Growing up on a ranch in British Columbia’s northern interior, “if we seen a wolf, we’d be shooting at it,” Joe Engelhart says, in a deep voice that could easily get him cast in a western. “It was just something we did.”
Now manager of the 22,500-acre Spruce Ranching Co-op near Nanton, Alberta, Engelhart hasn’t shot a wolf since 2003 – and that was after a dreadful season when a pack killed nearly 40 cattle.
The losses were compounded by a canny old Grizzly bear that trailed the pack, drove them off the fresh kills and forced the wolves to take down more cattle to feed themselves.
The carnage ended with a crack from Engelhart’s high-powered rifle. But the whole experience got him wondering if stockman-ship, not marksmanship, might be a better option.
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