Somewhere along the way wildlife managers decided that certain animals were vastly more important than others, none more than elk. Beautiful creatures they are but the fixation with elk borders on obsession. Organizations are dedicated to it. Entire state game agencies are devoted to maintaining elk populations over any other animal. Hunters spend millions on hunting tags, high-powered rifles, ammunition, etc. to pursue this animal. The elk is king in the West, to the detriment of the wolf.
Wolves are considered pests that must be controlled to protect elk. Wolves are the competition so they are destroyed. Wolves are counted as numbers, numbers of packs, numbers of wolves, numbers of dead wolves, numbers of wolves depredating on livestock, numbers of wolves inhabiting Yellowstone, numbers of wolves inhabiting Glacier, numbers of alpha wolves killed, numbers of wolf pups killed. I have yet to read anything from state game agencies about the effects the hunts are having on wolf social structure, the loss of alphas, the killing of wolf pups, the killing of entire wolf packs and the subsequent loss of their DNA. No it’s always about elk.
It’s always about elk.
Wolves don’t stuff elk heads and hang them on a wall, now do they?
In fact elk aren’t really gods, they are victims just like wolves. Trophy hunters cry that elk are eaten by wolves, their natural prey, when hunters inflict terrible suffering and pain upon the mighty elk, all in the name of “sport”.
Wolves hunt to live, trophy hunters kill for the thrill.
The brutal bowhunting of Elk in Skagit County shocked and outraged the public
Click here to watch on YouTube. It’s so horrific its age restricted.
or
Baby Elk cries for mom after being shot by bowhunter 3 times as mother watches helplessly
Who’s the brutal killer?
===
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Videos: Courtesy of YouTube
Posted in: Wolf Wars, Slob Hunters
Tags: Elk, Elk, Elk, Elk, dead Elk, dead Elk, dead Elk
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Northern Idaho Wolf Alliance (NIWA)
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Wolf And Wildlife Studies: Jay Mallonee (Independent Wolf Biologist)
Wolf Song of Alaska
Wolves in english ! Les loups en anglais !
WWP's Gray Wolf Page
Yellowstone To Yukon Conservation Initiative
Howling For Justice 
No, it’s always about HUNTING and KILLING the elks.
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Well said. They love elk so much they shoot them with bows n arrows and with guns and than hang their head on their wall to be displayed as a trophy. Hunters are anti-elk and pro-killing elk.
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my brother who is a journalist in “haaretz” wrigting about ecology told me that an israeli biologist who has been in the the states a long period, told him that he learned there to appretiate the israeli dealing with nature (which is far from anything good you can imegine), because he could not understand the rationality of many decisions concerning nature there.
and may be you will be interested – the supreme court in israel decided against sending monkeys to a private lab in texas, SNBL from which peta published terrible pictures, monkeys that were captured in nature and held at a farm which we protest against. i enclose an article which i wrote on the subject in haaretz. i wrote another one about SNBL but it was not translated to english/ u find that in any big newspapre there are some pepole who are dedicated to animals cause, so if you find that persons maby you can publish articels about the wolves, the best is ti fine famous names – authers (safran foyer for example), scientists who will agree to wright. you probably have tried it.
http://www.google.co.il/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=orna+rinat+monkeys+distress&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CFYQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.haaretz.com%2Fprint-edition%2Fopinion%2Fprimates-in-distress-1.931&ei=HJLlT4OKGuOW0QWFto2dCQ&usg=AFQjCNGdCR4_EORIFYh-P0_gHKjKFO8IhQ
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Orna, I just read this article on Ha’aretz. Thanks for posting it here. If Judaism and Christianity and all the other extremely human-centered religions of the world do not start extending full ethical protections to every single intelligent, social, feeling wild being, than they are all ultimately useless and have no place in a world of 7 billion people.
