Would you support the reintroduction of the wolf into Ireland?

Tom65

Wolf attacks seem extremely rare. I did quick research on google and one site said there was just 2 attacks in North America in 2000 (neither were fatal). There were also just 100 attack in India in the 80s (this is considered a high rate).


It would certainly make things much more interesting. Camping for one, because in the dead of night you wake up to hear a rustle the best you can say is: "holy ****...is that a rat!?". Wolf would sound better

mad m

Tom65 wrote:

Wolf attacks seem extremely rare. I did quick research on google and one site said there was just 2 attacks in North America in 2000 (neither were fatal). There were also just 100 attack in India in the 80s (this is considered a high rate).


It would certainly make things much more interesting. Camping for one, because in the dead of night you wake up to hear a rustle the best you can say is: "holy ****...is that a rat!?". Wolf would sound better

My arse wolf would sound better,would crap myself. Imagine hearing a big Howl from a wolf in the dead of night in middle of nowhere! Brings a thought to an American Werewolf in London film

Esel

smccarrick wrote:

... You'd feel wonderful if you were getting a hundred quid a head for each sheep you could prove was killed by a wolf. ...

That's why you need the bones!

No spine - no money!

Spine must be accompanied by eartags (wolves will regurgitate/defecate (or die) eartags, if they are hungry enough to ingest same).

NeilJ

In Yellow Stones Park in the US when wolves were re-introduced the very first encounter between the wolves and the deer/reindeer (big hoofed thingies with horns of which I not exactly sure the exact species were) the herd instantly formed a protective clump the same as any other herd which constantly encounters predators does. In short animals don't forget an instinct even if they don't use it for 100 years. It was later found when the park rangers decided to reintroduce mountain lions that they had already reappeared in the park naturally a few years previous and had no adverse effect on the local wildlife population. So to say that the deer of Ireland would be hunted to extinction by wolves is untrue, if for no other reason than that deer are pretty big and there wouldn't be enough wolves to eat them all. In certain areas preferably not too near large populations I think it would be good. There was uproar when the eagles were reintroduced in Donegal, local farmers saying lambs would be stolen and local residents making similar claims about babies and to date I haven't heard of any attacks and the population has increased to several successful breeding pairs. So I don't think we would have that much to worry about from the wolves.

Neil

LoneGunM@n

Tom65 wrote:

It would certainly make things much more interesting. Camping for one, because in the dead of night you wake up to hear a rustle the best you can say is: "holy ****...is that a rat!?". Wolf would sound better

Damn that's funny

In relation to the re-introduction of wolves to the Irish countryside, I don't think that there would be much danger of other Irish animals being hunted to extinction by the wolves ... sure we're more of a danger to the animals!!

I think my only hesitance to the re-introduction of the wolf is born from a fear of meeting one myself whilst staggering drunk home from the pub!

johnnyc

I agree they should be introduced what about throwing then into killarney national forest they would kill those damm deer we wouldn't have to pay for the deer to be culled.

Why is Donegal the designated place to reintroduce natively extinct animals these days?

[Jackass]

Set up a safari park in cavan. I want to see some of these celtic tigers everyone keeps banging on about, but no-one has ever actually seen!

As for wolves, there are far more feared prey of sheep than them, like the native welsh man for example...and sheep still survive there.

I want to see the resteration of things like wolves, boar, snakes, eagles, hawks, travelers and any other animals we used to have that could kill us...the Irish country side is boaring, and WAY to safe....make mountain walks a Xtreme sport.... being chased by Giraffes, jumping over elephants...it'd be grrrrrrreat!

The_Conductor

Too much Frosties for Dubguy22 methinks!

Silvera

Even though I am a wildlife enthusiast, I would be totally against the reintroduction of Wolves in Ireland.

Think about it, currently a person can walk in any part of the countryside without fear of being attacked by a wild animal - this would change with the reintroduction of wolves !!

Romo

The guy in Scotland owns a huge estate in the highlands. Saw him on TV a few weeks ago, and he's really determined to re-introduce the wolf and lynx.

http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=483042003

[InsertHandle]

Wolves ... cool bring 'em all back
let them run free

all wolves are like that really smart friendly one from Due South, right??

deceptacon

Thing about wolves is, they're well cool. And can you imagine a better way to die than being savaged by a native Irish wolf on a walk in the hills of Donegal?

