“But They Are Just As Afraid Of Us As We Are Of Them.”
February 7, 2008
According to the Times-News at MagicValley.com, those are some of the words uttered from the mouth of Idaho conservation officer Jerry Hugo regarding some residents concerns about wolves killing deer, elk and moose in their back yards. The same officials are claiming that because of the increased snow depths in the mountains, the deer, elk and moose are moving down into the lower elevations and the wolves are following. Some residents are concerned because they are finding the remains of these animals where the wolves have killed them, one being a couple hundred feet from a school bus stop.
Of course we don’t want to needlessly frighten parents and children about the wolves but at the same time officials shouldn’t be saying things that aren’t completely true. Here are some statements made by officials, again according to this news article.
Renee McQuade met with a conservation officer, Jerry Hugo, last week after her children found the carcass of a deer killed by three wolves about 200 feet from their bus stop in Shoshone County.
“I assured Renee the wolves are after this and not your kids,” Hugo said.
“A lot of people don’t understand wildlife behavior enough to begin with, so they have a predisposed fear of them,” he said, “but they are just as afraid of us as we are of them.”
Probably Hugo is right. People probably do have a predisposed fear of the wolf but under the circumstances, isn’t it a bit irresponsible to tell somebody the wolves are just as afraid? Things have changed. The deer, elk and moose are being driven from their normal habitat and the wolves are following them for food. Under the most ideal circumstances, people in this small community would seldom, if ever, see a live wolf. This is the time to fully educate people about wolves, not lead them down some fairytale lane in order to comfort them.
We know that one of the first things that alters a wolf’s normal habits is hunger. One myth that should be dispelled is that wolves kill only the weak and old of the deer, elk and moose. The second myth is that wolves only kill when they are hungry. Studies have shown that wolves kill simply because they can and are not the killer often described that selectively chooses the weak or disabled of its prey. Yes, they can certainly pick out a limping elk but their kill is what they can take down at that moment the easiest.
Wolves don’t normally attack and kill humans because they have never learned to do that. If they get hungry enough, they will study you and I and could, over time, put us on their menu. Unlikely? Yes! Impossible? No.
Hugo said he would prefer “the rhetoric to simmer down on both ends of the spectrum.”
“I know wolves are new and they’re back on the scene,” he said, “but it’s just another carnivore.”
Perhaps the passing of another golden opportunity to explain wolf behavior to this person and the public. “Just another carnivore” isn’t really the best use of words to describe hungry wolves killing deer, elk and moose in people’s back yards during a time of winter with heavy snow cover and reduced available food.
The article stated that Hugo said there was a deer carcass, killed by a wolf and left, of which he indicated this showed the wolf had been spooked. That might have been the case but again, if this is meant to remove the fear from people that wolves are easily spooked, I’m not sure that’s in everyone’s best interest. I’ll repeat what I wrote above, wolves randomly kill because they can. Circumstances chance which can result in the alteration of normal behavior.
The best way to remove fear in people, much of which is based on untruths, is to tell them the truth. Attempting to dispel one myth by using another isn’t going to work well. Because someone has convinced these people the big bad wolf is going to eat them up, shouldn’t be dealt with by telling them misinformation about their habits. Truth works the best and when people are given that truth, they then are much better able to make wise decisions. I just don’t think that telling people, “they are just as afraid of us as we are of them”, is the best way to convince Idaho residents that they have to learn to live with wolves.
Tom Remington
After a little internet searching, reading, and checking up on this stuff I found it�s a pretty well established product in Canada and hails from Quebec where they have this funny habit of speaking a lot of French. Thus the name, Jig-A-Loo, and the company�s claim it derives from a saying they have up north, �I�ve got it!� 
I really try to be fair and open-minded when listening to professionals advise me of their views on a situation. However, my intelligence is insulted when I hear an “expert” such as Mr. Hugo making statements such as the ones quoted above. Furthermore, his view that the wolves were obviously spooked since they hadn’t eaten the prey they killed is ludicrous. He is obviously offering his opinion, without any facts, which misleads the public and distorts the issues.
Stick to the facts Mr. Hugo, and if you don’t know, don’t speak.