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I don’t mind hunting these animals because if we keep killing the wolf’s off a lot of these will starve to death but I DON’T LIKE TRAPPING OR USING BOWS BECAUSE BOTH ARE VERY CRUEL AND CAUSE GREAT PAIN TO THE ANIMAL FOR A VERY LONG,LONG TIME BEFORE THEY DIE
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Whatever the animal, whatever the reason it’s always about their sadistic game..How come they dare to call wolves pests and competition?! It’s their natural prey! in which they have depended on since millenniums!! and now all of the sudden they come and claim elk as a trophy and their property to satisfy that stupid business such as hunting?? I mean come on!! Wolves do a minor impact kn elk populations, in fact, they keep them healthy, but you stupid hunters are decimating the healthy populations!! how do you plan that the elk doesn’t get decimated then!? I think that in order to stop this, hunting should be totally banned..PERIOD… and anything should be open for discussion..just BANNED…
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I know that elk are king here in Montana, to the detriment of EVERYTHING else. In my opinion, (as a rural property and livestock owner) there are far too many elk and deer. Especially, here in Southwestern MT. The elk and deer ruin our trees and landscaping all the time.
The deer and elk eat the hay and grain that is meant for our horses and cattle. We have never lost any livestock due to wolf predition. We have lost lilac bushes, fruit trees, bushes and many other trees to elk and deer. I have to chase elk and deer out of our yard and pasture frequently because they eat everything in sight to the bare ground and strip the bark off the trees. Our Big Hole River wolf pack was wiped out as per the will of some of my rancher neighbors. Since then I have noticed a marked increase in the number of elk and deer and also a marked increase in damage caused by elk and deer. There are more elk and deer now than there were before wolves were reintroduced to this region.The only wolves I’ve seen have been dead. Left to rot where they dropped. I presume they were killed by my neighbor or a hunter. Such a pity. I have had pets and working dogs trapped in illegal traps set without our knowledge on our property. I have had hunters trespass on our land which is posted no hunting and shoot livestock, either by accident or with intent.
I think wolves need to be protected and re-listed as endangered. I am certain that Montana will be drenched in the blood of wolves and tons of other wildlife when the drunken thrill killing hunters start shooting and trapping everything that moves. I get so tired of them driving around on their 4 wheelers, shooting the road signs, frightening the livestock and tossing their trash on our land and roads. It’s just awful the things they do and the disrespect these hunters have for other peoples property. I believe that most of them are very poor hunters these days. They claim that there are fewer elk and deer around. I doubt this because I see more game than ever and have to avoid hitting them with my truck when driving on rural roads. I guess the hunters these days expect the game to jump in the back of their truck and commit suicide. I’d rather see the wolves get a few of these old and pesky elk and deer than have the hunters kill them and just leave the lay or let the meat rot. Montana is really getting horrible these days. I dread what is going to happen this Fall. This war on wolves and other predators has to stop. If not, everything that we value here in the west will be history.
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Idaho is worse.
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Excellent post.
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It doesn’t matter what animal is shot with an arrow or a gun – to me all sentient beings deserve respect and the care and love of a Nation who (as it appears to me) has gone mad with a blood thirsty rage. I pray for a day when we and the animals will live in peace with each other. Probably not in my lifetime tho.
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Why don’t we question how shooting animals with a gun or filling them full of arrows can be considered “sport” or “fun”? It is sadistic and is a true character stain on all who do it.
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Wolves are the target for assassination. Sad fact that even FWP wont argue against– Bears kill more elk than wolves, as do mountain lions in certain areas (newborn to yearlings). which has as much impact on population numbers. so the question is why the specific target is being placed on wolves.
it is simple to see we are repeating the mistakes of our past,. not learning from them. When limits and regulations get removed bad things happen. When there were no limits we as the human race almost exterminated a lot of different species. So regulations were put in place to restore balance and ensure it did not happen again. Now those regulations are at risk and we will make the same mistake all over again.
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It’s about blood lust. It’s about White Trash and their “power.” It’s about serial killing. Yes, trophy killers and predator killers are serial killers. The same people wo slaughter wolves and kill for “sport” are serial killers. Most of them are also child molestors, wife beaters and many are convicted felons. Like serial killers of human beings, they take “trophies”, they pose with their victims at kill sites and they enjoy torturing and killing. I do not refer to subsistence hunters who kill for food to suirvive. We all know the monsters I refer to–and we are sick and tired of them and their abuse of our animals and our public lands. How long will we allow this Culture of Death and its killer ministers to destroy our animals and lands? Take direct action in every form and fight these monsters by any means necessary.