WizZard

I like wolves

Willymuncher

Why on earth would anyone do that, we don't need a reintroduction of the wolf, they can be very dangerous....we are doing quite well without them, theres no good reason for it

deceptacon

Then again, there's no reason NOT to do it. Really. Other than the vicious predator aspect.

The_Conductor

deceptacon wrote:

Thing about wolves is, they're well cool. And can you imagine a better way to die than being savaged by a native Irish wolf on a walk in the hills of Donegal?

Eh yes, happily in my sleep after a long and successful life, with out a worry or a care...... thats how I'd like to die somehow....... is that too much to ask for?

Then again, imagine the thrill of it, being chased, hearing the yapping behind you, running blindly up the hill, hearing paws pounding in the darkness behind you- no idea where you are going, but running, running as long as you possibly can. Something howls, a baying is heard, is that a wolf panting behind you? Imagine the wolf's lips curled backwards, its canines and incisors pointed in its open jaws, its jaws seemingly open forever as it poises to strike....... The quick pain of the first nip as it brings you to the ground, and the pack is upon you..... the pain is excruciating- but it is over quickly.........

embraer170

People's perception of the wolf, lol.
Reintroduced in Switzerland for a few years. Number of attacks on people: zero.

Wibbs

I'm surprised at some of the comments posted about wolves. Wolves are not dangerous except when infected with rabies or in fairy tales. As was pointed out before wolf attacks on humans are incredibly rare. They're very shy animals and will avoid contact with humans.

This isn't a rose tinted view of cuddly nature either. It's fact. The other image belongs in the brothers Grimm. Domesticated dogs are a lot more dangerous than their wild cousins.

In the wild they'll eat anything rats, mice, rabbits etc. Plenty of them in ireland. mixamitosis won't transmit across the species AFAIK, so no problem there either.

They do need a big area to hunt though. The Kerry national park might be a better place to put them.

johnnyc

They would be so cool in killarney national park vindicated at last about my suggestion

StonedParadoX

we owned a wolf for about 4/5 years we got it in Kilcoole .. they dont sell any more but we had a very turbelant time with this wolf .. it wasnt a full wolf i dont think but even at that it was hard to control .. you thought YOU had it?.. nope it had YOU.. she was a clever ****er .. ( shes dead now ) the only reason we got it is cuz we live beside a forest on a 7 acre area with lots of animals or had

so no reintroducing them is a bad idea..

Wibbs

That's because you had a wolf-dog hybrid, StonedParadoX. A completely different animal. They tend to have the strength and intelligence of a wolf with the agressive tendencies of the domesticated dog.

The domesticated dog has been bred over generations to lose it's fear of man and to have protective/aggressive traits. The dog also remains in a neotenous state. It acts like a juvenile wolf. It barks and plays and seeks attention in a way quite different from the wolf which grows out of those behaviours and becomes an adult pack animal. In the hybrid these characteristics can vary widely.

Most wolf dog hybrids are crossed with german shepard and husky/malamut breeds. Large protective aggressive dogs to begin with (I know not all are). When that kind of temperament is crossed with a wolf(or even a poodle) the tendency is towards a more forceful animal.

I've had both a german shepard and a hi content wolf hybrid and the "wolf" was a lot easier to read. You knew where you stood with him because the wolf tends to respect authority within the pack more rigidly. He was a lot more shy and emotional too. In fact as a guard dog a wolf would be utterly useless as at the first sign of danger he'd be off as fast as his lanky legs could carry him.

To base an opinion of the wolf on one hybrid of dubious ancestry would be stretching it a bit. Most wolf dog hybrids in this country are way more dog than wolf and are aimed at the market who wants a macho animal.

Unless you cornered a wolf and he had no way of escape, the chances of being attacked are almost nil.

Capt'n Midnight

Brown Bears went extinct about a 1,000 years ago

http://www.ipcc.ie/infoirishelk.html - has anyone found DNA in these bones ?

