Wolves in North Georgia

Have recently been reading a history book of Gilmer County. The book contains a reference to the fact that Gilmer, Fannin, and Union County at one time had a "Wolf Tax". These funds enabled a bounty to be paid for every wolf scalp. The scalp was required to contain both ears intact before they would pay.

This effort to eliminate the Wolf was brought about by his predation upon livestock, with emphasis on sheep. Early settlers in isolated areas of the mountaineous terrain were highly dependant upon their sheep. They were sheared annually and the wool was washed, carded, and spun into thread which was then woven on hand looms into cloth. Clothing for the entire family was sewn from the hand woven material.

When and if a surplus of sheep developed, the family would butcher one for the family table. With constant predation from wolves, families seldom ever ate mutton.

No mention was made as to whether the critters were Red Wolves or Timber Wolves. Could have been either or both.

There are in existence today many local names which relate back to pioneer times. Many of the names suggest the existence of Wolves in former times. Examples of these are: Wolf Pen Branch, Wolf Pen Gap, and Wolf Pen Mountain. Wolf Pens were built of notched logs with a trap door. They were covered with logs as well as floored with logs to prevent scatching out. They were baited with the remains of a deer or any fresh meat.

The Wolf was apparently eliminated from even the wilderness areas before 1900. The early Mountain Men were a determined people.

Vernon

That was a good read, thanks. I heard that the NPS tried to reintroduce the red wolf into the smokies but it didnt take.

That is very interesting. Thanks for the history lesson as always Mr. Vernon.

Always wondered where Wolf Pen Gap got its name from ( on Rich Mtn)

Thanke Vernon !

Yes the NPS reintroduced the red wolf to the smokies and it failed ie: they couldn't control their data , The Red wolf is thriving here although the gooberment doesn't want you to know that , Soooo Whats new ?????????

There is a pack of 6 Red Wolves in northern

Bartow County in the Pine Log WMA. I've seen them twice. They were red but their legs were too long to be a fox or a coyote.

dbone said:

Yes the NPS reintroduced the red wolf to the smokies and it failed ie: they couldn't control their data , The Red wolf is thriving here although the gooberment doesn't want you to know that , Soooo Whats new ?????????

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d,
Ever seen one? Ever heard one?
I wish we could just 'rent' them to get rid of the yotes and them send them packing. I suppose if I have to happen upon a critter in the woods at night and it's a wolf or a yote I get to choose from, I'll take the yote....

Red Wolves mate with Coyotes, I have read that, due to inter breeding, the DNA of Red Wolves and Coyotes are so similar that they cannot be told apart by the use of DNA samples. Timber Wolves may weed out a few Coyotes but not enough to make a difference.

I watched two wolves in Yellowstone park this summer. There were in the same view of a spotting scope a young man loaned to my family for a few minutes. They were at least a mile away laying on the side of a hill.

20,000 out of 3,000,000 visitors a year see a wolf in Yellowstone. When they stray off the park they don't last long if the ranchers see them.

I hunt just out of Butler Ga. reading on the history of this town,I found out that it use to be called Wolf pen. The rail ended there, and there was a turntable, just off of it was a Wolf pen. Almost changed our club name to Wolf pen after reading about it.

In "Travels Of William Bartram", Bartram describes wolves several times during his travels of the Southeast in the mid to late 1700's. On one trip from Savannah southward to Jacksonville then down the St Johns and over to the Tallahassee area and back , He comes up on the Alachua Savannah, known today as Paynes Prairie. ...

"We continued some miles crossing over, from promotory to promotory, the most enchanting green coves and vistas, scolloping and indenting the high coasts of the vast plain. Observing a company of wolves (lupus niger) under a few trees, about a quarter of a mile from shore, we rode towards them; they observing our approach, sat on their hinder parts until we came nearly within shot of them, when they trotted off towards the forests, but stopped again and looked at us, at about two hundred yards distance: we then whooped and made a feint to pursue them; when they seperated from each other, some stretching off into the plains, and others seeking covert in the groves on shore. When we got to the trees, we observed they had been feeding on the carcase of a horse. The wolves of Florida are larger than a dog, and are perfectly black, except the females, which have a white spot on there breast; but they are not so large as the wolves of Canada and Pennsylvania, which are of a yellowish brown color...

