A few weeks ago I received a note from Bruce Bush of Caroga Lake who took the time to send me several reprints of newspaper columns from early 1968, recounting the predations and ultimate demise of what apparently turned out to be a wolf.

The critter was first thought to be a large dog, though a particularly troublesome one since it had tussled with a Caroga Lake dog and even ransacked a  residence in the area. The critter was eventually dispatched as the result of a confrontation with a pickup truck and was later identified by DEC as an 84-pound wolf.

Now let’s fast forward about three decades or so. In 2001, a coyote hunter in the Edinburg area took what he thought was a truly big coyote. To make a long story short, it turned out to be a wolf and the hide was subsequently confiscated by DEC and federal wildlife agency employees and later identified as a wolf, hence it was a protected species.

Fortunately, I heard about the critter scarcely a week after it was taken and before it was skinned and eventually confiscated. I spoke at length with the hunter who took it and if I recall correctly, the wolf weighed about 85 pounds and was quite healthy. It was taken while in the company of several coyotes and was feeding on a deer carcass at the time.

Some years ago, Defenders of Wildlife launched a campaign to muster support for a wolf re-introduction in the Adirondacks. I was against it for a number of reasons, not the least of which was the feeling that we wouldn’t be doing the wolves any favors by releasing them where they weren’t wanted and where an already dwindling deer population would force them out into peripheral areas in search of food.

Another, and equally cogent, reason was that the Adirondacks just aren’t the same as when wolves called the mountains home. When the last native wolf was taken, Teddy Roosevelt was governor of New York State; the population of New York City was only 3,400,000; there were fewer than 400 people living in the Long Lake area; there were extensive lumbering operations in and around the Adirondacks; the deer population was much higher; the Northway and other roads into the mountains weren’t even envisioned; Great Sacandaga Lake was decades away from being formed; the Adirondack Park was less than a decade old; Mt. Marcy and Whiteface had been scaled only a handful of times; tourism in the mountains consisted of long train rides; some of the great camps were yet to be built; and Noah John Rondeau had not yet even taken up residence in the Cold River area.

It was a whole different world in the Adirondacks around the turn of the century and while there may have been a niche for the wolf back then, there certainly isn’t now. But that’s just my opinion.

I think the wolf is already back in the Adirondacks, though in very limited numbers. Don’t forget that the coyote was first detected in the North Country around 1925 and look how far that species has spread.

COMING EVENTS

This is the time of year when there seems to be some event of one sort or another going on almost every weekend twixt now and mid-March. There’s really no cause for a case of cabin fever. Here’s a brief list for some of those events and I’m certain there will be/are others that will find their way onto this list as the next several months progress. I’ve included only events and not meeting and related gatherings. If you belong to any group I’m certain you know when their meetings are held.

Dec. 4 - final day of the northern zone deer and bear regular season;

Dec. 17 - Awards presentation in the annual Fuel N’Food big game contest; December 20 - final day of the southern zone late bowhunting and muzzleloader seasons as well as the northern zone muzzleloader season (in certain areas only); Jan. 7 - Awards presentation in the first Annual Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce deer contest; Jan. 8 - Awards presentation in the annual Tuman’s Tavern (Amsterdam) deer contest; Jan.14 - Fish House Fish & Game Club Annual Ice Fishing Contest; Jan. 28 - Annual Walleye Challenge Ice Fishing Contest and the annual Great Sacandaga Lake Fisheries Federation Ice Fishing Contest; Jan. 28 and 29 - Gun Show at the Saratoga Springs City Center; Feb. 18 and 19 - 7th Annual Adirondack Outdoorsman Show, Johnstown Moose Club, Route 30A; March 2 through 4 - Annual Fuel N’Food Weekend Long Ice Fishing Contest; March 3 - Ross’ Bait Shop Annual Ice Fishing Contest.

In reality, that’s only a partial list because I haven’t yet received any information on other events scheduled during the period January through March, but I’ll have that for you soon. Also, I haven’t listed any particulars on the above events due to space limitations but I’ll enumerate them as the events draw nearer.