Think about the hillwalkers in the UK
http://www.museum.vic.gov.au/prehistoric/mammals/britain.html
extinct woolly mammoth and woolly rhinoceros, together with reindeer, lemmings (now just exactly why did they become extinct :rolleyes:) , musk oxen, and lions :eek:... . giant ox ...

jimmy rodgers

wolves would be brilliant they could eat all the black panthers and jaguars that live in monaghan................

uberwolf

I think it's pretty clear where I stand on this issue

Anders Giselsso

Too much Hollywood !!! Too much prejudice !!! Too much romanticism !!!
I live with 11 (yes, eleven) timber wolves, and I dare to say that I know the wolf fairly well. The least thing I would like to see is an attempt to re-introduce wild wolves in Ireland. There isn't enough wild prey for them --- and the end result would be a number of re-introduced wolf carcasses lying around in the undergrowth, killed by sheep farmers, or hunting heroes, or other civilised creatures that doesn't understand the wolves complete lack of aggression against humans. Even domesticated wolves (I'm not talking dogs now) are born with an inherited fear of humans, and you have to train them not to run away from any stranger they'll see. The re-introduction in Scotland isn't really a re-introduction into the wild, it's an enormous wild life sanctuary, fenced in and monitored.
To give you an idea of how cruel it would be to expose this beautiful animal to the mercy of Irish country side: A pack of Nordic wolves will travel 100 miles in a day with no problem, their territory might be the size of Donegal, if there is a normal supply of prey animals. Man's acceptance and understanding of the Wolf has rarely stretched further than to a barrell of a gun or a lump of meat with strycnine, when the Wolf has only been rumoured about.
There are already quite a few wolves in Ireland --- most of them living as part of a family of humans --- in a few years time there will also be a wolf sanctuary --- and left like that they can help to raise our understanding of wildlife and the bond between wolf and man. (Dogs are degenerated wolves, produced by inbreading.)

Fuseman

I, too, am a fan of wolves and I have 6 timber wolves myself which I am breeding. I have watched these grow from young pups to mature adults. Do you breed the wolves yourself ? Because I have only a small area, I have to keep them in a shed and it drives the neighbours crazy :-)

Anders Giselsso

Hi Fuseman,
I would like to talk to you off chat thread. You can send an e-mail to Rainbow_wolf@eircom.net. It will take a while before I reply, since I'm not at that address at the moment. If you want, you can give me your E-mail-address.
I don't really breed them, I live with them. This with the shed makes me a bit sad, though I know that they can handle it as a temporary solution. I'm frantically building enclosures, and will have about 6 acres fenced in when I'm finished (will take a few years), but one of the packs sleeps in the house with my family, when the other is in the wolf house.

L5

Anders Giselsso wrote:

Hi Fuseman,
I would like to talk to you off chat thread. You can send an e-mail to Rainbow_wolf@eircom.net. It will take a while before I reply, since I'm not at that address at the moment. If you want, you can give me your E-mail-address.
I don't really breed them, I live with them. This with the shed makes me a bit sad, though I know that they can handle it as a temporary solution. I'm frantically building enclosures, and will have about 6 acres fenced in when I'm finished (will take a few years), but one of the packs sleeps in the house with my family, when the other is in the wolf house.

:eek:
sleeps in the house :eek:

bagocans

the_syco wrote:

"Will someone think of the children"

Look @ anywhere where there are wolves. Lots of people own guns. Lots of people know they are flippin dangerous.

Look @ Ireland. Look @ how many people own guns. Look @ how kids walk home from school in the countryside.

These aren't pets who have been trained not to attack humans.

These are predetors, who, in the coldeset days of winter, may attack your little 5 year old kid as they make a snowman. And they'll attack in a pack. And you won't be able to stop them, as you won't have a gun.

They died out for a reason. We don't want them.

There's actually about 200,000 gun owners in the country, surprising!!
Wild animals won't attack humans unless driven to it, they're in general quite wary of humans.
Also they thrived in ireland til the spiralling pre famine population moved into every concievable nook and cranny of the country, much of this for example huge areas in north west mayo is deserted again.

Few other things on others points,
A. There never were snakes here.
B. Deer as it stands now have to be culled because their populations are to high in areas and they overgrazethe wild countryside, mountains forest yadda yadda.
C. Rabbits were given mixamitosis (disgusting) because there were to many and it is released into the population when this happens.

Anyway, its not like they be in every corner of the country, but i'd be more in favour of releasing them into less scenic large wild areas, not neccesarily scenic national parks, we might as well keep them for our enjoyment.