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We all have a difference of oppion I own 4,000 acres of land in Montana and I raise cattle and love to hunt even elk every now and then killing wolves though is not something I do or allow others to do on my land I find the wolf to be an asset they kill the sick and disease wild life every now and then they kill my live stock when times are rough for them but I find that to be an acceptable lose since the sick wild life kill more of my cattle than any thing else I am a man who loves to hunt but I do not worship the elk god I hunt many things and not for sport I wish you all the best of luck keeping the canislupus around they need not to worry about being on my land for they are welcome
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Thank you beowulf. I probably should have named the post “The Elk Cult”. I welcome your kind words and understanding about the great canine, the wolf.
For the wolves, For the wild ones,
Nabeki
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My grandfather, if he were alive, would be 120 yrs old….hunted deer in Virginia as a young man – his family ate the deer. He always frowned on arrows, traps, and tree stands. He died 32 yrs ago and I remember him hating ‘lures’ ‘scents’, arrows, and trapping! It seems this elk worshiping is all about live target shooting – for ‘fun’ and ‘sport’….not all but many elk hunters are rich and do not need to hunt for food – a huge gap between hunting for food and a blood sport for fun. Personally, I don’t eat meat and realize that my family can be gloriously healthy without consuming animal flesh.
Perhaps the elk worshipers would be happy on an island of their own…..to kill the poor elk without the nuisance of a wolf trying to eat what he was born to eat and do what he was born to do.
Overall they are a selfish bunch who want to have their entertainment with no thought or care to the health of the ecology or environment. let alone the mountain of suffering of predatory animals, forbidden to share in the bounty.
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I can’t watch – I can’t imagine what kind of person could do such a thing to a baby animal, or any animal, unless they are a respectful hunter hunting for food. As I always say, I hope Karma has a special fate in store, just for this guy, whoever “it” may be. An arrow with his name on it. 😉
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While I reject the notion that hunters ‘worship’ elk, I agree with you that their fixation borders on obsession–maybe even fetishism. But they don’t worship elk any more than any other killer worships their victims. It’s more like a complex:
Part of Speech: noun
Definition: psychological problem
Synonyms: a thing about something, exaggerated reaction, fixation, fixed idea, hang-up, idée fixe, insanity, mania, or neurosis.
For more on wolves and trophy elk hunting, read: http://exposingthebiggame.wordpress.com/2012/06/23/the-real-newcomers/
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I agree it’s not the traditional kind of worship, it’s a play on words, to accentuate their total obsession with this animal that they feel the need to conquer and kill. Someone should be out in the forest documenting the horrors that go on there, no wait, the killers themselves love to film their dirty deeds.
For the wolves, For the wild ones,
Nabeki
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Right, the elk are worshipped AND sacrificed, not unlike certain characters in the bible.
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That is 100% bs. Hunters don’t worship elk. They worship killing elk. These hunters are anti-elk just as much as they are anti-wolf. They want to kill wolves, just so there will be more elk available for the hunters to kill. Notice that all of these hunters ever do is kill wildlife or talk about killing wildlife? They are anti-wildlife extremists.
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How the heck can they bear ti be looking at stuffed animal? This ppl is unbelievable. Wolves kill to eat, that’s nature call, if we were still living in caves and hadn’t developed a monetary system, we would go out an kill al sorts of animals to eat, too. What’s so shameful about the wolf’s ways? It’s plain natural, for God’s sake.
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Around here deer hunters eat what they shoot. Deer sausage is a big deal. I’m a veggie so I stay away. But the big game hunters have problems and I do believe it’s psychological. Their mental and behavioral processes are all wrapped up into some kind of warped obsession. Look at Trump’s boys. We’re famous and rich so let’s prove it to ourselves and the world.
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Who kills something that supposedly love? Only a psychopath. It’s clear that hunters do love elk, they love killing them.
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Though I love this and your other post, the first paragraph seems a little hypocritical. All you have to do is switch the words elk and wolf and you have an anti-wolf paragraph.
Then again, it’s also hypocritical for a hunter to complain about wolves hunting elk when they themselves are starring down an elk in their scope.
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Sport hunting and those who engage in it simply are out in the fields because they enjoy killing living beings solely for the sake of killing. I often wonder how many of these hunters are war veterans who’ve been shot at themselves????
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Hi Nabeki,
I completely honor and love what you are doing for America’s beautiful, vital and innocent wolves. I also am a devoted wolf advocate and left my first comments on this site a few days ago without checking off the two notification boxes and have no clue where of the many places to post, I posted! So I wanted to leave you another thank you and message here.