During another trip from Savannah this time taking a route very close to where I 16 is today over to Alabama and then down to Mobile, another mention is made just after crossing the Tallapoosa River in Alabama and turning south to Mobile..sounds very near the plains of Auburn..."early in the morning we sat off for Mobile: our progress for about eighteen miles was through a magnificent forest, just without or skirting on the Indian plantations, frequently having a view of their distant towns, over plains or old fields; and at evening we came to camp under shelter of a grove of venerable spreading oaks, on the verge of the great plains; their enormous limbs loaded with Tillandsia usneadscites, waving in the winds; these Oaks were some shelter to us from the violence of an extraordinary shower of rain, which suddenly came down in such floods as to inundate the earth, and kept us standing on our feet the whole night, for the surface of the ground was under water almost till morning. Early next morning, our guide having performed his duty, took leave,returning home, and we continued on our journey, entering the great plains. We had not proceeded far before our people roused a litter of young wolves, to which giving chase, we soon caught one of them, it being entangled in the high grass; one of our people caught it by the hind legs, and another beat out its brains with the but of his gun, -- barbarous sport!--This creature was about half the size of a small cur dog, and quite black..."



Tillandsia usneadscites has got to singularly be the most descriptive name given spanish moss I have ever seen...

i thought the red wolf caught on when reintroduced into the areas near cades cove, I knw they need something to keep the deer in check there cuz they have plenty

i saw a red wolf in franklin co. back in feb. of 08 .i know the diff. of afox and a coyota. this was ared wolf.

They'll be back

A wolf was shot in Massachusetts this year after killing livestock. They have been spotted repeatedly in the last few years in northern New Angland and northern New York. They are migrating southward from Canada along the Appallachians and will probably make it to Georgia in a couple decades.

Cougars will be here in a few decades, too. They have slowly moved east from the Rockies through the midwest and have been found in Illinois, Iowa and a few other places. There favorite meal is whitetail, so you know they will make it here eventually.

The Red Wolf project did not work due to the influx of coyotes that either killed the pups or interbred with the wolves. The project did work and is still thriving along the NC coast.

It could be a few of those wolves or "halfbreeds" made their way south into GA though.

Don't forget South Carolina. They have a breeding and release program there near the Francis Marion National Forest. It is just North of Charleston, SC at a place called the SeeWee visitor center. They breed some of the wolves there. You can go and see the wolves in thier breeding pens too. It is open to the public. Free too. They also have some nice nature trails and ponds open to the public. I use to go there to watch the alligators.

Click on this link and then click on the wolf pic :

http://www.fws.gov/seweecenter/

Cougars have been in Ga.since the mid 60s. Never seen a bear or wolf. There was a bear spotted near Thomson today. I heard the report on radio station.BB

I used to work for Marietta PD. We kept getting bear calls one night in the vicinity of Kennestone Hospital (really close to Kennesaw Mountain Park). At around 2300, I was shining my spotlight along the railroad tracks in between Kennestone and Hwy 41 and spotted a black bear standing at the edge of the brush, about 20 yds away. I flashed the light right across and past him. When the light passed him by, he spun and ran into the brush.

Absolutely no question it was a black bear. Some of the older guys around MPD said we get one in Marietta about every 6 years or so.

Dumb question, Is it possible for coyote's and wolves to cross breed? If so, what would that look like? and how would you know if you saw a mix?

tuffdawg said:

Dumb question, Is it possible for coyote's and wolves to cross breed? If so, what would that look like? and how would you know if you saw a mix?

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Good question, I'm not sure about the answer but I can tell you yotes have cross bred with dogs in my clubs area and produced a critter we're calling coy-dogs, they're a good bit larger than yotes and not a bit afraid of people, I can't say they show aggression but they don't show any fear either, like most all critters they prefer no contact with people