?

After almost half a year working in a hostel in Tbilisi, spring has come and it is far warmer than anywhere further west in Europe so I'm going to hitchhike around Georgia with my tent in warm areas. ...
2 votes
0 answers
163 views

Book about wolves raised by a man, his wife and a German Shepherd: familiar to anyone? Is basic premise plausible?

Several decades ago, I read a book written by a man who rescued and raised two wolf cubs whose mother had been killed. He was sure his wife would welcome the cubs, but he was apprehensive about the ...