Google: Robert Goldman wolves ecology
Google: Protect America’s Wolves!
…. to see just a few examples of what I am doing to help the wolves. Like you, it is something that is and will remain a life-long mission. It;s a promise I make to the wolves every day.
By the way, I spoke on the phone with a devoted wolf-loving activist in Montana last night and she told me how you have to use this alias due to threats. I am sorry that we all cannot feel safe for being humane, loving, honest and decent human beings. We may ultimately need a “green” army to defend the wolves and each other.
Is it possible to email you or is it best to contact you only through this wonderful blog?
I honor and love you very much for creating Howling for Justice, for your inspiring devotion and heroic advocacy for America’s beautiful, innocent and amazing wolves.
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Thank you Robert for the kind words and welcome to the blog. I’ve been away a few days so I’m sorry I missed your message. You can contact me on the Facebook site Wolf Warriors. I’m so glad you found us and hope you will be visiting often.
Wolf Warriors
http://facebook.com/wolfwarriors
For the wolves, For the wild ones,
Nabeki
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I am revolted by the killers of all species. I am a strong supporter/lover of wolves. But, I cannot stomach that gruesome video – couldn’t watch, but the words and the picture of the mom and the baby are haunting me with pangs of anger and revulsion (I am a spiritual vegan who believes that all species are equal/equally important and loved by the Creator/the Lord/the Universe)….I thought they hunted the big male elks only for their antlers to mount on the wall – a “phallic” symbol of the bigger head/antlers they mount equating to the more powerful/potent the killer….shooting 3 bows at a baby crying to its mother, helpless to help it and I’m sure torn apart inside wanting to….and some other person photographing this unspeakable act of torture cruelty and posting it on youtube?!? SAY WHAT?!? THESE PEOPLE – THE BOW HUNTER INVOLVED AND THE PHOTOGRAPHER – can we have them arrested for felony animal cruelty and shouldn’t said video have been flagged and removed from youtube as inappropriate? Isn’t depicting torture a crime? Isn’t that supposed to be removed from viewing/exploitation? I couldn’t bear to watch….just want to know….did the killers finally kill the baby and his mom or did they leave them to suffer more? I have reached the point of signing petitions, writing letters and emails that I will not give up…..and I know that voting for other than democrats is even worse….we who care about animals and the planet truly have no voice…..we need to have the power of numbers gathered together with media present….
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Here’s a link to a survey to Obama – I just filled in every place I could asking for wolves to be relisted and to stop letting ranchers graze their livestock on public lands and to say no to the keystone pipeline and no to drilling in the arctic….going to do this every day and hope everyone will – if enough of us get this message across to him every day….in this election year….
http://www.google.com/url?q=https%3A%2F%2Fmy.barackobama.com%2Fpage%2Fm%2F55c17f0c%2F6c3c078a%2F1a9d79f0b%2F13622efc%2F2646599023%2FVEsE%2Fp%2FeyJKU1ZGVFVGSlRDVWwiOiJuaWtraW5hc2htdXNpY0BnbWFpbC5jb20iLCJKU1ZhU1ZBbEpRPT0iOiI5NDU5MCIsIkpTVkRWVk5VVDAxZlJFRlVRVk5GVkZ0emJIVm5QV1p2YkdSbGNsOWtZWFJoYzJWMExHdGxlVDFtYjJ4a1pYSmZhR0Z6YUYwbEpRPT0iOiIiLCJKU1ZEVlZOVVQwMWZSRUZVUVZORlZGdHpiSFZuUFdacGJHVmZaR0YwWVhObGRDeHJaWGs5Wm1sc1pWOW9ZWE5vWFNVbCI6IiJ9%2F&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNGxzahrSxVQgSYAyYe8UgNnAOkeow
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Meant to add that I also asked to close/defund wildlife services (will help with the budget, too) thanks
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Just want to remind everyone that even though we are angry and upset about what is happening please no threats, death threats or any of that. We need to put our energy into solving this problem not lowering ourselves to the level of the haters. I am tolerant but I do have a code of conduct under “Please Read Before Commenting:”. It’s on the right side bar. Thanks.
For the wolves, For the wild ones,
Nabeki
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