Wolves in Arkansas?

Officially, the last wolf in the state was trapped and killed in 1942 by a Federal trapper in the Mena area. Bobcats, wolves and cougars were part of an Arkansas-federal program to eliminate these apex predators using federal trappers along with a $10 per head bounty authorized by the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission.

By the late 1940s, the federal trappers along with the Game and Fish bounty had eliminated at least 95% of these three apex predators, and all of the wolves.

It was probably one of the worst wildlife management decisions this country and state ever made.

The elimination of virtually all of the apex predators in Arkansas turned out to have far reaching environmental consequences. Over the next 75 years, with no apex predators, the number of scavengers such as feral hogs, raccoons and opossums skyrocketed. It caused a chain reaction exemplified by the loss of our quail population and the current decline in population of wild turkeys (ground nesting birds).

Fast forward to 2021. In one of my columns, after hearing about numerous cougar sightings in the state including the actual killing of a cougar by a deer hunter in Bradley County, I asked the readers to report any cougar sightings.

I was shocked at the sightings. I am still receiving a new sightings every week or so. When I totaled them, I had over 50 confirmed sightings in 35 countries. Based on those figures, I estimated we have 100 to 125 cougars in the state.

A few days after putting out the request, I received a call from one of the noted experts on North American Cougars. He was adamant, “Of course you have cougars in Arkansas. They are coming down the Arkansas River wildlife corridor because your state has abundant prey. The huge deer herd and the feral hogs along with millions of nuisance animals such as raccoons and opossums.”

Well, what has that got to do with wolves? Over the past 18 months, I have also received emails to report what I think are probably wolf sightings.

The first sighting was in the Buffalo National River area, and it was two, large either supersized coyotes or probably gray wolves on a deer kill.

Consider this: could one 25-pound coyote bring down a 125-pound deer? Remember, coyotes are solitary hunters. Or, more than likely, could two 75-pound wolves bring down that deer?

The other sighting was on a road crossing in what was described as a huge coyote.

The sightings were by seasoned hunters who were very familiar with the scrawny coyotes we have in the state. My call is these were gray wolf sightings.

Did these wolves come down the Arkansas River along with the cougars? Or did these wolves come down from Wisconsin, Michigan or Illinois? Recently a gray wolf was killed in Kentucky, and there have been gray wolf sighting in Missouri and even California.

Conservation efforts and wolf counting by the International Wolf Center has the wild gray wolf population in the 48 contiguous states to be 5,500 and increasing. Alaska has an additional estimated 8,000 to 11,000. Several states where the gray wolf population has increased now have a gray wolf hunting season.

Arkansas once had a substantial red wolf population, but the last ones, which were in the Ozarks, were killed during the state and federal bounty hunting starting in the 20s ending in the 1940s.

Today, there are an estimated 30 red wolves in the wild, and all of them are in North Carolina. There is an active breeding program with the goal to restock the red wolf in its original range. Counting these and the others in captivity, there are a total of roughly 200.

A recent survey by the U. S. Wildlife Service said habitat in the Ozarks would be ideal for restocking of the red wolf. As far as I know, there is not a timeline for the program. I believe the wolves that have possibly been spotted in the northern part of the state are the larger gray wolves.

Nature abhors a vacuum, and by killing off all the apex predators, we created the perfect conditions for the wolves’ and cougars’ ultimate return. Our deer herd is the favorite food of the cougars and wolves, and when you add several million feral hogs, raccoons and opossums, you have the

ideal conditions to attract these apex predators back to our state. It would be highly unusual if we didn’t have an influx of cougars, wolves and bobcats.

Well, we know the cougars are here, and probably more are continuing to come down the Arkansas River wildlife corridor. Of course, it is very likely that gray wolves would also come down the same corridor, and probably come from the other adjacent areas to the north where gray wolves are in large numbers. It seems to me that sooner or later we will have numerous gray wolves joining the cougars for a deer and feral hog buffet.

I want other sightings reported, and the only way to get those is to do what we did to document the cougar population in our state. A coyote rarely weight over 30 pounds and gray wolves range from 60 to over 100 pounds. So keep your eyes open, and email me. Of course, wolves howl and there is a big difference in a coyote’s yap, yap, yap and a wolf’s howl, so if you hear a wolf howl, send me an email.

But should we welcome the gray wolf? They are not the original red wolves that were native to our state. There are some studies to indicate there could have been some overlapping in certain parts of the state, since the gray wolf was originally present in almost all states.

Considering the benefits and the shortcomings of seeing the gray wolf being part of our ecosystem, I would favor it. Since our ecosystem was damaged so severely by removing almost all of the apex predators, re-introduction would be overall beneficial.

The gray wolf was re-introduced to Yellowstone National Park because the elk herd became too large for the park. These wolves contributed to a long list of positive results and several that were completely unexpected.

Today, there are five wolf packs consisting of over a 100 gray wolves. The benefits of controlling the huge elk herd in the National Park are numerous, and by all accounts the restocking of wolves is a huge success. They have even reduced the coyote population in Yellowstone.

Also, from early studies, the gray wolf in Yellowstone is providing a first line of defense by helping to control CWD (Chronic Wasting Disease). Since wolves prey on the old, young and diseased, the deer with CWD are the easiest prey to catch, and every deer with CWD eliminated helps control the spread. The wolves would aid in keeping CWD from spreading in Arkansas.

Of course, since the wolves are predators, they would also reduce the feral hogs, raccoons and opossums, help our quail return and aid in the turkey population recovery.

Okay, now let’s hear from you about wolf sighting or howls; just mention the county.